Overview

Amazon's Automate Pricing tool includes a powerful option that lets sellers automatically adjust their prices in response to competitor pricing found outside of Amazon. By enabling the "compare with prices off of Amazon" setting within a pricing rule, sellers can ensure their offers remain competitive not just against other Amazon sellers, but against the broader online marketplace. This feature is particularly relevant because Amazon may suppress Buy Box eligibility for products priced significantly above what competitors charge elsewhere.

Key Points / What Sellers Need to Know

• External price tracking matters for the Buy Box — Products priced above the lowest external competitor price may lose their Featured Offer (Buy Box) eligibility, even if they have the lowest price on Amazon itself.
• Automate Pricing can factor in external prices — Sellers can enable the "compare with prices off of Amazon" option within their pricing rules to automatically respond to off-Amazon competitor pricing.
• This feature is entirely optional — Sellers can turn on or off external price comparison at any time, for any individual ASIN, without affecting the rest of their pricing strategy.
• It does not guarantee the Buy Box — While competitive pricing is one of the most important factors, Amazon considers multiple metrics including fulfillment method, seller performance, and shipping speed when awarding the Featured Offer.
• Pricing adjusts dynamically — When external prices change, the Automate Pricing rule recalculates and adjusts your price accordingly, keeping your listing competitive around the clock.

How External Price Comparison Works

When a seller activates the "compare with prices off of Amazon" option in their Automate Pricing rule, the system considers both Amazon competitor prices and external competitor prices when setting the final offer price. Amazon monitors pricing across major online retailers and marketplaces. If an external competitor offers the same product at a lower price, the automated rule can bring your Amazon price down to match or beat that external price, depending on how the rule is configured. Sellers can also set price floors and ceilings to ensure automated adjustments stay within acceptable margins. The rule evaluates whichever price is lower — the Amazon competitor price or the external competitor price — and adjusts accordingly.