Setting Guardrails That Protect BuyBox
Goal: Understand the pricing rules required to maintain the Amazon Buy Box and prevent unexpected Buy Box loss due to price mismatches or competitive pressure.
Buy Box Overview
The Buy Box is the primary “Add to Cart” button on Amazon and drives the majority of sales.
If you lose the Buy Box, your listing may remain active — but your sales will drop sharply.
Several pricing-related issues can cause Buy Box loss. Below are the key checks every seller must follow when using Dynamic Pricing.
Key Pricing Checks
1. Minimum Price Must Match
Your Amazon minimum price must match the Trellis system minimum price.
This includes charm pricing.
Example:
- Trellis min = $12.50
- Charm adjustment = $0.45
- Final min = $12.45
Your Amazon min price must also be set to $12.45.
If these do not match, Amazon may restrict your offer from winning the Buy Box.
2. Maximum Price Must Match
Your Amazon maximum price must match the Trellis maximum price.
If Trellis attempts to raise your price above the Amazon max, Amazon will block the update — and you lose the Buy Box.
Always ensure your Amazon max is synced with the plan max in Trellis.
3. Competitor Price Limits You
If Amazon detects the same product priced lower by a competitor (on or off Amazon), it can remove your Buy Box — even if your Trellis plan settings are valid.
To avoid this:
- Update your plan’s max price to match the competitor’s price.
This ensures Trellis will never price above the competitive benchmark.
4. Selling on Other Channels
If you sell the same product on other marketplaces (e.g., Walmart), you must prevent external channels from undercutting Amazon.
You have two options:
Option A — Make Amazon your "source of truth"
Trellis will automatically update prices on your other sites to stay aligned.
Option B — Manually sync prices
Set all other channels to your plan’s max price so they never go below your Amazon price.