Our company has been pushing the same core product across three separate brands, just with different colors and packaging. Each listing is run by a different seller. Lately, it’s turned into a full-on internal price war, and I’m trying to figure out how to get this under control.
Here’s what’s been happening:
If all three launch around the same time, whoever’s underperforming starts slashing prices just to compete. Even the top listing that’s already ranking well could hold a higher price, but they stay low anyway — which forces everyone else to go lower.
If we launch at different times, the last one to go live almost always uses a rock-bottom price just to get traction. That pulls down the two that were already stable. Throw in inconsistent inventory timing and off-season to peak-season transitions, and the last listing often feels like it can’t move without deep discounting.
The end result? We’re beating up on each other instead of competitors. The market could easily support healthier prices, but internal competition is destroying our overall margins.
We’ve thought about two rules:
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Don’t let any listing go more than $1 below the best-performing one
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Set a hard floor price based on costs and market average
But both have issues. A strict floor makes it hard for newer or slower listings to get going. And sometimes short-term lower pricing feels necessary to kickstart sales — but how do you allow that without letting it spiral?
Anyone else dealt with this exact setup? How do you keep internal competition healthy without killing your own profits?
Answers (8)
If you’re the later one: use coupons, not permanent price cuts. Invest in better creative. You don’t have to be the cheapest to win.
If they don’t care about friction, then just let the best listing win. It’s messy, but at least it’s honest.
Quick, practical things we used:
The strong listings naturally pull ahead. Internal competition can even push the team to get better. But you have to make sure people are competing on listing quality, not just price.
If someone’s constantly undercutting to compensate for a weak listing, that’s a management problem, not a pricing problem.
The problem is you’re selling nearly identical products. To Amazon, that’s one listing with extra steps.
If you insist on multiple ASINs, actually differentiate them:
Or just consolidate. Give the category to your best seller and move the others to other products. It’s not always “fair,” but it’s way more profitable.