[TML] I Lost the Buy Box 😰...(And Here’s How You Can Avoid It)

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Hello,

I just lost my buy box for all my products on Amazon, right during the best-selling time of the year.

It’s a bit of a setback, and I’m hoping to get it back soon.

I want to share what might have caused this. Amazon doesn’t give me the exact reason, but I think there are three main issues.

1. Too Many Canceled Orders

I canceled too many orders in the last 30 days.

Gearbubble stopped making some products, like the Sunflower Bracelet and Turtle Necklace, which are two of my best sellers.

I knew this for a while but didn’t update my inventory because I was overwhelmed by the number of SKUs.

When orders came in, I just canceled and refunded them instead of fixing the inventory.

Now, my Pre-fulfillment Cancel Rate is over 4%, and Amazon wants it under 2.5%.

I updated my inventory last week, but it seems like it was too late.

2. Too Many Negative Reviews.

I recently received eight negative reviews.

When a customer ordered the Sunflower Bracelet or Turtle Necklace, and I didn’t cancel fast enough, the PODTurbo system sent the order to Gearbubble and marked it as shipped.

Customers can leave reviews once their orders are marked shipped, and I missed the chance to issue refunds. Some wrote that they didn’t get their items

Some even got the wrong products, and no matter if I sent the replacement, they didn’t change their one-star reviews. This pushed my Order Defect Rate to over 1%.

Now, I can only hope for more orders to bring that number down.

3. On-Time Delivery Rate is Low

My On-Time Delivery Rate is only 70%, and Amazon wants it over 90%.

They introduced this metric this year, and it’s frustrating.

Even if I ship fast, I rely on the carrier to deliver on time.

Most of my orders ship fast, but a few were late—by 1-2 days. I changed my shipping template to allow for 5-7 days of transit time.

Anyway, I don’t think this will hurt my account much because Amazon hasn’t warned me about it.

So, those are the three reasons I think Amazon took away my buy box.

Despite this, I’ve still made some solid sales over the past two days without it, so I’m optimistic that my Order Defect Rate and Pre-fulfillment Cancel Rate will improve, and I can get my buy box back.

I’m also looking for some folks on Fiverr to help fix these issues. I’m in talks with a few and will choose someone soon.

It’s part of the game when you sell on the marketplace. We all hit roadblocks sometimes. The key is to keep pushing forward.

I like to share the ups and downs of my print-on-demand journey so you can see the real deal, not just the good stuff.

Luckily, I still have my Shopify store that’s bringing in sales.

Remember, it’s smart not to put all your eggs in one basket.

Alright, I’ve got to get back to work on my Shopify store now.

—Bank K.