Adjusting Competitive Pricing After Transitioning from Vendor to Seller Central
Hello fellow Amazon sellers,
I'm reaching out to this knowledgeable community for guidance on a challenge we're currently facing regarding pricing strategy. As brand owners, we've recently shifted from selling our products through Amazon's 1st Party (Vendor Central) to managing sales directly via Seller Central. This transition is crucial for us to have greater control over our product listings and pricing.
During our tenure with Vendor Central, we observed a significant reduction in the prices of our products, with the 'competitive price' set by Amazon now at $19.47. However, to sustain our business and ensure profitability, we need to list our products at $29.99.
I'm aware that adjusting the competitive price set by Amazon can be a complex process. Has anyone here successfully navigated this situation? If so, could you share your insights or the steps you took to update the competitive pricing? Any advice or experiences shared would be immensely helpful.
Thank you in advance for your support and looking forward to learning from your experiences.
8 replies
Seller_WAZNnMBpd99sI
well first of all, congratulations for seeing the light brother.....
The "answer" to your question is as varied as the number of different products on Amazon we are afraid to say.....
the 'competitive price' set by Amazon now at $19.47
Amazon scours/scrapes the internet, likely specifically google shopping, Walmart, Home Depot and/or other big box retailers that might sell your product or a similar one that Amazon's bots think is equivalent to your product.
That's where they get the competitive price.
So check your distribution network first, and identify who may have purchased these from you (assuming, you are not just a generic brand owner, but are the manufacturer for all intent.....)
Or- if your brand is as generic as Clorox or band-aids - you'll need an entirely different starting point for your strategic pricing.....
Amazon will adjust that competitive pricing over-time, especially if you have the power to effect such change.
Seller_vSOOwekJLU6c0
In 10 years of looking at Amazon related things, I have concluded that Vendor Central is where brands go to die. I support you decision to switch back to SC.
Amazon will be the first to tell you that they "price downward"... per one of the many absurd stories I heard a VC purchase manager tell. What this means is, as a brand, I would tie up my distribution leaks.
You have to check if other sellers are selling your brand on the listing and bringing down the price. If so, you have a grey market seller leak and you need to plug this up via your current client list if you want any shot of improving your Amazon presence.
Secondly, Amazon Retail has set a new "historical price" for your brand. If you want to dramatically increase the list price of the listing to go back up to your MSRP, you will be forced to be priced high enough to lose the buy box. This will cause your Amazon sales to slow down.. by a lot.
Third, and I am sure you know this, you have to wait until Vendor Central is out of stock so you can make a total switch to SC. This can take 5 months and your sales will be dreadful in this period.
I would suggest increasing your price on Amazon.com by 10% increments once every thirty days to avoid losing the buy box. If you lose the buy box, reduce your price by a penny until you get it back.
Seller_TMserLw0QU4BR
Set your minimums and maximums as well as match condition and fulfillment method.
