Buy Box Gone? You’re Not Crazy—Amazon’s Just Being a Jerk

Let’s cut the fluff:

If your sales just fell off a cliff—and your product didn’t suddenly suck—you might be the victim of Amazon’s Buy Box suppression changes.

You’re not crazy.

You're not alone.

You're not the problem (this time 😉).

Let me walk you through it with a real story, then we’ll break down the playbook.

📦 “My Sales Went From $400 a Day to Zero Overnight…”

That’s what Jason told me.

Jason sells a set of high-margin bamboo drawer organizers. Great product. Even better photos. Solid PPC strategy.

He’s not a newbie—he's been selling for 11 months, and until last week, was consistently doing $10K–$12K/month.

Then he woke up to...

No sales.
No Buy Box.
No idea why.

His first instinct? Blame PPC.

He paused ads. Tweaked bids. Nada.

He rewrote his listing. Optimized images. Still nothing.

Until we dug deeper and found this little dagger in Seller Central:

🔪 Boom. Mystery solved.

🧠 What’s REALLY Going On With the Buy Box

Here’s what you need to understand:

❗ Amazon now suppresses the Buy Box if your price isn’t “competitive”

Even if:

• You’re the only seller

• Your metrics are great

• You’ve got Prime

• You’ve done nothing wrong

Amazon’s bots now cross-check your product’s price against prices on Walmart, Target, Chewy, Etsy, even random Shopify stores.

If you’re higher—by a few bucks—they may suppress your Buy Box entirely.

So customers see this instead:

(And spoiler: they don’t.)

⚠️ The Danger: You Could Be Competing With Yourself

Jason didn’t realize that his product had been discounted on Walmart via a 3rd-party seller.

Amazon did. And they punished him.

Here’s the kicker:

He wasn’t even selling on Walmart.

But someone was.

That’s why his price looked inflated… even though it wasn’t.

🛠️ What You Can Do (Before Amazon Eats Your Lunch)

Let’s get tactical:

1. Audit Your Price Weekly

Check how your price stacks up off Amazon—not just with other sellers, but other platforms.

Tools like:

• PriceBlink

• CamelCamelCamel

• Keepa

…can help monitor market trends.

2. Set a Floor Price Using Repricers

If you use a repricing tool like BQool or Seller Snap, set a minimum price to avoid undercutting yourself into the ground—but make sure it's not above market average.

Don’t race to the bottom. But don’t price yourself out of the Buy Box, either.

3. List on Other Channels the Smart Way

If you use software to multi-list (like Sellbrite, Zentail, or Shopify), make sure your pricing stays uniform across platforms.

One rogue discount somewhere else = Buy Box vanish.

4. If the Buy Box is Suppressed, Adjust

Drop your price temporarily just to get the Buy Box back, then slowly raise it over time.

Yes, it sucks. But no Buy Box = no sales.

Sometimes you’ve gotta play defense to stay in the game.

🧠 Takeaway: The Game Has Changed

You can do everything right and still get punished.

That’s Amazon.

But now you know the rules. And knowing gives you the edge 90% of sellers don’t have.

✅ Monitor your pricing.
✅ Stay consistent across platforms.
✅ Watch for suppression.
✅ Don’t panic—pivot.

🙋‍♂️ Been there?

Comment below if this has happened to you 👇

Or forward this to a fellow seller who needs to know 💌

Until next time,
Stay sharp, stay scrappy—

Andy Splichal
Founder & Managing Partner of True Online Presence & Author of the Make Each Click Count Book Series

P.S. Overwhelmed by Amazon ads? I get it. Most sellers are throwing darts in the dark. If you want a pro in your corner running your PPC while you focus on growing your brand, let's hop on a call. 👉 Schedule your call here — we’ll see if it’s a fit 👊

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