Amazon gives you a suggested bid. And most sellers just... use it. Let me bust t
By Elizabeth Greene · April 29, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
Amazon gives you a suggested bid.
And most sellers just... use it.
Let me bust this myth right now:
Amazon's suggested bid is not a strategy.
It's a starting point.
Here's what Amazon is actually doing when it gives you that number:
It's telling you what other advertisers in your space are paying.
That's it.
It has zero idea what your margins are.
Zero idea what your conversion rate is.
Zero idea what TACoS target makes your business profitable.
So when you just plug in the suggested bid and walk away..
you're letting Amazon optimize for Amazon.
Not for you.
Here's what we do instead:
If we're launching aggressively:
We go above suggested.
We want data fast.
We'll pay for it.
If we're being conservative:
We start below suggested.
We increase bids by 3 cents every single day.
We wait until impressions start flowing.
Then we optimize from there.
The difference between these two approaches?
One burns budget fast to get answers quickly.
One takes longer but protects profitability from day one.
Neither is wrong.
But blindly plugging in Amazon's number without a plan?
That's wrong.
Know your goal before you set your bid.