20% off on a large number of products? Amazon launches discount program

Yesterday, multiple product links on Amazon suddenly displayed the same discounts and coupons, leaving people confused. Sellers speculated that this might be a new move by Amazon to attract buyers to place orders because of the increasing competition from Temu; but judging from the stereotyped discount codes and unstable display, it might also be a platform bug.

The seller opened a case regarding this, and multiple customer service representatives responded, saying that this was Amazon’s “discount program” and that the seller did not need to pay for it.

Amazon launched this subsidy program to make products on Amazon more price competitive than other channels . For selected products, Amazon may fund discounts for buyers or provide them with coupons and display such discounts on the product detail page, and sellers will be paid the full product price they set. All sellers are eligible to participate, and some sellers are overjoyed, hoping to increase their order volume.

20% off on a large number of products

After 3 pm yesterday afternoon , many sellers discovered that there was an additional 20% discount and a $5 coupon on their product links. They were shocked and thought they had put the discount in the wrong place, and it might be a "0 yuan purchase" or even a loss-making transaction.

Sellers urgently checked the product discount settings, but found that this was not the discount they set, and that the same discount appeared not only for their own products, but also for multiple products in the same category and even other categories:

" All of the same discount codes suddenly appeared. Amazon is acting crazy again..."

“Here it comes, Amazon’s multi-billion subsidy plan.”

“It’s probably a bug. I don’t believe Amazon would subsidize buyers on such a large scale!”

"I was so scared, I thought I was going to be bought for 0 yuan."

"I thought I was going bankrupt again. It was really frustrating."

Everyone soon realized that this was another large-scale incident. If Amazon didn’t have any new promotional measures such as subsidies, then it was a system failure.

I checked the US site for clothing, home furnishings, 3C products, beauty products, toys and other categories. A large number of product listings showed a 20% discount and an extra $5 discount for the same size. There was also a "special offer and product promotion" prompt below the link. After refreshing, the discounts on some pages disappeared.

Almost all products are marked with discount labels. "Each link has a variation showing the discount, and refreshing will bring you to another variation. I am speechless." One seller admitted that he was not making much money to begin with, and suddenly there was such a big discount, which was unbearable. So who pays for the discount displayed on the platform?

After the discount was displayed abnormally, Amazon customer service received a large number of inquiries, and the responses they gave mainly had two directions:

1. This is the "Amazon Offered Discount" program. For selected products, Amazon may provide discounts or coupons to buyers, but the pre-discount price is higher than your product price. The current discount display is automatically set by Amazon for sellers and will not affect the seller's final profit.

2. It is a system testing bug. Clicking on these discount tips will not actually work. The relevant team is fixing this error. If you find that there is indeed an abnormality with your order the next day, you can contact Amazon to apply for investigation /compensation.

In response to this, sellers expressed the hope that this was Amazon's version of a 10 billion yuan subsidy, which would not only save buyers money, but also increase their own orders. Some sellers also believed that collectively giving out 20% coupons would not help increase sales, and the effect would not necessarily be better than a 10% discount. Such a large discount would give people the impression that the products were cheap and of poor quality and they were in a hurry to clear out the stock.

However, when the seller test buys, it shows that both codes cannot be used and are invalid. For Amazon's own products, the code is also invalid. Let's look at the specific terms of the 20% discount given by Amazon :

US SSR-A Reservation Promotion Terms and Conditions

•Offer expires September 1, 2023 at 11:59 PM PT.

• Offer valid only for products and digital content sold by Amazon.com or Amazon.com Services LLC and all e-books made available through Amazon.com. Products and digital content (except e-books) sold by third-party sellers or other Amazon entities will not qualify for this offer, even if “Fulfilled by Amazon.com” or “Prime Eligible.”

…

• Offer valid only to invited Amazon customers who receive this offer directly from Amazon via email or online display ad.

…

It seems that in order to promote sales, Amazon has to bear a 20% subsidy discount, but the terms clearly state that third-party sellers' products are not eligible for discounts, only Amazon's own products can participate. A large number of products show discounts, but they are not for third-party sellers. Sellers are at a loss: "Is Amazon trying to fool third-party sellers?"

Sellers are worried that the discount code will reduce the conversion rate of the link because they can see it but cannot use it. This morning, the editor checked multiple products in categories such as 3C, clothing, toys, and kitchen supplies again and found that the 20% discount and $5 discount labels were gone, and the page returned to normal. It is speculated that this is a bug caused by the event not being debugged properly.

Amazon launches discount plan to grab market share with discounts

However, the "discount provided by Amazon" plan mentioned by the customer service was not groundless. The seller found the details of the plan in the background.

“ For select items, Amazon may fund a discount or provide customers with a coupon that results in a higher pre-discount price than your product price. In this case, you will receive payment for the order and pay a referral fee based on the full product price you set.

This program will not be used to charge buyers more than the price you set. If for any reason you wish your products to not participate in these discount or coupon programs, you may contact us and we will exclude your selling account from the program that provides additional discounts or coupons to buyers. ”

Amazon offers discounts to help customers find competitively priced products. Funding discounts for certain products enables Amazon to ensure that product prices on Amazon are competitive with those offered by other channels. Amazon continuously evaluates customers' purchasing choices based on product prices, product availability, and customer opinions.

How exactly are offers displayed to buyers?

Amazon will display such discounts on the product detail page with a note that the discount is provided by Amazon. Buyers can also see these offer details: the product is sold by a third-party seller, the discount amount is paid by Amazon , this is a limited-time offer, but it does not apply to digital content, and the discount is limited in quantity and will be sold out.

All sellers are eligible to participate in this program, but they are not required to register. This program will not affect the seller's eligibility for recommended offers or other promotions, nor will it affect the seller's payment, and the seller will be paid at the full item price set. In addition, if a seller wants to withdraw from the discount program, they can only withdraw as a seller of all their ASINs , not just a specific ASIN.

Obviously, this subsidy plan will help most of the participating products, and sellers are also excited about it.

" Amazon is subsidizing us, but we are still selling at the original price. Those who are worried should keep a close eye on the settlement amount of daily orders . " "This will only increase the sales volume of sellers, and I believe that friends who really get this policy will definitely see a certain surge in sales!"

Sellers analyzed that Amazon’s subsidy activity may be to compete with Temu and other platforms. After all, domestic e-commerce platforms once disdained Pinduoduo, but now the latter has become an e-commerce giant and has driven the layout and subsidy activities of other platforms. Amazon sellers also have concerns that no matter what the subsidy is, the sellers may still have to pay for it in the end.

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