Tune-up your Amazon Settings
After you have completed the Authorization with Amazon there are still a few settings that need to be filled out.
Ecommerce Home Page > Settings > Amazon
Inventory Settings
Inventory settings determine how Ecommerce translates distributor availability into the quantities and lead times shown on your Amazon listings.
Marketplace Inventory Buffer
What it does:
Sets the minimum total quantity that must be available across all of your distributors before Ecommerce will show a product as "in stock" on Amazon.
Why it matters:
Distributor stock levels can change quickly. If you list a product as available based on a single unit at one distributor and that unit sells before your Amazon order comes in, you will have to cancel the order. Cancellations hurt your seller metrics on Amazon.
Recommended values:
| Value | When to Use |
|---|---|
| 4 | Minimum recommended. Use this if your distributors have reliable, stable inventory. |
| 6–7 | Conservative and safe. Ecommerce recommends this range for most dealers. |
| 8+ | Very conservative. Use if you experience frequent stockouts or work with smaller distributors. |
Example:
You set the Marketplace Inventory Buffer to 6. A customer searches for a part on Amazon. Across all your distributors, there are 5 units available. Ecommerce will not show this product as in stock on your listing. If distributor availability rises to 6 or more, Ecommerce marks it as in stock.
Tip: Start at 6 or 7. You can lower it later once you have a feel for how reliable your distributor stock levels are. It is much easier to recover from being too conservative (missed sales) than from being too aggressive (cancelled orders and poor seller metrics).
Inventory Ceiling
What it does:
Limits the maximum number of units Ecommerce will advertise as available on a single Amazon listing, regardless of how many are actually in stock.
Why it matters:
Even if a distributor shows 50 units in stock, advertising all 50 creates risk. Large bulk orders from a single buyer can strain your fulfillment process, and distributor counts are not always perfectly accurate at high quantities.
Recommended values:
| Value | When to Use |
|---|---|
| 4 | Recommended for most dealers. Balances visibility with risk. |
| 5–10 | Use higher values only if you are confident in your distributor accuracy and can fulfill large orders. |
| Above 10 | Not recommended. Ecommerce enforces a maximum of 10. |
Example:
You set the Inventory Ceiling to 5. A product has 12 units available across your distributors. Ecommerce will advertise 5 units on your Amazon listing — not 12. If a customer orders 5, Ecommerce shows 0 remaining (or removes the listing if all buffer stock is consumed).
Important: The Inventory Ceiling and Marketplace Inventory Buffer work together. The buffer determines whether a product appears in stock at all. The ceiling determines the maximum quantity shown once it does appear.
Lead Time Floor
What it does:
Sets the minimum number of handling/lead time days that Ecommerce will send to Amazon for any listing. If Ecommerce calculates a lead time shorter than this floor, it raises it to match.
Why it matters:
Lead time tells Amazon how many business days you need before the order ships. If your calculated lead time is 1 day but you realistically need 2–3 days to process and ship, you risk late shipments — which also hurt your seller metrics.
Recommended values:
| Value | When to Use |
|---|---|
| 1 | Default. Use this if your shop processes orders the same day or next day consistently. This is the right choice for most dealers. |
| 2 | Use if your shop is sometimes a day behind on processing — for example, a smaller operation where orders placed late in the day are not handled until the following day. |
| 3+ | Use only if you know your fulfillment regularly takes multiple days. |
Example:
You set the Lead Time Floor to 3. Ecommerce calculates that a particular product can ship in 1 day based on distributor proximity. Instead of sending a lead time of 1, Ecommerce sends 3 to Amazon. For a different product where the calculated lead time is already 4 days, Ecommerce sends 4 (the floor only raises values, it never lowers them).
Tip: Almost every dealer should set this to 1. Only increase it if you know your operation has consistent delays in order processing.
Purge Out of Stock
What it does:
When enabled, Ecommerce removes SKUs from Amazon Seller Central when they go out of stock (based on the Marketplace Inventory Buffer). When they come back in stock, Ecommerce re-lists them.
When to enable it:
- You want to keep your Seller Central backend clean and free of inactive listings.
- You manage a large catalog and want to reduce clutter.
When to leave it disabled:
- You are managing Amazon listings exclusively through Ecommerce (recommended for most dealers).
- You have other tools or manual processes that interact with your Seller Central listings and you do not want Ecommerce removing SKUs unexpectedly.
Recommendation: If Ecommerce is your only tool managing Amazon listings, leave this unchecked. Ecommerce already sets out-of-stock items to zero quantity, which effectively hides them from buyers. Purging adds an extra step that is usually unnecessary.
Item Condition Note
What it does:
This is a text note that Amazon displays to customers when they browse the list of all available sellers for a product. It appears alongside your offer.
What to include:
Use this space to give buyers confidence in purchasing from you. Common examples:
- "Brand new, ships from authorized dealer."
- "New in original packaging. Fast shipping from [Your Business Name]."
- "Factory-sealed. Ships within 1-2 business days."
Tips:
- Keep it concise. Buyers scan quickly.
- Highlight what makes your offer stand out: fast shipping, authorized dealer status, or packaging guarantees.
- Do not include pricing information here — Amazon has strict rules about that.
Pricing Settings
Pricing settings control whether and how Ecommerce sends pricing data to your Amazon listings.
Minimum Price Threshold
What it does:
Sets a price floor. Ecommerce will not send inventory to Amazon listings where the price falls below this value. Any product priced below the threshold is treated as if it does not exist in your catalog for Amazon purposes.
Why it matters:
Low-priced items often have thin margins. After Amazon fees, shipping costs, and handling time, selling a $5 part on Amazon may actually lose you money. The minimum price threshold lets you automatically exclude items that are not worth selling on the platform.
Example:
You set the Minimum Price Threshold to $25. A product in your catalog has a price of $18. Ecommerce will not send this product's inventory or pricing to Amazon. A product priced at $25 or above will be sent normally.
Tip: Review your Amazon fee structure and average shipping costs to determine your break-even point. Most dealers set this somewhere between $15 and $30.
Minimum Price Applies To
What it does:
Determines which price Ecommerce uses when checking against the Minimum Price Threshold. You have two options:
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| MSRP | The manufacturer's suggested retail price as provided by your distributors. This is the list price before any of your pricing rules are applied. |
| Calculated Sale Price | The final price after Ecommerce applies your pricing rules and any manual overrides. This is what the customer would actually pay. |
When to use MSRP:
Choose this if you want to filter out products that are inherently low-value, regardless of your markup. For example, if a product has an MSRP of $8, it is probably not worth listing on Amazon even if your pricing rules mark it up.
When to use Calculated Sale Price:
Choose this if your pricing rules sometimes bring prices below your comfort zone. For example, a product with a $30 MSRP might end up at $22 after a competitive pricing rule runs. If your threshold is $25, using the calculated price catches this and prevents the listing.
Recommendation: Most dealers should use Calculated Sale Price. This ensures the threshold checks the actual price a customer would see, giving you a more accurate filter.
Disable Pricing
What it does:
When enabled, Ecommerce stops sending any pricing data to Amazon. Inventory data continues to flow normally — only pricing is affected.
When to use this:
- You use an external repricing tool (such as RepricerExpress, Informed.co, or BQool) to manage your Amazon pricing separately.
- You want to manually control pricing in Seller Central without Ecommerce overwriting your changes.
When to leave it disabled:
- Ecommerce is your sole pricing tool for Amazon (this is the case for most dealers).
Important: If you enable this setting, make sure you have another method for keeping your Amazon prices current. Stale pricing can lead to lost sales or, worse, selling at prices that lose money.
Setup Checklist
Use this checklist to confirm you have completed every step. Work through it from top to bottom.
Inventory Settings
- Navigated to Settings > Amazon.
- Set Marketplace Inventory Buffer (recommended: 6–7).
- Set Inventory Ceiling (recommended: 4, maximum: 10).
- Set Lead Time Floor (recommended: 1 for most dealers).
- Decided on Purge Out of Stock (recommended: unchecked for most dealers).
- Written a clear, concise Item Condition Note.
Pricing Settings
- Set Minimum Price Threshold to a value that makes sense for your margins.
- Chose whether Minimum Price Applies To should check MSRP or Calculated Sale Price.
- Confirmed Disable Pricing is unchecked (unless you use an external repricing tool).
Final Verification
- Reviewed all settings one more time before saving.
- Saved your settings.
- Checked a few of your Amazon listings after 15–30 minutes to confirm inventory and pricing are updating as expected.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take for changes to appear on Amazon after I save my settings?
Ecommerce sends inventory and pricing updates to Amazon in batches. Most changes appear within 15 to 30 minutes, but it can occasionally take up to a few hours during peak periods.
Can I connect more than one Amazon account to Ecommerce?
Each Ecommerce account connects to one Amazon seller account. If you operate multiple Amazon seller accounts, contact Ecommerce support for guidance.
I changed my Marketplace Inventory Buffer and now many of my listings show out of stock. Is that normal?
Yes. If you raised the buffer, products that previously met the old threshold may no longer meet the new one. This is expected behavior. If too many listings dropped off, consider lowering the buffer slightly.
What happens if my Amazon authorization expires or is revoked?
Ecommerce will stop sending updates to Amazon. You will need to re-authorize by going to Settings > Integrations Settings > Amazon and clicking "Grant Access" again. Your inventory and pricing settings will be preserved — only the connection needs to be re-established.
I use a repricing tool. Should I still set a Minimum Price Threshold?
Yes. Even with Disable Pricing turned on and a repricing tool handling your prices, the Minimum Price Threshold still controls which products Ecommerce sends inventory for. Setting a threshold prevents low-value items from appearing on Amazon at all, which your repricing tool cannot do on its own.
What is the difference between the Marketplace Inventory Buffer and the Inventory Ceiling?
The buffer is a gate: it decides whether a product appears in stock at all. The ceiling is a cap: it limits how many units are shown once the product passes the gate. Both work together to protect you from overselling.
Should I set the Inventory Ceiling to the same value as the Marketplace Inventory Buffer?
You can, but they serve different purposes. A common setup is a buffer of 6 with a ceiling of 4. This means a product must have at least 6 units available to be listed, but only 4 are advertised. This gives you a 2-unit safety margin even after all advertised units sell.