đ¨ The Amazon Coupon Trap đ¨
We recently started gradually increasing prices across a client's catalog - nothing drastic, a few dollars over time.
Then something weird happened:
Our 5% coupons started getting suppressed by Amazon.
Error message:
"Increase Coupon Discount to be eligible. Required net price: $93.10. Current net price: $93.67."
Wait⌠isnât 5% still 5%?
Not exactly. Amazon's coupon eligibility isn't based on the current price.
Itâs based on the âWas Priceâ - a hidden historical average of what customers paid over the last 90 days.
So as we raised prices, the Was Price lagged behind. Our 5% discount was no longer enough to meet Amazonâs rule:
âĄď¸ The coupon price must be at least 5% lower than the Was Price.
So we:
â
Temporarily increased the coupon to 6% to keep it live
â
Allowed time for the new pricing to settle and lift the Was Price
â
Plan to scale the coupon back down once it becomes eligible again
Amazonâs logic isnât always intuitive. But understanding these levers can protect your margins and keep performance on track.