E-commerce is the new way to shop, and the popularity has increased with every demographic over the last few years. Online shopping has made life easier for many people; it removes many time constraints as well as then need to travel. On-line shopping increases e-commerce stores and competition on a worldwide level, however with the increase of e-commerce comes an increase of online fraud. The Amazon Buy Box is your ticket to outsmarting fraudsters.

What is the Amazon Buy Box?

Many sellers can sell the same products online to increase competition and there is no limit of who can sell and no limit of the products that they can sell. In order to make the competition fairer Amazon uses the Buy Box. When you are ready to make your purchase there is a button that says “Buy.” The seller with the highest ranking will appear and get the sell. This box will rotate among high sellers with the best product reviews and lowest prices.

How does a seller get to win the Buy Box?

This may vary from category to category but there are some basic things that can increase a seller’s chance to win the Buy Box.

1. The seller must have a business account. By enforcing this Amazon will only allow those who agree to the business standards to win the box.
2. There are seller metrics that come into play
   • Order defective rate. When people complain about the product such as being defective or not what they ordered it will lower the sellers rating and the chance to win the box.
   • Cancelation rate. The more orders that are cancelled will lower the chance of a seller rotating into the buy box.
   • Late delivery rate. Repeated late deliveries will decrease the chance of winning the box
3. Ensure price and quality meet the average of other sellers. Ensuring that you maintain inventory also increase chances.

How does the Buy Box help thwart fraud?

With Amazon controlling who you can purchase from and by enforcing standards, this allows less chance of fraudulent sellers. If a seller is not able to maintain their ability to win the Buy Box, then consumers are not as likely to purchase from them. When the seller does not qualify to win the Buy Box and the consumer hits the buy button, the unqualified seller will not rotate in to compete for the Buy Box win.

Most consumers search for their product on the website, find what they are looking for and hit add to cart or buy now. Very seldom do we look to see who we are purchasing from. Without any controls in place, you are more likely to be linked to an unqualified or fraudulent seller. This leads to disappointment and consumer fear. The Buy Box is a step to prevent this. Learn more about selling online here.