If I price my product higher than Amazon’s price will I sell nothing?
So, I’m new to selling on Amazon and have been considering using FBA as I hear that it drives more sales. However, due to the cost of my product, I have to price my product £5 above the buy box price. My question is simply, why would anyone pay more for the exact same product? I’m selling in PC and Video Games for some context.
17 replies
Seller_L3E8iknKXqZNV
Because other sellers have 0% feedbacks full of negs
seriously - you wont sell a thing
Seller_jjpuxj3CfNljt
rule 1… don’t try to fight the owner of the platform you are selling on, even at a lower price you get limited buy box visibility. Another good rule of thumb is not to compete against any giant company as their purchasing power is way out of any new sellers league, they have way more margin to play with in a pricing war. choose your battles my friend, do a bit more research into suitable products I think and understand the FBA platform better… eg who wins the buy box… business models that work with FBA, what the actual benefits of FBA do… its not as simple as shove an item into an amazon warehouse and it sells more… not at all. a bit more homework needed I think! Do NOT compete with Amazon
Seller_4LUzqt6gVBwL9
Hi my advice don’t sell cheap why devalue a product when you can make it profitable once the stock has gone we’re else can you buy it if you are the only seller think about it supply demand ie I like sck summer but I like the 2016 version not the 2019 version so I would pay 2/3 times the price
Seller_nzOP4CDTAVG9a
Not always. If the item is rare Amazon might not have it in stock. Also Amazon (from memory) tend to do new items. If it is second hand you are instead up against the big cheese independants, such as Music Magpie. If you are patient or don’t need to sell everything overnight I would say try and price it down a bit, but not so much you are making a loss.
Seller_gcApEu4yzoNNw
Even the biggest sellers run out of stock sometimes, does no harm being a little dearer than Amazon, as long as you can remain 2nd cheapest I too use this ploy and when others run out I sell more till they re stock, but my products are UK coins and I compete with the people I buy from so when they have a run on a product and run out of stock I sell lots more
Seller_P9WE9DmQhKbaT
Mostly not, but there are some exceptions. Probably these won’t apply but…
The advertised Amazon price assumes free delivery which applies either if the customer is a Prime member or is willing to order extra items to get up to £20 of goods (£10 for books). There are some customers who aren’t signed up to Prime and who only want to buy a single item. Not infrequently I sell used copies of various bestselling books at a higher price than Amazon’s new price. Similarly some products will sell to overseas customers.
With books Amazon’s ultra cheap prices for bestsellers are often time limited so it is possible to wait out the end of their offers
Seller_eQHVZA2mxkNR6
Amazon will sell at a loss if it means driving other sellers down on price, their model is always to get the best for a customer. Our sister company is the sole distributor of some goods we sell, and Amazon buys from them, so I know the price they buy at, yet they sell it at a lower price than they buy. You’ll never win against Amazon, I find that if I offer free shipping against Amazon doing their free shipping on over £20 I get some success, but you’ll never get anywhere against them with prime customers.
Seller_yvmMCJG6r23Pc
If Amazon has the same product you are mostly screwed. I’ve been in this situation and if you discount, Amazon will match you automatically - up to a point. If you discount harder they will stop matching but they still give themselves the buy box.
However, surprising as it may seem, they sometimes run out of the product. You then get the buy box for a short time as they restock. This happens rarely and usually for only short periods - so it’s not a model for selling lots of units.
Seller_gRRj2SMsoD5to
If the products are well-known among the customers and your price is competiive, your sales will be developed much more than seller-fulfilled way. However, there is also rist of selling the item through FBA like paying the storage fee even though you don’t sell. Also, you need to remove the items from FBA wareshouse once it is considered as a restriced or prohibited item from Amazon. Before you send the items to Amazon warehouse, check your items from Amazon and original makers.
Seller_nzOP4CDTAVG9a
To follow on from my original comments. Take two to give one. You might have to put prices down until you have enough good reviews. That is the key on Amazon. People wanting bargains, second thing after the price is the seller. Good rating… ok then!
