The Amazon buy box explained for eBay sellers who price from Amazon

What is the Amazon buy box?

With the Amazon buy box explained in one sentence: it is the panel on the right of a product page, holding the Add to Basket and Buy Now buttons, that shows the single offer Amazon features out of every seller of that product. Amazon calls it the featured offer. When several sellers offer the same item, only one of them fills that box at a time, and most shoppers buy from it without looking further.

For an eBay seller who prices from Amazon, the buy box matters because it is the offer you would actually be comparing against. The price, delivery charge and delivery date in that box are what a shopper pays and receives. Any price tracking or repricing you do should be based on it.

What does the buy box show, and what should you read?

The buy box is small, but it carries every number that affects your cost and your delivery promise.

Two offers with the same price can be very different. One might be sold and dispatched by Amazon with delivery tomorrow. Another might be sold and dispatched by a small seller with a paid delivery charge and a date next week. Read every line, not only the price.

Who wins the Amazon buy box?

Amazon does not publish an exact formula. Its seller help pages describe the featured offer as chosen from eligible offers, with price, delivery and the seller's performance among the things considered. You can read Amazon's own explanation on Seller Central if you have an account.

What matters for you is the effect, not the formula.

• The featured offer is not always the cheapest. A slightly dearer offer with faster delivery can win.
• The winner can change often. On products with many sellers, the box can move between them as prices and stock change.
• Amazon's own offer often competes. When Amazon sells a product itself, it is one of the offers in the running.
• There may be no winner. If no offer qualifies, the page shows no buy box, only a link to see all buying options.

Sold by Amazon, dispatched by Amazon, or neither

The two lines "Dispatches from" and "Sold by" describe three common set-ups. When both say Amazon, Amazon owns the stock and sends it. When the item is sold by a third-party seller but dispatched from Amazon, the seller uses Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA), a service where Amazon stores and ships the seller's stock. When both lines name the seller, the seller holds and ships its own stock, often called fulfilled by merchant (FBM).

These differences show up in delivery speed and consistency. Offers dispatched from Amazon tend to follow Amazon's delivery estimates closely. Seller-dispatched offers vary more, and some charge for delivery. Record which kind of offer you are reading, because a switch from one to another often changes the delivery date as well as the price.

Why does the buy box price change?

The price shown in the buy box can move for two quite different reasons, and it helps to know which is happening.

A seller changed their price

The seller holding the box raises or lowers its price. The same seller is still in the box, but the number is different. This is a straightforward price change.

A different seller took the box

Nobody changed their price, but the winning seller ran out of stock or another seller's offer became more attractive. The box now shows a different seller, with a different price, delivery charge and date. This kind of change can be large and sudden.

The second kind is why tracking only the price is not enough. If your records show the seller name with each reading, you can tell a real price change from a change of seller, and you can see when a cheap seller drops out and the price jumps.

How does the buy box affect your eBay pricing?

Your eBay price is built on a cost. When you source from Amazon, the buy box is that cost, and its delivery date shapes the delivery promise you can make.

Before going further, the rule that governs all of this. eBay's drop shipping policy allows dropshipping from a wholesale supplier, but listing an item and then buying it from another retailer or marketplace that ships directly to your buyer is not allowed. You remain responsible for delivery within the time in your listing and for your buyer's satisfaction. Reading the buy box helps you price accurately; it does not change what eBay permits.

A hypothetical example

Example: suppose the buy box shows £19.99 with free delivery, sold and dispatched by Amazon, arriving tomorrow. Your eBay price is set from £19.99. Next morning Amazon's offer has sold out, and the box now shows a third-party seller at £19.49 plus £3.49 delivery, arriving in four to six days. The price looks 50p lower, but your real cost is £22.98, nearly £3 higher, and the delivery is slower. A tracker that reads only the price would lower your eBay price. One that reads the full buy box would raise it, or hold the listing if the new date does not fit your handling time.

What should you do when there is no buy box?

Some product pages show "See all buying options" instead of an Add to Basket button. Amazon has not featured any single offer.

• Do not price from the lowest other offer by default. It may be used, slow, from a distant seller or charged for delivery.
• Treat the product as uncertain. If you have a live eBay listing for it, consider setting quantity to zero until a clear offer returns.
• Check the other offers by hand. If you choose to use one, read its condition, delivery charge and date as carefully as a buy box.

Pages without a buy box often return to normal within days, once a seller restocks or a qualifying offer appears. Keep reading them on your usual schedule, and restore the listing only when a clear, new-condition offer is back at a price that still leaves your margin.

Does the buy box change with your address?

Yes, it can. Amazon picks the featured offer for the delivery address shown on the page. A different postcode can mean a different seller, delivery charge and date, and a different country can mean a different currency.

For consistent readings, choose one realistic delivery postcode and read every product there. Make sure the "Deliver to" line on the page shows that postcode each time. A reading taken at the wrong address is not a reading of your cost.

Account type matters in the same way. Some prices, delivery options and deals are shown only to Prime members, and some deals are only for Prime members. If you buy with a Prime account, read pages signed in to it; otherwise you may track a price you would never be charged, or miss one you would. The time of the reading matters too, so store it with the price and treat old readings with care.

Dropizon reads the live buy box this way, in a real browser tab on your own computer at the delivery postcode you choose, capturing price, currency, stock, seller and delivery estimate, and the Amazon price tracker for eBay page explains how each reading becomes an eBay price.

A buy box reading checklist

• Confirm the "Deliver to" line shows your chosen postcode.
• Read the price and the delivery charge together as your cost.
• Note who sells and who dispatches the item.
• Check the delivery date fits the handling time on your eBay listing.
• Record the seller name, so you can tell a seller change from a price change.
• Treat a page with no buy box as no reliable price.
• Read the buy box again after every eBay sale, before the next one.
• Learn how often Amazon prices change on your products, and set your checks to match.