In today’s fast-paced online shopping world, how you price your products can really make a difference. For Amazon sellers, it’s a big decision: should you set your prices by hand (manual repricing) or use software to do it automatically (automated repricing)? In this blog, we’re going to look closely at both options. We’ll talk about the good and bad points, helping you figure out which one is the best fit for your business.
What Is Repricing?
Repricing is a method where sellers change their product prices based on factors such as competition, customer demand, and profit goals. This is especially important for Amazon sellers where the marketplace is highly competitive and securing any strategic edge over rivals is crucial. There are several ways a seller can reprice:
Competitive Repricing
Adjust your pricing to be more attractive and competitive than your rivals, aiding in securing the Amazon Buy Box. Winning the Buy Box can greatly boost your profits, as it accounts for over 80% of Amazon’s sales. This type of repricing is mostly used by sellers who offer the same product as others on the same ASIN.
Sales Repricing
Change your own prices based on how well your products are selling. Using your own sales and order data, you can set the best price point for your products at any given time. For example, lower prices when sales are slow to attract more buyers, or raise prices when sales are high to earn more per sale.
Cross-ASIN Repricing
This strategy is for sellers with unique branded products. It involves competing with other sellers who sell similar products to you but on another ASIN, which helps make your pricing more attractive to buyers compared to theirs.
For Private-label sellers, you may find that Sales and Cross-ASIN repricing works best for your business model as there is no direct competition.
However, the important decision is whether to reprice manually or use software to automate the process for you. Let’s explore this…
When to use Manual Repricing
Manual repricing has its advantages and disadvantages. It’s a good option when you’re starting on Amazon with just a few products. It saves money since you don’t need to pay for any repricing software. But as your business grows and you have more products, manual repricing becomes tough to keep up with. The risk of making mistakes with your pricing increases, which can lead to lost sales and profits. Plus, it takes up a lot of your time, which could be best spent on other important parts of your business.
If you have a small number of products, manual repricing may work best for your business but if you have a large number of products and are looking to scale quickly, you may want to consider an automated repricing solution such as Repricer.
Reasons to Switch to an Automated Repricing Solution
No More Tedious, Manual Price Watching
With automated pricing tools, such as those provided by Repricer, the monumental task of constantly adjusting prices in response to constant price changes is eliminated. Automation handles everything and frees up much-needed time for you to focus on other crucial aspects of your business.
Related: Understanding Amazon Automated Repricing
Super-Fast Repricing Speed
Automated repricing provides real-time updates on price changes occurring in the marketplace; this advanced feature is beyond human reach. With Repricer’s superior speed, you can reprice your products in as little as 90 seconds, allowing you to always stay one step ahead and efficiently maintain a substantial edge over competitors.
Increases Your Chances of Winning the Buy Box
Winning the Buy Box is crucial as it can significantly increase the likelihood of making a sale. As automated repricing software adjusts product prices in real-time, it keeps you competitive without constant manual intervention. By swiftly responding to market changes, competitor pricing, and Amazon’s own pricing algorithms means your products are always priced optimally to increase your chances of winning the Buy Box.
Provides Key Competitor Insights
An automated pricing tool does more than just track numerous competitors across Amazon simultaneously. It offers essential insights, enabling you to strategize based on factors like who is winning the Buy Box, whether they use FBA or FBM, their feedback rating, or their stock levels. This information helps you develop a detailed repricing strategy, allowing for precise adjustments to your pricing.
Reduces Human Error
Humans are inevitably prone to errors. The shift towards automation means moving away from error-prone activities which could result in missed opportunities or worse yet, making losses.
Focus on Data Analysis
Automation does not just reprice; it optimizes repricing strategies based on gathered data analysis producing informed decisions lowering risks while promoting profitability and growth within the competitive environments of Amazon and eBay.
The Number of Sellers on Amazon has Increased
The exponential increase of sellers turns pricing into a constant flux, providing the necessity for automated assistance. In 2021, the number of Amazon sellers globally reached 6.21 million, and by 2022, this figure had grown to 9.7 million. This significant increase highlights the rapidly growing competitiveness of the Amazon marketplace. Keeping up with this competition manually is virtually impossible.
Manual Repricing Has Become Outdated
To state it bluntly, manual repricing is falling out of favor due to its considerable limitations. The majority of high-volume sellers have now adopted automatic pricing systems.
The Expense of Manual Processes Exceeds the Investment in a Tool
Here’s the bottom line: integrating an automated pricing solution like Repricer can save business costs in contrast to carrying out manual operations which require intensive labor leaving room for potential costly errors and tedious man-hours work.
Pivot your focus on growing your business and let automation handle repricing complexities efficiently.
Final Thoughts
Deciding between manual and automated repricing isn’t just a straightforward choice. It depends on your business requirements, technical abilities, and resources. Manual repricing gives you complete control over your prices and is cost-effective since it doesn’t involve the extra expense of software. However, automated repricing offers unmatched efficiency and precision. It provides a detailed overview of your selling marketplace by monitoring competitors’ prices in real-time, allowing you to respond immediately to any shifts.
For those considering transitioning from manual to automated repricing, Repricer provides a 14-day free trial. This allows you to evaluate whether it not only saves time and effort but also enhances your sales and profit potential.
