Is your brand enrolled in the “Discounts Provided by Amazon” Programme? You might soon benefit from their newest pilot scheme…
What is the “Discounts Provided by Amazon” Programme?
Through this programme, Amazon offers discounts to Seller items, lowering the original price set by the Seller on certain items and funding the discounts or coupons themselves.
The rationale behind the scheme is twofold – to ensure Amazon customers get the most competitive prices around, and to clear inventory taking up warehouse space that Amazon feels could be put to more profitable use.
And it costs Sellers nothing?
It costs nothing to be in the programme and Amazon funds any discounts themselves.
Sellers still receive the amount they would normally expect for the sale of the item/s in question.
What’s the catch?
There are three key issues that might impact some Sellers.
The first is that Sellers aren’t made aware of any discounts being applied.
The second is that the discounted sale prices could violate reseller agreements or pricing policies where Minimum Advertised Pricing (MAP) – or similar – is in force, and you could find yourself falling foul of manufacturer agreements without your knowledge.
And the third is that, although you can opt out of the programme, the opt out is at an account level and affects all your ASINS – not just those which could potentially violate a manufacturer contract.
Is there a solution?
If you don’t want to opt out of the scheme completely (which you do by contacting Seller Partner Support), you could add clauses into your manufacturer policies to cover any potential price disruption caused by Amazon.
OK. Back to this pilot scheme – what is it?
The pilot is a limited four-week run called “Quantity Discounts by Amazon”, which encourages multiple unit purchases by offering shoppers a discount on quantity buys of the same item.
Again, Amazon chooses which products will be selected, Amazon funds the discounts and Amazon has sole discretion about how long the pilot will run and whether it’ll become a more permanent thing.
But, for Sellers who can participate, it’s a win-win for them and the customer alike.
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