Help CenterThe first few months after we set up your store are a little bit different as we focus on gaining Amazon's trust and building a good foundation for long-term success on the platform. We call this time frame the “Probationary Period” in which Amazon limits the amount of inventory in their catalog that you can sell so our goal at this point isn't high profits, but consistent sales in order to become buy box qualified.
How Does The Probationary Period Work?
Amazon’s number one priority is to have legitimate sellers on their platform to protect their customers and their brand they’ve built over the years.
They do this by instituting some throttles on the beginning of any seller account to ensure the business scales properly while providing documentation.
What Happens During the Probationary Period?
During this time we are focused on building the reputation of your store front in the platform and selling small quantities of products in order to prove to Amazon your store has great customer service and delivery of products.
These first sales are key as it’s the foundation to the success of your storefront long term, as we are determined on becoming Buy Box Eligible on products.
What is the Buy Box?
The buy box is the Buy Now button on Amazon listings that makes it really easy for customers to purchase your products. Amazon rotates what product listings display the buy box based on a variety of factors, including price and handling times.
Brand new storefronts are generally not eligible for this feature in Amazon which drives most sales. Ensuring the first rounds of orders on your store are smooth, is essential to unlock this feature for your store.
After you receive some sales, you become buy box eligible and can receive an additional boost of sales and more inventory availability from Amazon. This allows us more opportunity to become competitive within the Amazon landscape.
How Long is the Probationary Period?
This time frame, what we usually call the probation period, takes about three months. We know it can be really exciting to get your store set up and feel like a slow start, but know that our team is working to build your store for long term success.
What Can I Expect After the Probationary Period?
Once your store is out of the probationary period, the next rounds of product purchases start to occur, which can be larger quantities given the credit float available.
As always, please reach out to support@automatedretailcommerce.com with any questions and our customer care team is more than happy to assist you.