Why a lower price may still lose the buybox

Why this can happen

This article is relevant when B2BLIX calculates a price below a competitor’s price, but your offer still does not receive the BuyBox.

The lowest visible price is not always the BuyBox winner. Pigu may also consider delivery time and other marketplace factors when comparing offers.

Short answer

A competitor may keep the BuyBox because they offer faster delivery. A small price difference may not be enough to compensate for a longer delivery time.

For example, being €0.20 cheaper may not be enough when your delivery time is one day longer than the competitor’s.

B2BLIX can adjust your price within the configured minimum and maximum limits, but it cannot change your marketplace delivery time or control how Pigu selects the BuyBox winner. A lower calculated price therefore cannot guarantee that your offer will win.

How the pricing logic works in this situation

B2BLIX uses the latest available marketplace information together with your selected pricing strategy and price limits. When your offer is not winning, the service can try to improve its position by matching or moving below the observed BuyBox price.

However, the marketplace makes the final BuyBox decision. If another seller has better delivery terms, Pigu may continue to prefer that offer even after your price becomes slightly lower.

Because B2BLIX cannot directly change delivery conditions, it works with the factor it can influence: price. Depending on your settings, you may need a larger fixed price step or a stronger adjustment that combines a step with a percentage reduction.

Any adjustment remains limited by the product’s minimum price and maximum price. The system should not reduce the calculated price below the permitted minimum simply to pursue the BuyBox.

What to check in your account

1. Review the product-level calculation

   Check the latest known competitor information, your price limits, the selected strategy, the calculated price, and the available delivery information.

   To check this in your account, open Product Checker. To understand the information shown there, read Product Checker: review product data, price calculations, and exports.

2. Compare delivery times

   Compare your delivery time with the delivery time of the current BuyBox seller. When your delivery is slower, a very small price advantage may not change the result.

   Delivery information may not explain every BuyBox decision, because B2BLIX does not know or control every factor used by Pigu. It is still an important factor to check when a cheaper offer continues to lose.

3. Verify your minimum and maximum prices

   Before changing the pricing strategy, confirm that the product’s minimum price protects the margin you need. Do not lower the minimum price only because the current adjustment did not win the BuyBox.

   Also check whether the available price range is wide enough for the selected strategy to make a meaningful adjustment. If the calculated price has already reached the minimum, B2BLIX cannot safely reduce it further.

4. Review the strategy and price step

   A small step may work when competing offers have similar delivery terms. When a competitor delivers faster, a stronger price adjustment may be needed.

   To review your strategy, open BuyBox Settings. For an explanation of the available settings, read the BuyBox Settings page guide.

5. Test the change before using it more widely

   Use the simulator to compare the result of the current strategy with a larger step or another permitted adjustment. This helps you understand the calculation before applying the settings to a wider product group.

   Open the BuyBox Simulator. For instructions, read Using the BuyBox Simulator.

   

Changing a strategy, fixed step, percentage adjustment, or price limit can affect future calculated and exported prices. Verify the minimum and maximum limits first, test representative products, and review the results before enabling broader price publication.

Common scenarios

• Your price is only slightly lower. The difference may be too small to compensate for a competitor’s faster delivery.
• Your strategy uses a small price step. The calculation may be correct, but the resulting price difference may not be strong enough for the marketplace situation.
• The minimum price prevents a larger reduction. B2BLIX should respect the minimum limit even when a lower price might improve competitiveness.
• The marketplace prefers another offer. Price is important, but Pigu may use delivery time and other factors that B2BLIX cannot control.
• The price was calculated but is not yet live. A calculated or exported price is not necessarily active until it has been accepted and applied by the marketplace.

Example

Your offer is priced at €19.80 with delivery in three days. A competitor offers the same product for €20.00 with delivery in two days.

Although your offer is €0.20 cheaper, Pigu may still select the competitor because of the faster delivery. You could test a stronger price adjustment, but the new price must remain above your configured minimum.

Even after a larger reduction, the BuyBox result is not guaranteed. The marketplace remains responsible for selecting the winning offer.

What to do next

1. Open Product Checker and review the latest calculation, competitor information, delivery terms, and price limits.
2. Confirm that the calculated price has not already reached the product’s minimum price.
3. Review the configured losing strategy and price step in BuyBox Settings.
4. Test a stronger permitted adjustment in the BuyBox Simulator.
5. Apply changes gradually and review the result before using the strategy across a larger catalog.

If a stronger price adjustment is not commercially acceptable, keep the existing minimum price protection. Losing the BuyBox can be preferable to selling below the margin your business requires.