Reseller Accounts: Navigating the Jungle of Competing Sellers

Resellers can improve sales revenue by monopolizing the buy box, boosting their brand visibility and revenue potential.

Of course, this is easier said than done.

By closely tracking resellers account at a product level, including monitoring prices and inventory levels, brands can strategically optimize their approach to increase sales and outperform the competition. Let me share with you a process (painstakingly developed by one of my hard working Brand Directors here at My Amazon Guy, Cathy Barouch) for monitoring resellers and strategizing growth based on your findings.

What you need to start:

Category Listings Report or CLR?

In Seller Central, go to Reports> Inventory Reports > Choose Category Listings Report. Download report when ready)

Manage FBA Inventory Report (download from Seller Central)

Keepa Amazon Price Tracker?

Merchantspring

Create a tracker to record information from Seller Central

Using Google Sheets, prepare a tracker with the following sheet names and column names:

Worksheet as of (Date)

Product Title - from CLR

SKU - from CLR

ASIN - from CLR

Product ID - product detail page or PDP URL

AFN Fulfillable Quantity - refers to the number of units a SKU has in the Amazon fulfillment centers that are available for picking, packing, and shipping. Get this number from the Manage FBA Inventory Report.

Brand Owner - if you or your client is the brand owner

Reseller - Go to the product page to check if other competing resellers are offering the product. Enter the names of resellers, if there’s any.

***Keepa is a good price tracker tool that you can use for this. Go to Click Data > Buy Box Statistics > Range in Days: 30). Since the Buy Box can be shared among various sellers, Keepa can show you the percentage that each seller has on the Buy Box for that product.

***Buy Box Scenarios:

“Age of Sage” Brand

Scenario 1 - If you see in PDP that Ships From: Amazon, Sold by: Age of Sage. This means we won the buy box (FBA).

Scenario 2 - If you see in PDP that Ships From: Age of Sage, Sold by: Age of Sage. This Means we won the buy box (FBM).?

Scenario 3 - If you see in PDP that Ships From: Amazon, Sold by: Amazon. This Means we did not win the buy box particularly because you or your client does not have a Vendor Central Account.

Name of Reseller1 - if there is a reseller

Name of Reseller2 - if there is a reseller

Name of Reseller3 - if there is a reseller

FBA or FBM - either from the CLR or from the Manage FBA Inventory Report

Buy Box - PDP will tell you if your brand has won the Buy Box.

Last 30 Days Buybox % - Download the Detail Page Sales and Traffic "By ASIN" Business Report in Seller Central. If the SKU show 0% Buy Box in the Business Report, it is likely that this SKU has had no sales in the last 30 days.?

You can use Keepa instead. Follow the instructions above and get the % from “% won” under the brand/reseller name)

Owen Carr explained how to win the Buy Box in this post.

Ad Campaign - in the Advertising dashboard, you can verify or there is a running campaign for the ASIN

Subscribe & Save Eligibility - In SC, go to Advertising > Coupons > Create New Coupon > Subscribe & Save > Search by ASIN.

***Eligibility Scenarios:

1. No Results = it is not Eligible?

2. If the SKU Listing is an FBM = it is not Eligible)

Subscribe & Save Active - Search the ASIN here. No results means there is no active Subscribe & Save campaign.

Active-subscriptions - search by ASIN here > Check how many subscribers in the Subscription column. Leave this column in your tracker empty if there are no subscribers.

First Time Subscribers (Coupon) - Seller Central Advertising > Coupons > Check for Active Coupon for First Time Subscribers.? Find the ASIN.

Seller Funded discount (Monthly Discount) - Check Column Seller Funded discount here. The max discount is 10% for this column.

Other Coupon Active - Look for other active coupons on this page. Determine if the ASIN is part of the discount and the discount percentage offered.?

Max Price - Options for getting max price:

• Check in CLR
• Check in Manage FBA Inventory Report by searching for the SKU.?
• Ask from the client (if you are a service provider)?

Price offered by Reseller - Go to PDP and use Keepa > Click Data> Buy Box Statistics > Range in Days: 30 > Get lowest Average Price

Your Offered Price

Min Price - Options to get Min Price:

• Check in CLR
• Check in Manage FBA Inventory Report by searching for the SKU.?
• Ask from the client (if you are a service provider)?

Price Strategy - use his formula =IF(Z2>Y2,"Price Strategy Needed","_") to determine

COGS - Obtain this from Merchantspring.?

Manage FBA Inventory Sheet

Copy/paste here data from Manage FBA Inventory Report (column A in this sheet must be the SKU Column

Last 30 Days BuyBox Sheet

In Keepa, Featured Offer (Buy Box) Percentage > Last 30 Days Buy Box?

COGS

Data from Merchantspring

Work on the Growth Strategy for Reseller Accounts

Once you have prepared the Reseller Tracker, your next step is to

Check the Buy Box %

• Buy Box over 50-75%, open ad campaigns and monitor every week.

The percentage is bound to change along with yours or the client’s and? the competitors’ inventory level.

• Buy Box % low means you need to convert more products to FBA.

You can also get yourself or your client as a Registered Agent in Brand Registry.

Implement PPC Strategies

Is the brand name well known? Then use Brand Name + long tail keywords in your PPC campaigns.

Subscribe & Save?

Create a percentage-off campaign for monthly subscribers and first time subscribers.

It depends on the margin how much percentage can be offered as a discount, but the ideal is 10% for monthly subscribers and 15% for first time subscribers

Low Buy Box % and High Competition

Create new products. Add at least two products in a physical bundle to bypass MAP when bundling two different brands.

In the competitive world of Amazon reselling, monitoring a reseller account is not just a task—it's a strategic necessity. By keeping a close eye on resellers' pricing and inventory levels, you gain invaluable insights that empower you to make informed decisions.?

This vigilance enables you to craft targeted growth strategies, ensuring that your brand remains competitive and profitable. Stay proactive, leverage the data, and continuously adapt your approach to outpace the competition and drive sustained growth for your reseller account.?

Remember, in this dynamic marketplace, staying ahead is all about staying informed.

Like this article if you want to dominate your sales and gain a powerful tool to monitor resellers.? Hit 100 likes, and I'll unlock a FREE freemium Reseller Tracker Template with additional growth strategies for everyone!