how many reviews does the this seller have ????
did you check jungle scout ????
you can also go to fiverr and someone would run it through their jungle scout software and let you know.

Maybe the gorilla in the room drove all the other sellers away? Have you dissected his business and do you know his inventory, prices, product sources, places where he markets, how he promotes?

Understanding the details about this seller's business could give you clues about whether or not you'll be able to compete.

Steve

Most likely he "Amazoned" them out of the market, (pardon the pun). My guess is his niche was so entrenched or his prices was so low the others waved the white flag. That's good news, less competition for you, or bad news, you're next, unless you do like Steve B. suggests and disessect his business from top to bottom.

Start by purchasing from them and getting on their mailing list if you're not already.

Find where you can fill a hole or niche they're not filling. My hunch is the others tried to go head to head with him ... and lost their heads. Please don't make that mistake, learn from there's.

I assume from what you wrote that Amazon themselves is not the other seller. If this product is from a brand / manufacturer that has now restricted their item from being sold by third party sellers. That could have happened.
I generally use camelcamelcamel to research sales history. That may provide some useful info for you.

ANOTHER POINT TO MAKE: LET COMPETITION BE YOUR FRIEND. my partner and i are selling cell phone cases which is very competitive, and we are doing great. so do not let competition scare you. but start slow...to test market. AND ALWAYS RUN AMAZON PPC..AUTOMATIC PPC AND MANUAL PPC.

I usually see this happening when i am shopping. Probably they are might be out of stock as items on amazon sells too quickly.

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