Walmart Buy Box Fiasco....

Selling on other Platforms Walmart
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Putting this out as an FYI to my fellow Wally World sellers. Yesterday I logged on to check on sales on that marketplace yesterday and it was unusually slow. Went on the site and found that we had lost the buy box to some random electronics seller. Tried to do a test buy to see what they were selling $5 below market value and the item was OUT OF STOCK.

Out of stock but still winning the buy box and FBM. We are WFS. It shut off our ad campaigns too on the listing.

I found out who the seller was, messaged the CEO on LinkedIn with a legal threat and it was shut down. He also proceeded to call our business and leave a voicemail in a very nervous tone, pretending that this happened because of some rogue 3rd party software they are using. I don’t buy that for a second.

The point of this thread is I was pretty shocked to see that a listing with no inventory and a lower price could get the buy box on Walmart. Here’s their supports response to a case I opened last night. Apparently it’s possible and no problem… Weird…

Hi Team,

Thank you for reaching out to Walmart Fulfillment Services. My name is Joelee and I’m happy to assist you. I understand that you had reached out because your offer for GTIN XXXXXXXXXXXXXX is not winning the buy box.

After review, I have found that any seller on Walmart is eligible to win the buy box. Even if another seller is having technical troubles, that does not automatically remove them from the buy box. Customers are still able to view your offer under the “Compare All Sellers” section of the listing.

Buy Box Reports

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Thank you for your inquiry. I trust we have addressed your concerns and have updated the case status to “Pending Resolution.” This Case will automatically close within five days unless you provide any feedback. If you are satisfied that we have answered your questions, no response is required.

If you have any other questions unrelated to this issue, we encourage you to open a new case so we can customize our response to you.?

Thank you again for affording us the opportunity to assist you today.

Joelee
Walmart Fulfillment Services

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I’m confused as to how “winning the buy box” helps someone who is out of stock, and cannot take any orders.

Yes, it “hurt” your sales, but it did not “help” him in the least.

So why would he bother such an elaborate prank when there is no profit in it for him?

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My theory is he’s a friend of our main competitor who is very close to him in NJ geographically.

The plan was to disrupt our Walmart business and take down our best seller that moves 100K+ units a year on Amazon with a low price error suppression.

That’s my thinking. He was ■■■■■■■■ his pants when I threatened to sick BlankRome on him.

Marketplace selling is an evil place. That’s been my biggest learning since 2018.

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