There’s a lot to manage when you’re launching an ecommerce business, from sourcing products to creating a compelling storefront—not to mention learning the language of online selling. If you plan to sell with Amazon, you’ve probably heard the term “ASIN.” But what does it mean and how does it relate to your inventory?
Use this guide to learn what an ASIN is and how to create and match ASINs for products you want sell with Amazon. We’ll also explore different ways you can list products in the Amazon store.
What is an Amazon ASIN?
An ASIN—short for “Amazon Standard Identification Number”—is a combination of 10 letters and numbers that Amazon assigns to a product. It’s used to identify products within the Amazon catalog and is a key part of a product detail page. An ASIN can often be found on the page in the Product details or Product information section.
Each product in the Amazon store is assigned a unique ASIN. That includes product variations, which are each assigned unique ASINs to help distinguish the different versions of a product. The only exception is for books, which are identified using their ISBN number.
ASINs help:
- Distinguish and track products that appears in the Amazon store
- Group offers for the same item on a single product detail page
- Organize inventory so sellers know how much of each product they have in stock and when they need to re-order
When do you create a new ASIN?
Before you list a product with Amazon, you should determine if you need to create a new ASIN for it, or if you can match your product to an existing ASIN.
To see if an ASIN already exists for a product, hover over Catalog in the main menu in Seller Central, then click Add Products. On the Add Products page, click Product IDs, then enter the product’s GTIN and click Submit. If your product doesn’t appear in the search results, you’ll need to create a new ASIN in order to list it.
If your product does appear in the search results, it means it’s already part of the Amazon catalog. Instead of creating a new ASIN, you can match your product to the existing one.
3 steps to create a new ASIN in the Amazon store
If your product isn’t already sold in the Amazon store, you can get a new ASIN by creating a product detail page. Once Amazon approves the page, your product will be assigned a new ASIN.
So how do you start creating a product detail page? As a registered Amazon seller, your ability to create a new product detail page may depend on your relationship with the product:
- If the product is part of a brand enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry, you need to be a brand representative or reseller authorized by the brand (login required) to list it using our standard processes.
- If the product belongs to certain categories, you may be prompted during the listing process to obtain approval from Amazon.
If you meet the requirements, follow these steps to create a new product detail page and get an ASIN:
1. Search for your product
Hover over Catalog in the Seller Central main menu, then click Add Products. On the Add Products page, click Product IDs, then enter the product’s GTIN and click Submit. If your product doesn’t appear in the search results, click Create a new listing.
2. Fill out product and offer information
You’ll fill out multiple tabs to create an informative product detail page, including:
- Product Identity: This tab covers basic information about your product, including the product name, type, the item type keywords, whether or not it has variations, and brand name. If you have product variations that you want to appear on the same detail page, check the Variations box, which will allow you select the attributes that differ between products, like size and color.
- Description: Here’s where you’ll describe your product starting with the Product Description, which is where you’ll share a paragraph that tells customers what your product is. Then you’ll create a list of Bullet Points and add up to nine Images.
- Product Details: This tab is where you fill out additional information, like how many items are sold under each unit, the number of components involved, and the color. The required information can differ from product to product.
- Offer: In this tab, you’ll share the Quantity of items for sale, Price, Condition, and the Fulfillment Channel.
- Safety and Compliance: The information you share in this tab will depend on your product. If it’s a safety hazard for children under a certain age, has safety certifications, needs batteries or has other required components, it’s important to note that here. Select products may need to meet certain requirements or hazmat regulations.
While filling out product information, you’ll have the opportunity to add keywords to optimize your product for search. You can also create variation relationships to connect products that come in different versions for size, color, or another attribute.
3. Save as draft or Submit
If you’re ready to create your page, review your details and click Submit. Want to come back to it later? Choose Save as draft so you can go back to make edits.
Submitting your listing sends it to us for review. Once we’ve determined your page meets our requirements, we’ll assign an ASIN to your product.
5 steps to match existing Amazon product listings
If your product is already part of the Amazon catalog, which is often the case if you’re a reseller, you can match your offer to the existing ASIN by following these steps:
1. Search for your product
Hover over Catalog in the Seller Central main menu, then click Add Products. On the Add Products page, click Product IDs, then enter the product’s GTIN and click Submit.
2. Locate your product
Find your product in the list of search results.
3. Select the condition
From the dropdown menu, select the product’s condition.
4. Select Sell this product
Click Sell this product to add your offer details.
Note: Depending on the product, you may need to obtain approval for a brand or category before matching an offer to an ASIN. Instead of Sell this product, you’ll see an option to Apply to Sell.
5. Add your offer details
Enter your offer details, such as the quantity, price, and fulfillment channel, then click Save and finish.
Another easy way to match an existing product listing is to use the Amazon seller app. Just take a picture of a product’s barcode using your smartphone camera to find a product listing associated with the item you want to sell, then add your offer to the page right from the app.
3 steps to create bulk product listings on Amazon
If you have several products you want to sell, you can create multiple listings with our bulk listing tool, Add Products via Upload. You’ll upload a spreadsheet in Seller Central that includes all the information you need to list your products with Amazon. This process allows you to create or match multiple ASINs at the same time. You can also use your spreadsheet to update thousands of listings simultaneously.
Follow these steps to create bulk listings:
1. Create your inventory file
Select Catalog from the Seller Central main menu, then click Add products via Upload. Next, click the Download spreadsheet tab and choose one of these options:
- List products already in Amazon’s catalog: This template allows you to search the Amazon catalog using ASINs or product GTINs, then match offers to existing product detail pages. You don’t need to provide any additional product information.
- List products that are not currently in Amazon’s catalog: With this template, you’ll provide product and offer information to create new ASINs and product detail page.
- Adjust offers and suggest updates to existing product detail pages: We provide multiple templates you can use to change the price or quantity of products you sell, or to suggest updates to product information.
2. Add your product and offer information
When you open your template, you’ll see multiple tabs. You’ll add product information to the Template tab. The Instructions, Images, Example, and Data Definitions tabs offer additional information and guidance. For example, the Instructions tab explains how to use the template, and the Example tab shows sample product rows so you can see how your completed template should look.
Each row on your Template tab represents one product. You can use one row to match a product to an existing listing or create a product detail page for a new product. Start filling out your product and offer information by using the dropdown menu in column A for Product Type, which will highlight the additional entries you need to complete.
Some columns will have dropdown menus like column A, but you’ll enter or update most of the information manually. Share plenty of details to help customers make informed purchasing decisions.
When you finish, save your changes and keep a copy so you can easily update your inventory as needed.
3. Upload your file to Seller Central
Go back to the Add products via Upload page in Seller Central and select the Upload your spreadsheet tab. Drag and drop your file or click Browse files to search for and select your file. Then click Submit products.
How do I manage ASINs?
Once your products listings are live, the next step is to manage them.
- Group similar products: This can help keep your ASINs organized according to relevant categories, making it easier to see your inventory at a glance.
- Keep your ASINs updated: Products can change over time. Maintaining the accuracy of your product detail pages is key to keeping your ASINs current and customers informed.
- Maintain ASIN and listing compliance: Amazon has specific product policies and guidelines. Make sure you stay up-to-date on changes to keep your selling account healthy.
How do I protect my ASIN?
If you own a brand, one of the best ways to protect your ASIN is to enroll in Amazon Brand Registry, a free program that unlocks a suite of brand-building tools and protection benefits. If you qualify, you can use tools like Report a Violation to identify and report potential intellectual property (IP) infringements like copyright, patent, or trademark violations. Using the tool helps automatically block violations before they impact your customers.
You may also be eligible for Transparency, an additional safeguard through Brand Registry that protects your ASIN against counterfeits. Through this program, products can’t be listed in the Amazon store without valid Transparency codes that are secure and unique to each unit. This helps ensure customers only receive authentic products.
