Amazon Product Identifier

Amazon’s enormous infrastructure is entirely dependent on each product’s Amazon Product ID. Sellers will find that their accounts are deactivated and/or their brands may be compromised if they do not carefully abide by Amazon’s product identification requirements.

Amazon has specific item identification guidelines and sellers need to know the nuances of which Amazon product identifier applies to their goods. Amazon product categories will define the designated type of product identifier number (Product ID) which needs to be used when adding new product pages and listings.

Amazon Product ID requirements:

• Many categories have specific UPC/EAN and GTIN guidelines that sellers are required to follow when creating product pages. These include requirements for products sold as bundles and requirements for products sold as packs.
• UPC requirements may vary across categories or for different types of products in the same category. Please note, that Amazon mandates UPCs (GTINs) are licensed to a supplier’s brand and sellers should never buy discounted UPCs from online resellers. To apply for authorized UPC barcodes, please visit www.barcode-us.com.
• Sellers must use the correct product identifier for the item they are listing. The use of false product identification information, including UPC codes, is prohibited.
• ISBN barcodes are required when uploading listings for books.

In order to set-up a new product listing on Amazon, you will need either a valid UPC or ISBN number;

UPC Barcode (Used for most items)

The Amazon UPC Barcode Policy impacts not only new suppliers desiring to sell on Amazon but also existing sellers who risk having their account suspended. Suspended sellers not only lose time and money trying to get reinstated but also forfeit lost profit which comes with blocked listings and account suspension.  The policy reads as:

“We verify the authenticity of product UPCs by checking the GS1 database. UPCs that do not match the information provided by GS1 will be considered invalid. We recommend obtaining your UPCs directly from GS1 (and not from other third parties selling UPC licenses) to ensure the appropriate information”

As of July 2019, the following page “Valid UPCs” has been added to Amazon Seller Central.

By obtaining GS1 UPC barcodes, Amazon sellers are provided a GS1 Company Prefix which uniquely identifies their company.  Amazon, like many other companies, requires the Company Prefix to reflect the actual brand owner and not some 3rd party reseller company.

Please watch this 3 minute video.

To properly obtain GS1 UPC Barcodes, visit www.barcode-us.com

If you already have a GS1 Prefix but need assistance, visit www.GTIN.cloud

ISBN Barcode (Used for books)

For more information regarding ISBN barcodes, go to ISBN Information.

ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number)

Amazon Standard Identification Numbers (ASINs) are unique blocks of 10 letters and/or numbers that identify items. You can find the ASIN on the item’s product information page at Amazon.com. For books, the ASIN is the same as the ISBN, but for all other products a new ASIN is created when the item is uploaded to Amazon’s catalog. You will find an item’s ASIN on the product detail page alongside further details relating to the item, which may include information such as size, number of pages (if it’s a book) or number of discs (if it’s a CD).

ASIN barcodes can be used to search for items in Amazon’s catalogue. If you know the ASIN or ISBN of the item you are looking for, simply type it into the search box (which can be found near the top of most pages), hit the “Go” button and, if the item is listed in the catalogue, it will appear in your search results.

For example, the ASIN barcode for Hasbro’s “Monopoly” game is B00005N5PF.

Amazon Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)

Are suppliers required to have UPC or ISBN barcodes for items/books being sold on Amazon?

YES! In order to set-up items in Amazon’s brand registry, users are required to enter a UPC number (general merchandise) and an ISBN (for books) as part of the item set-up procedure.  NOTE: There are a some exemptions to the UPC/ISBN requirement, refer to Amazon’s UPC/ISBN Exemption policy if you believe your company does not need a UPC/ISBN product identifier.

Does Amazon allow suppliers to use UPC barcode numbers obtained from a UPC Reseller?

As of May 2016 the answer is NO, UPC barcode numbers from UPC Resellers are NOT ALLOWED. Amazon revised the UPC section on Amazon Seller Central that explicitly states ‘Amazon requires sellers to obtain ‘valid’ UPC’s from the GS1 and further states that Amazon will confirm UPC barcodes are registered to their sellers and not 3rd parties.’  For many years before this announcement, some suppliers obtained UPC numbers from UPC resellers who advertised with discount prices online and on ebay.  To view Amazon UPC Requirements go to; Amazon.UPC.Seller.Requirement

We have worked with several Amazon suppliers who reported that during the item set-up procedure, Amazon flagged their UPC numbers for either of the following reasons:

• UPC Numbers were already being used by a different supplier
• UPC numbers were not issued to supplier being set-up.

In both cases, Amazon required the supplier to license a UPC Company Prefix from the GS1. Click Here for GS1 UPC Barcodes.

Amazon suppliers who need UPC barcodes to set-up items on Amazon should  contact us to discuss available options. We have a tutorial website at www.barcode-us.info.

Are all Amazon suppliers required to place a UPC barcode on each item shipped to Amazon Fulfillment Centers?

NO! Amazon requires an Amazon Product Label on all non-Stickerless Commingled Inventory.  For suppliers who are not able to place an Amazon Product Label on each item, need to mark items with a UPC label and then pay Amazon $.20/per label to print and apply an Amazon Product Label.

Is there a recommended label size for the FBA Product Label?

YES! Even though Amazon permits suppliers to use a variety of label sizes for the FBA Product Label, we recommend suppliers use a; 2.625″ x 1.0″ label for the FBA Product Label.  This label size enables the FNSKU barcode to be printed in a size which will be easy to scan by Amazon.  To order blank laser labels to print FBA Product labels, go to BC-30 labels