Rafi Armstrong

Mar 20 · 6 Answers

#Amazon PPC Ads & Management

Two accounts selling the same ASIN — both have FBA stock. How do I run ads without making a mess?

Hey everyone,

I just took over a couple of accounts and ran into something I haven't dealt with before. Hoping someone here has been through this.

The setup:

Two accounts (A and B)
Both are selling the exact same ASIN
Both have FBA inventory (so both are live)
Seasonal product, so I'm on a clock — really don't want to get stuck with leftover stock

What I did:

Started with ads only in Account A. But then I noticed orders were coming from Account B instead — even though I wasn't running ads there.

So I figured maybe Account B had better listing weight. I set up exact match campaigns in B and scaled A back to just auto + broad.

Now:

Account A's ACOS looks horrible
Account B's ads are getting zero impressions (even with bids cranked up)

I'm kinda stuck here.

My questions:

Should I just pause Account A, focus on selling through B first, then switch?
If both are running, does A's ad exposure mess with B's ability to get impressions?
Most importantly — what's the right way to handle this? How should I structure ads?

Would really appreciate any insights from people who've dealt with this.

Update (March 23):

Been reading through the replies — super helpful.

Quick addition: both accounts were at the same price when I started. Account B had way more inventory, which is probably why orders kept going there even though I was advertising on A.

Here's what I'm testing now:

Raised price on Account B slightly so Account A gets the Buy Box
Shut off ads in B, running ads only in A
Reasoning: A's inventory has been sitting longer, want to clear that first

Does this make sense, or am I missing something?

Answers (6)

Anne Bowen Mar 25

One more thing: if you really need clean attribution across both, try running Sponsored Brands from one account instead of SP.
SB ads attribute sales that happen on either seller account — they're tied to the brand, not the specific seller.
But for seasonal inventory, simplest path is usually best. Pick one, win the Buy Box, run ads until it's sold.

Aria-Aldo Shaw

Mar 26

That SB attribution bit is useful. I was assuming Sponsored Products would be the safer choice, but if sales can roll up across both seller accounts then that actually solves the cleanup problem. Still feels a little risky if one account is only holding seasonal stock, because if Buy Box shifts around it could get messy fast.

Maxwell Dudley-Daugherty

Mar 29

interesting, didnt realize Sponsored Brands would attribute that way

Noah Marsh

Mar 30

so basically pick one account and dont overthink it lol

Bella Hays

Mar 31

Yeah, that last part is probably the real answer. People get stuck trying to make the ad setup perfect when the simpler route is just to keep one listing winning and let the stock move. If the inventory is truly seasonal, I can see why you wouldnt want to split spend across both accounts and then have to untangle attribution later.

CrispAmz85 Mar 23

Dealt with this before. Here's what worked:

Raise price on the account you're NOT using by $1-2
Confirm the target account has 95%+ Buy Box share
Run ads only on that account for 20-30 days — no switching
Once inventory clears, repeat for the other

Don't try to be fancy. Pick one, let it run, move to the next.

Rowan Conrad

Apr 1

That buy box share point is the part a lot of people skip. If the other account is still winning even a little bit, the ads just end up feeding the wrong inventory and it gets messy fast. I’ve seen people try to split spend between both accounts and it usually turns into a mess with stranded stock.

Bella Barnes Mar 20

This is actually pretty common. The key is to stabilize which account has the Buy Box before you worry about ads.
SP ads follow the Buy Box. If you keep flipping it back and forth, your ad data becomes useless and the algorithm never settles.
One thing worth knowing: SB ads can cross-attribute. If you run SB in one account, it can still track sales that happen in the other. Might help if you really need clean data across both.
But honestly, the simplest approach:

Pick one primary account
Price the other higher so it doesn't win the Buy Box
Run ads only on primary
Switch when that inventory is gone

Seasonal products don't have time for messy data.

Maxwell Nixon

Mar 23

That Buy Box point is the part a lot of people skip over. I learned the hard way that if the same ASIN keeps switching accounts, the ad reports are basically noise. The SB cross-attribution bit is interesting too, I didnt realize it could still catch sales from the other account. Do you know if that works reliably when both accounts are in the same brand registry, or does it get messy there too?

Trish Ray Mar 22

Quick thing on attribution:
If you run SP ads in Account A but someone buys from Account B (because of price, shipping, whatever), the sale still shows up as attributed to the ad in reporting. Same ASIN, so Amazon counts it.
But Account A's ad account won't see the conversion the same way — makes ACOS look worse than it actually is.
That's why running ads on both accounts at the same time is such a headache. You can't separate the data cleanly.

ZenPassage81 Mar 21

You don't need to pause or close the other listing. Just adjust pricing.
If Account A has older stock:

Lower A's price a bit (or raise B's)
Make sure A consistently wins the Buy Box
Run all SP ads from A
Keep B's ads off or at very low spend

Once A's stock is done, reverse it and start running ads from B.
The key is not switching mid-cycle. Every time you flip the Buy Box to a different account, the ad algorithm has to relearn. Kills momentum.

Two accounts selling the same ASIN — both have FBA stock. How do I run ads without making a mess?

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