We have right under 15,000 titles in inventory but since late Nov/Early Dec our storefront (upper left) has reflected “over” 7,000. Before, reflected “over” 10,000.
Has this occurred to anyone else?
Since it’s obvious( to me, anyway) that AMAZON suppresses book sales during most weekdays not linked to a holiday or commemoration, wondering if there’s a reason for this discrepancy? I’ve done spot checks and even our longest long-tails (2012/2013) are still there, Whether visible to buyers is another question.
Since TPTB are parceling out sales, will we get fewer since the higher-ups are inferring we’re a smaller seller? And No, haven’t asked SS about this. If seasoned sellers, with years on the AMAZON platform, can’t present me w/ a plausible reason, guess I’ll have to die ignorant!! .
I’m not sure where on your seller profile page (aka storefront—the one customers see) it shows inventory number, but when I go from Seller Central > Inventory > Manage All, it has consistently shown the correct number to me.
Regardless of how many it shows, there certainly is suppression going on, in addition to the perennial sprinkler effect.
Glad yours is unaffected. If we’re the only one having this issue, seems a tad more sinister. Our account has had odd things occur in the past- higher percentages of LQD, duplicate page violations; you name it.
Click on “Visit the ------ storefront”" upper left Seller Profile Page.
On upper left page, ours states: : 1-16 of over 7,000 results
Until 6 weeks ago, reflected “over 10,000 results” We had decent holiday sales but not 3,000 orders.
Our Manage Inventory Page reflects “Showing 10000 of 14891 products” because once have OVER 10,000 listings, have to access them differently though additional filters.
I don’t mean to minimize the way you feel when your ox is gored, but the storefront display count is really not very likely to affect your business.
No one is going to browse more than a few pages of your store,
The storefront cannot be usefully be limited in display other than by the search, and so long as the search references all of your inventory, you are getting all it can offer.
I have always viewed the storefront as worthless unless it is viewed by a repeat buyer who is willing use the search, and those are pretty rare on Amazon.
Amazon is going to look for every way it can find to decrease its costs, and anything which they do not think will boost sales is a candidate for cuts.
Admittedly, being an Amazon seller for years has made me more likely to believe in conspiracy… .
As sales are suppressed/rationed during low-media sales times, assumed if one has 10,000 stated listings{no matter how many their business really has], TPTB will “allow” more sales, lesser inventory, lesser sales. Does that make sense to anyone but me?.
If sellers I hold in repute say I’m out of my mind, I’ll drop it.
All the way back to the Seller Soapbox days, @CabinFeverBooks (in various guises), among others, espoused the so-called “Sprinkler Theory.”
Most all of those proponents were usually mercilessly hammered by other seasoned and savvy forum veterans.
There are reasons why I did not agree with that then, and still do not now.
Data does not lie; only those who manipulate the data can lie.
To be fair, I suspect that what’s going on here is yet another example of Amazon split-testing results for the A9/A10 Algorithm’s efficacy in producing sales transactions (as is ever the correct goal for deploying it in the first place) - but I’ve crunched enough numbers, drawn from a bewildering variety of impinging sources, over the last dozen years & more to convince me that the fabled Sprinkler is ALWAYS in play.
Do I believe that you’re out in the weeds with your conclusion?
My “storefront” also shows a number less than half of my active inventory, but truth be told, I have never felt this “storefront” is useful at all as a used bookseller. Any buyer who wishes to buy specifically from you can use the Search field on this page to check for something fairly specific, but there is no way to browse your store. Also, there are circumstances (e.g. if a listing is Collectible) that your listing will not even be displayed when a buyer clicks on it from the “storefront”. I sell a fair number of collectibles, so this makes the feature pretty useless. I have always ignored this feature - I think the design is intended for Brand owners who have a limited number of listings and may be able to cultivate more repeat customers.
Personally, I would not assume that showing the wrong number on this page means that there are any that are not searchable; I am able to find all of mine through the primary search page.
Just one point of view!
Agree with your assessment of that “storefront”. I doubt that more than one out of five hundred buyers looks at it. If that.
Compare to the “storefront” supplied by ABE – a storefront that carries all the same search refinements as the site (refine by dust jacket / hardcover / signed / date range / publisher , etc) or browse through categories, etc. I have sent links to buyers who want to know if I have any other xxxxx .
The Amazon storefront only matters to sellers wanting to look at their own listings.
I seldom look at it and when I do am somewhat puzzled and slightly horrified – good grief – do I really have a copy of that listed! (why?)
Don’t tell TPTB! (The man-of-the-house invariably says this, with a finger to his lips, when our sales climb or sell an expensive title.) Our inventory # has returned to “over” 10,000 this morning.
Hope the BOTS also changed those who responded, if incorrect.
Checked our BUY BOX and LQD. “Yes” and not reflecting any titles/publishers. Thought about ACCOUNT HEALTH while typing this and checked -it’s fine. so…SHHHH.
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