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Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj

3 years ago

How to create listings and variations using the Add Product and the File-Upload functions

This thread is going to cover the different ways to add products and the basic steps to create variations. It is divided in four sections:

First Section: Adding a product through the “Add Product” link
Second Section: Adding a product using a “File Upload”
Third Section: Creating variations through the “Add Product” link
Fourth Section: Creating variations through the “Variation Wizard” using a “File Upload”

Please know that Amazon provides detailed instructions on how to create products here, and Oneida has written this excellent guide on how to create variations (the one that I used when I did my first variation).

Even with these resources, there are many subtleties that can have long lasting effects on listings, and that many sellers miss until after the product is listed and live.

Please note that this thread will not cover the steps to acquire a GTIN exemption, nor the steps to obtain a GS1 GTIN Product Identifier. While the broad strokes are very general, and common to many categories, it is possible that is not a one-fits-all type of guide. As a matter of fact, I have very limited experience on most categories (I only sell in 5 different categories, all very similar), and I dare say that the process for listing in handmade, books, and media (among others) is different.

Some basic questions that a seller should answer before listing a product:

What product to list?

Too many sellers start like a wind vane, with no certainty on which direction to go, and with too many good ideas. There is no problem in having a wide gamut of offers, but new sellers should start with a clear plan of what they are going to sell. They need to know if a category is restricted or not. And they need to understand the difference between Amazon authorizing the sale of a giving category, and the Brand authorizing the seller to sell their products.

How to procure it?

Given the success that Amazon has enjoyed, there is abundant misinformation on how to procure products. Many new sellers are led to believe that handling an Amazon Seller account is an easy way to passively make money through arbitrage or drop shipping. This is not the case. While under the right circumstances both practices can be done, they aren’t the easiest way to learn the ins-and-outs of the platform. New sellers should stay away from arbitrage or drop-shipping, and should focus their efforts on selling products that have been acquired through proper distribution channels that connect directly to a Brand, or at least an Authorized distributor. Whenever possible, sellers should obtain a Letter of Authorization (LOA) from the Brand, explicitly indicating that they are authorized to sell the product on Amazon.

How to sell it? FBM or FBA?

There are advantages and disadvantages to both models. Amazon has limited storage space and has imposed severe storage restrictions on sellers, particularly new sellers or those with a poor track record. In my opinion, new products, that are not known to the buyers, should not start as FBA, and should not be delegated to Amazon until the seller has a clear understanding of the rotation of the items. Once a seller knows how much product is being sold, the seller can make an educated decision as to how much product to send. If a seller is offering a product that is already available on Amazon, the seller may consider starting FBA, but said seller should not be on this thread, as this thread is going to explain how to add new products, not how to tamper with existing ones. Please refer to this thread to learn about FBA and how to send products to Amazon.

How to comply with Amazon’s expectations and requirements.

Amazon is a lot more forgiving and (in general) easier to work than the many posts of the fora give it credit. A thing that sellers, and frequent readers of the forum, need to remember is that the people who post questions are the ones having difficulties. The majority of Amazon’s sellers don’t open threads and are able to run their operations either by reading the Forum, Amazon’s help content or any other source. There is only one recommendation that is common to all Amazon sellers, particularly the new ones. Play by Amazon’s rules and you will be (mostly) fine. Amazon relies on robots and artificial intelligence that works in binary: right and wrong. Learn how to do things “right” and you will avoid most problems.

You can learn how to follow Amazon’s instructions by using Seller University, by searching Amazon’s help pages, or by Searching the Forums.

When should a seller list their product?

Ideally once its procured and paid.

Sellers should know all the costs of the product before going live. A listing can be created, and the inventory can be left on 0. As we will explain in this thread, a future offer_date can be added, but this can be complicated. New sellers should not rush into too many unknows.

Sellers that manage their own brand need to know that Brand Registered products behave differently from products of a brand where they share the listing with other sellers. It is my personal recommendation to first register the brand and then list the product. Many sellers are anxious to start selling and forget that Amazon will be there in a few months. Linking a new product to a brand that is registered is very easy; linking an existing product to a brand that was registered after the product is a lot harder (possible, but much harder).

A quick consideration before jumping to the guide itself. This is by far the longest thread that I have written (I’m almost embarrassed to say how long the Word file equivalent is). A lot of people helped me prepare it. Special thanks go to @Dogtamer and @Oneida who patiently read through it. Other accounts that helped me, and generously shared their time to review some sections, were @ABC_23, @M_L_H, @papyrophilia @The_Sawle_Mill and @ThisIsTheWay . Please note that given the length and level of detail of the thread, it was virtually impossible for anybody to fully check all the information and/or correct all the typos. I am certain that while the broad strokes are correct, there are conceptual, formatting and spelling errors. It goes without saying that those errors can only be attributed to me.

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Create and Manage Listings

Tags:Add a product, GTIN, Listings, Pricing, Restricted Products

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48 replies

Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj

3 years ago

In reply to: Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj's post

1) How to create a product using the “Add Product” link

Please follow this link for Amazon’s instructions on how to “Add Product”.

Once the seller reaches this screen, they can follow three options shown in Figure 1.1

By typing the Product ID on the search bar, the seller can check if the product exists on Amazon’s catalogue. If the product exists and the seller is authorized to sell the existing product, the seller simply needs to select the existing listing and add his offer. End of tutorial.

If the Product ID is not in the catalogue, the seller will be redirected to this screen, Figure 1.2

After clicking “Create New Listing”, the seller will be redirected to the following screen Figure 1.3

Which is the same screen that the seller would reach if selecting “I’m Adding a Product not sold on Amazon” on Figure 1.1. Here the seller will select the category using the search bar or scrolling down the “Select Category” menu, and, once the category is selected, a new screen will open allowing to enter the information of the product.

This screen will be category specific, but in general it will look like what is shown in Figure 1.5 (please know that I have expanded the slide menu on the upper right corner that says “More Attributes”)

The following sections of this post will explain how to fill each step of the listing in almost annoyingly painstaking detail. Please note that this is an extremely long post with more than 80 different definitions. Most of the fields are optional, only fields highlighted in red (in the vital info and offer tabs) are necessary for a listing to be created. Everything else is optional, but the more attributes are filled, the more discoverable the product is, and the easier it gets for buyers to decide if they want to purchase it or not.

Each bullet point includes the content of each tab.

Vital Info

Product ID, the seller will indicate the GS1 Product Identifier. For more information check this thread. Please remember that the number of digits is crucial. A 14-digit code is a GTIN, a 13-digit code is an EAN, 12-digit code is a UPC, and so on so forth. Figure 1.6

Product name, the title or product name must be short and to the point. Some categories even have a restriction on the number of characters. Spamming the title is a common problem that doesn’t help sellers for two reasons: first, it confuses buyers, second, there is no need to put search terms and keywords in the title when they can be added in many (many) more places. The product name is just that: the product name. It has to start with the brand, and then an extremely clear description of what the product is. For instance: “Tally Tony’s Boiled Peanuts, 12 oz” is an acceptable name. “Delicious snack, Hand-Harvested by THE Tally Tony himself, carefully measured to fit 12 oz bottles, with not an OZ to spare” is not an acceptable title, and it even fails to indicate what the product is.
Manufacturer, the manufacturer of the product. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Manufacturer Part Number, alphanumeric string that represents the manufacturer part number. This is a required field for Brand Registered products. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Brand Name, one of the most important steps of the listing process is to link the Product with the Brand. Please review the considerations explained earlier on the thread on how to list products after the brand has been registered.
Item Type Keyword, a value from a drop-down menu. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Model Number, optional value, different from the name and the manufacturer part number. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Unit Count, this value is important when calculating price per unit. It indicates how many units are being sold, and it is closely related to the next attribute (Unit Count Type). The Unit Count measures how many units are being sold. It is explained here.
Unit Count Type, it refers to the actual unit of measure of the Unit Type. It can measure weight, area, volume, length, or quantity. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Contains Liquid Content, a yes or no question. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Size, an attribute closely related to variations. The Size indicates how different items compare. It can be a numeric or text value. It doesn’t refer exclusively to clothing; size is an attribute that can be used when comparing the size of tumblers (FL OZ) or when measuring the length of a digital screen. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Size Map, predetermined value from a drop-down menu. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Color, another attribute closely related to variations, color of the item. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Color Map, a predetermined color from a drop-down menu. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Number of Boxes, number of boxes on which the product is shipped. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Is Product Expirable, a yes or no question. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Product Expiration Type, a drop-down menu. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Fulfilment Center Shelf Life, measured in days. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Item Form, a drop-down menu. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Number of Items, number of items included in the product. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Fitment Type, universal product that can work for all brands (a car soap can be used in a Ferrari or a Lada) or specific to a given brand/model (charger specific to a given type cellphone). (This attribute is not in every listing)

Variation

This will be studied in detail in the Thirrd Section of this thread. This section can be ignored by sellers that are not creating a parent product but a standalone listing.

Offer

Seller SKU, this is the SKU or identifier that the Seller uses to monitor the product. I have explained SKUs in length here. The SKU can be any value that the seller wants, anything from “IhateAmazon” to “Something_logical_and_easy_to_identify”. The SKU becomes an integral part of the listing, so it deserves a level of consideration. Again, I recommend checking the link provided above.
Product tax code, explained here by Amazon .
Merchant Shipping Group, the shipping template to which the listing is assigned.
Restock Date, in case of backorder, is the date at which the product will be available. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Standard Price, needless to say, one of the most important values. It refers to the price at which the product will be sold. For information on how to calculate this price check this link.
Sale Price, an offer price. It has to be lower than the Standard Price.
Sale Start Date, the date at which the “Sale Price” starts.
Sale End Date, the date at which the “Sale Price” ends.
Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price, also known as MSRP. Not all products have it, and it won’t be charged to the customers, but many products have a MSRP.
Quantity, the number of units available for sale. This value is for items Fulfilled by Merchant, FBA sellers can leave it empty. Sellers should not list product that they don’t have available. Offering products that are not in stock is an accident waiting to happen, and a good way to cause damage to the account, either by cancelling orders, causing late shipments or simply frustrating buyers.
Condition, a drop-down menu. Select if the item is new or used, and if used in what condition.
Condition note, for used items, what the buyers can expect of the item.
Max Order Quantity, the largest number of units a buyer can purchase in a single order.
Handling Time, how many days it takes the seller to process the order.
Offer can be Gift Messaged, a drop-down menu saying “true” or “false”.
Is Gift Wrap Available, a drop-down menu saying “yes” or “no”.
Offer Start Date, if a listing is created and product is not available, the seller can indicate a future date at which the item will be available. That way buyers can know when to expect the product. As a personal note, new sellers would do well to stay away from this attribute, it’s another accident waiting to happen.

Below these attributes sellers will see a table where they can control the Standard Price and Quantity in the different regions of a marketplace.

Compliance

This is a complicated section that changes greatly from product to product. It becomes difficult to create a good list of attributes, so don’t be surprised if your screen does not list any of the ones I’m indicating. They can also be listed in a different order.

One of the best tools to determine the compliance of a product is studying its Safety Data Sheet (SDS). Of course, not all products have an SDS, but for those that do check this post to learn how to use it.

Volume, a numeric value accompanied with a drop-down menu for units.
Item weight, a numeric value accompanied with a drop-down menu for units.
Watts hour per battery, a numeric value accompanied with a drop-down menu for units.
Battery weight (grams), a numeric value accompanied with a drop-down menu for units (extremely funny that it has a drop-down menu for units given that the name of the attribute indicates grams, but whatever.
Lithium content (grams), a numeric value accompanied with a drop-down menu for units.
Categorization/GHS pictograms (select all that apply), check the link of the SDS, this information is found in the second section.
Battery type/size, the type of battery from a drop-down menu.
Number of batteries, how many batteries.
Safety Data Sheet (SDS) URL, a website with the SDS of the product. It can be an URL external to Amazon.
Lithium Battery Packaging, drop-down menu.
Number of Lithium-ion Cells, a numeric answer.
Number of Lithium Metal Cells, another numeric answer.
Applicable Dangerous Goods Regulations, study in the SDS.
Is this product a battery or does it utilize batteries?, drop-down menu with yes or no.
UN number, listed in section 14 of the SDS.
Battery Composition, drop-down menu.
Batteries are Included, drop-down menu with yes or no.
Flash point (º C)?, listed in section 9 of the SDS.
California Proposition 65 Warning Type, listed in section 15 of the SDS.
California Proposition 65 Chemical Names, listed in section 15 of the SDS. List all that apply.
Pesticide Marking, drop-down menu.
Pesticide Registration Status, drop-down menu.
Pesticide Certification Number, please, please, please… don’t falsify this information.
Radio Frequency Emissions & Authorization Status, drop-down menu.
SDoC Contact US Phone Number (email, mailing address, and name), SDoC stands for Supplier Declaration of Conformity. If you don’t know what that is, or if you don’t have it, leave the following sections blank. You can ask your supplier/manufacturer. But as with all Hazmat information, please be careful not to invent it. The SoDC is a way to assure that a product complies with a given regulation.
FCC ID, Federal Communications Commission ID number.

Images

Fairly straightforward section. Just upload the pictures from your computer.

Make sure that the images meet Amazon requirements, particularly the main image.

Getting a perfectly white background requires software editing, there are many ways to do this. From Photoshop to online tools. This post (let alone this thread) is long enough without a tutorial on how to edit pictures. Maybe it can be added as a future post.

Description

This, and the following section, are key for the discoverability of the product.

The “Description” section doesn’t have many attributes, but they all have repercussions on the impression that the listing causes.

Product Description, sellers can’t use HTML to “pretty-up” this section up. This is a professional page, keep it professional. The description will be a block of text, sellers need to make it count. Explain things clearly, in detail, fully aware that 97% of buyers will not read it. The description can have a lot of information, but buyers are advised not to expand too much as it can create confusion. Remember that on average a buyer doesn’t spend more than 1 minute per page. You only have 1 minute to convince the buyer to purchase your listing, and by the time the buyer reaches the description 30 seconds have already passed by looking through the images, key features (below) and price.
Key Features, when creating many listings sellers can add key features that will appear as bullet points between the product’s image and the price. Some categories (I think books) don’t have the option of writing key features. Key Features must be short, and to the point. Bursts of description that encapsulate what the product is and why it should be bought. Most buyers will spend more time in the Key Features than in the Description.
Legal Disclaimer, any legal information that needs to be added. This can’t be something that the seller “pulls out of a hat”. A “Legal Disclaimer” implies that there’s a reason why this is indicated, and that reason is a law. For instance, indicating that according to such regulation the product is for people over 21 years of age is a valid legal disclaimer; indicating that Tally Tony’s Boiled Peanuts taste better when combined with Tally Tony’s Cashews is not a valid disclaimer.
CPSIA Warning, drop-down menu with all the imaginable choking warnings.
CPSIA Warning Description, the alphanumerical description that corresponds to the warning.

Keywords

This is the section that should be used to make the product easy to find. All the terms that can spam and clutter title, description, key features, etc., that are relevant to the product but don’t fit anywhere else go here.

Style Specific Terms, different lines that can be added. These terms are descriptive words that help place the product in the right categories. Do not use sentences; if necessary, sellers can use multiple words, but no more than that.
Used for 1-3, drop-down menus with different applications, places of use for the product. Up to 3 can be selected.
Target Audience, drop-down menus for the different target audiences by age and gender.
Other Attributes, drop-down menu with other attributes.
Search Terms , super important part that gets often overlook. The “Search Terms” are what get the discoverability of the product. Write the search terms but don’t repeat them (if a seller is listing a red sweater the seller shouldn’t say “sweater”, “red”, and “red sweater’), do not separate terms by commas, just by spaces. Terms can be miss-spelled to common typos and in different languages.
Subject Matter, another important way to help the discoverability of the product is adding strings of keywords. Subject matter keywords are added in a similar way to the “Style-Specific Terms” explained above, sellers can enter up to 5 strings of keywords, each string with a maximum of 50 characters.
Platinum Keywords, from a third-party seller’s perspective, for all intents and purposes this is an obsolete feature; it appears that Amazon may not have deleted this solely to maintain legacy compatibility with certain software used almost exclusively by members of the Vendor Program.

More Details

This is a super long section that I will not explain in detail. There’s no point. A seller that has completed all the other parts of the “Add Product” should be able to complete it. There are however a couple of sections that are worth mentioning:

Shipping Weight, how much the packaged item will weight. Sellers can select different units.
Dimensions and weight of the item, it is important to understand the difference between the item and the package. This section allows to list both.
Package Quantity, how many units the buyer will receive each time an item is purchased.
Launch Date, when the product will be available.
Is Discontinued by Manufacturer, drop-down menu with “yes” and “no”.

After all the information is added, the seller will simply press the “save and finish” button in the bottom right corner, and the listing will display in the inventory tab.

Please note that images may take anywhere from 5 minutes to 2 days to show.

Please note that you may have made mistakes and the item may be left on “drafts”.

For any additional edits, sellers can just go to the inventory screen and click the “edit” button at the right of the screen. The page shown in Figure 1.5 will open, but it will have all the information that was already inputted.

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Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj

3 years ago

In reply to: Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj's post

2) Adding a product using a “File Upload”

File Uploads have a reputation as horrible, impossible-to-fill, Excel spreadsheets that were conceived by the sadistic mind of the evilest of programmers. Furthermore, sellers are led to believe that Amazon takes morbid pleasure in saying that when a listing has a problem the best way to fix it is by uploading a “Full File Update”. This immediately becomes an absolute tragedy that can’t be overcome.

Many a poor soul has found it easier all together to stop selling on Amazon.

That of course is all nonsense. The file upload can be a little intimidating at first, but let’s be real: it’s color-coded! And when a seller uploads the file, if it has any mistakes (which happens to all of us), Amazon returns a file pointing them out.

So far, we have explained in mind-numbing detail the different sections of a listing, so we are not going to repeat that exercise. This post will explain how to find the adequate “File Upload” for a given product, and I will fill one template as an example. Step-by-step, showing through abundant print-screens what needs to be indicated where.

So, if a seller is back again in Figure 1.1 and choses “I’m uploading a file to add multiple products”

The seller will be redirected to the following screen. This screen can also be reached from Seller Central by going through “inventory”, “Add Products Via Upload” Figure 2.1

It is interesting to note that this screen offers a lot of information and possibilities beyond the simple download of category templates. Through this page we can reach

Inventory Loader, Price & Quantity, Book/Video/Music Loaders, Category Style Guides and BTGs.
Links for Category Approval Applications.
The BTGs (Browse Tree Guides) for each category with the exact item Type Keyword (as we will see later, one of the attributes on the file upload)

There are multiple video tutorials, including What do I need to know before using inventory files? and Product Feeds Overview, and the links to the Inventory Loader. While not within the scope of this thread, the Inventory Loader is very similar to the File Upload that we will explain in detail. Any seller that learns how to use the File Upload will be capable of using the Inventory Loader.

In our example, we are going to fill a simple product that doesn’t require category un-gating, so that anybody can download the same spreadsheet and compare the steps. We will also use the same example in the next sections of this guide when we explain how to create variations.

For this example, we are going to do a multipurpose floor cleaner that, when the time for variation comes, will allow us to use a theme with double variation (size and quantity). Figure 2.2 shows the category where we will select the “Upload Template”:

We scroll down to “generate template” and voila! We have generated the dreaded Excel spreadsheet. Time to fill it up!
The Template has multiple tabs.

Instructions, is completely illegible and will cause a headache to whomever tries to decipher it. Plus, half of it is literally in Chinese. My suggestion, skip it.
Images, literally the same information as this link, but poorly formatted. Just read the link.
Example, I’ll do a better one, that’s why I’m wasting hours with this thread, if the example was useful this wouldn’t be necessary. Skip it as well.
Data Definitions, finally! A useful tab. As indicated earlier, it is color-coded! The column “A” changes color from gray (format), to cream (required information), yellow (images), pink (variations), orange (basic info), green (discoverability), blue (dimensions), lighter blue (fulfillment), un-named color (compliance), red (offer), and lastly yet another blueish (B2B). Easy-peasy, they are roughly the same categories that we explained before. Column “B” indicates the “Field Name” basically what will the seller fill, Column “C” is redundant, take it as a synonym to column “B”, column “D” gives the description of the attribute (what I did on the previous post), Column “E” indicates accepted Values, basically if the question is “what’s the color?” you can’t answer “Sternum”. Column “F” indicates an example, like color = yellow, and lastly column “F” indicates if the attribute is required or optional.
Template, this is the dreaded section that needs to be filled. It’s just a vertical version of what was horizontally shown in “Data Definitions”. In my mind, that’s stupid confusing, but alas, worry not, in the words of the great Loki of Asgard:

The page has the same color-code that is shown in the “Data Definitions”. For instance, the value that needs to be filled in cell C4 (color coded cream) is “Product ID”. This value is explained on the “Data Definition” on cell C6. All the user needs to do is simply fill the value of the GTIN. If we continue down the template to, for instance, cell AF4 (color coded orange) “Product Description” we can check the “Data Definition” page and see that cell C31 explains what information to input.
Browse Data, for the purpose of this guide, let’s consider this another useless page.
Valid Values, a very useful page. This one is also color-coded as “Data Definitions” and “Template”. It contains many of the same values and it indicates (horizontally, just like data definitions) what type of information can be inputted. Going to the examples listed above, “Product ID” is explained in “Data Definition” as cell C6, in “Template” as cell C4 and in “Valid Values” as the values of row 3. “Product Description” is listed in “Data Definition” as cell C31, in “Template” as cell AF4 and in “Valid Values” as row 15.
In short, the template has 7 pages. Only 3 of them are important, and only 1 needs to be filled. Let’s fill it!

Basic info, Cream cells

Cell A4 is a drop-down menu with only one option: cleanningaggent, we select that.
Cell B4 is the item SKU, for the exercise we are working with TallyTony’s Unparallel Floor Cleaner 1 gallon, so we will say that the SKU is TTUFC1G. (As indicated above, I have explained my terminology for SKUs [here] (‼ Regarding GTINs and how to navigate the GS1 dashboard)).
Cell C4 is the GTIN, let’s say is a 12-digit code 876543210987.
Cell D4 is the Product ID type, as a 12-digit code is a UPC. This is a drop-down menu.
Cell E4 is the Product’s name: TallyTony’s Unparallel Floor Cleaner, 1 gallon.
Cell F4, Item Type Keyword, is a drop-down menu. Only one option.
Cell G4, Unit Count Type, we could argue that it could be either “Count” (because we can sell multiple gallons) or we could use “FLOZ” because we are selling the item by volume. Price per unit is calculated by dividing by the Unit Count. I recommend using “FLOZ”, so that the listing will say $X/FLOZ. This is always attractive information that the buyers like to see.
Cell H4 is Unit Count, a gallon has 128 FLOZ, so 128.
Cell I4, Is Product Expirable, drop-down menu. It depends on the product, a floor cleaner really doesn’t expire, so I’ll say no, but if you want it to expire you can say yes.
Cell J4, Main Image URL. Just copy the URL of the website where the image is. Let’s say www.TallyTony’sawesome. com/image/manydigitsthatdontmatter
Cell I4, quantity, how many units are available for sale, let’s say 10.
Cell L4, standard price, $12. I would love to sell for $10MM, but I would probably not sell very many units… Just write “12”, don’t include the dollar sign.

So, our file should look like what is shown in Figure 2.3

Image, Yellow cells

This is the easiest section, we already explained how to upload the “Main Image”. Secondary images follow the same rule. Copy the URL of the images from any website where you have them. That covers cells M-U 4. I’m not adding a Figure of that. It would just be rubbish and the thread is long enough as it is.

Variation, Pink cells

We will explain this in detail in the Fourth Section of the thread.

Basic, Orange cells

Cell AC4, Update Delete, type of update we are doing, is a drop-down menu. We are creating the product so it’s a full update.
Cell AD4, Brand name, TallyTony. It’s a drop-down menu. If the brand is registered and the seller is authorized to sell it, the brand should be listed in the menu.
Cell AE4, Model number, TK421 (credit to whomever guesses what that code references from memory).
Cell AF4, product description. Describe the product, I’ll accept any description that sings praises to my “Unparalleled Floor Cleaner”.
Cell AG4, Manufacturer’s Part Number, you can leave this blank if you want, you can add a part number if you have it. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter, but it doesn’t hurt to have it. This information becomes important if you are selling a product that’s super specific, for instance car part; many buyers will still miss it.
Cell AH4, Manufacturer, who did it? Well, of course, THE TallyTony.
Cell AI4, GTIN exemption reason. I don’t recommend getting exemptions, but that’s just me.

The File should look like Figure 2.4

Discovery, Green Cells

We reach a part a bit less intuitive and maybe more confusing, but still fairly straight-forward.

Cell AJ4, Style Name, not really needed for this product, we can say “Floor Cleaner” if we wanted to. But neither adds nor subtracts. Can be left blank.
Cells AK to AT 4, Key features that will appear as bullet points next to the product’s image. Super important part. We can say things like “Concentrated Floor Cleaner”, “Dilute 1/2 cup per gallon of water”, “Lavender Fragrance”, “Made in the USA”, “Peanut free!”. Whatever else you feel like, up to 10 bullet points, I personally recommend not using more than 5. It feels like trying too hard.
Cell AU4, Equivalent Product Volume Unit, is a drop-down menu, for this case let’s select “gallon”
Cell AV4, Equivalent Product Unit, as we selected “gallon” in the previous cell, let’s use 1.
Cell AW4, Search Terms. Check above for the explanation on search terms. We will use things like: “Floor cleaner lavender concentrated”. Then misspelled words like “fllor or clnr” and we’ll throw some Spanish too “Piso limpiador concentrado”. All is fair in love, war, and search terms.
Cell AX4, Scent name, I have decided it’s Lavender.
Cell AY4, Color, if the fragrance is Lavender, it better be purple.
Cell AZ4, Garment type, this isn’t clothing, so we leave this blank.
Cell BA4, Number of boxes, we are only shipping 1 box, so “1”.

We can leave cells BB-BD 4 empty for the purpose of the exercise because they don’t apply to this product.

This is a wide section, so I had to zoom out, but it looks like Figure 2.5:

Dimensions, Blue cells

This section has a trick. I have fallen for it in the past. Check it carefully.

Cell BE4, Item Width Unit of Measure, we’re in ‘Murrica, so let’s say “inches” (who measures sellable items in picometers?). This is a drop-down menu.
Cell BF4, Item Form, completely unrelated to the previous cell. Another drop-down menu, we are selling a liquid.
Cell BG4, Item Height Unit of Measure, another drop-down menu, for consistency “IN”.
Cells BH and BI 4, finally are Width and Height respectively. It’s frustrating that they aren’t exactly next to the “unit” cells. Let’s say that the width is 6 (inches) and the heigh is 11 (inches).
Cell BJ4, Item Display Volume Unit of Measure, another drop-down menu, we can use gallons or FLOZ. Let’s use Gallons here for the sake of the exercise.
Cell BK4, Liquid Volume, this is a trick. This cell has nothing to do with the previous one. This cell is related to the next one (BL4). Thanks Amazon, this is why people hate the templates. Anyway, rant’s over. In BL4 we will select FlOZ so here we will select 128.
Cell BL4, Liquid Volume Unit of Measure, we already ranted about this cell, is a drop-down menu, let’s select FlOZ.
Cell BM4, Display Volume, this is related to cell BJ4, so here is 1, because we are offering 1 gallon.
Cell BN4, Item Length Unit of Measure, drop-down menu, inches for the sake of consistency.
Cell BO4, Length, let’s say 6 inches.

In short, not a difficult section to fill, just confusing because of how disorganized it is. It should look like Figure 2.6

Fulfillment, Lighter Blue cells

It’s like the previous section, but here we are going to give the dimensions of the package that we will be shipping. Not of the item, the package.

Cell BP4, Package height unit of measure, drop-down menu, inches.
Cell BQ4, Package length…, guess what, nothing to do with the previous cell.
Cell BR4, Package width, surprise, surprise! Nothing to do with either of the previous cells either.
Cell BS4, Package weight unit of measures, drop-down menu, let’s say pounds.
Cell BT4, Package height, this cell relates to cell BP4. Enter the height of the package.
Cell BU4, Package width unit of measure. Relates to cell BR4. Drop-down menu.
Cell BV4, Fulfillment Center ID, drop-down menu. Amazon-fulfilled means FBA, Default means FBM.
Cell BW4, Package length unit of measure. Relates to cell BQ4. Drop-down menu.
Cell BX4, Package weight. Relates to cell BS4.

So, this is a minefield. Sellers just need to be careful to relate the right cells together. It’s not hard, just tedious. It should look like Figure 2.7

Compliance, Un-named color cells

This section goes forever. I’m not going to explain it cell by cell. If anybody is using the guide, by this point they need to know how it works. It’s a lot of drop-down menus and yes and no answers. Please check the “Compliance Section” on the section above to see what to input where. If the product doesn’t have batteries just select “no” and forget about all the battery related questions.

If the product has an SDS (a floor cleaner would) just add the URL and copy the information.

Again, this is just long, but straightforward. I have faith in you, you can fill it!

There’s no way to add a Figure that covers from column BY to EQ, so imagine that it’s filled.

Offer, Red cells

This section has a couple of tricks, and it is a delicate one. Sellers are advised to fill it with particular care.

Cell ER4, Gift wrap, drop-down menu.
Cell ES4, MAP, whaterver the MAP is.
Cell ET4, Package quantity, how many items per package, so in this case, 1.
Cell EU4, Release date, whenever it becomes available, format MM/DD/YYYY.
Cell EV4, Offer End Date, a bit out of place as we haven’t indicated the offer start date.
Cell EW4, Currency, USD. This is why there’s no need to use the “$” sign when indicating price.
Cell EX4, MSRP, just the price, no $ sign.
Cell EY4, Product site launch date, format MM/DD/YYYY date when the product is shown on Amazon, but not necessarily available. This was described earlier on as an accident-waiting-to-happen. If you’re a new seller I suggest you avoid this.
Cell EZ4, Max order quantity, let’s say buyers can buy up to 4 at a time. But that’s up to the seller. Setting a max order quantity can prevent a single competitor from “hoarding” all the inventory with a fake purchase and stranding it as “pending” for weeks.
Cell FA4, Merchant shipping group, the shipping template associated with the item.
Cell FB4, Offer start date, a bit out of place but what’s new? Goes with cell EV4.
Cell FC4, Product expiration type, drop-down menu. This relates to cell I4 (no, I’m not joking)
Cell FD4, Restock date, also described as an accident waiting to happen. You’re just learning to fill a basic template, don’t play with dates that you can’t control.
Cell FE4, Number of items, this is redundant information, but let’s say 1, again…
Cell FF4, Fulfillment center shelf life, how long can the product be on a shelf. Think of it as a “sell by date”.
Cell FG4, Product tax code, again, explained above. This is indicated by Amazon.
Cell FH4, Handling time, how long it takes for you as a seller to prepare an order.
Cell FI4, Offering can be gift-messaged, drop-down menu.
Cell FJ, Condition, better be new. I don’t allow arbitrage of my brand.
Cell FK4, Condition note, only for non-new products.
Cell FL4, Sale Price, only if there’s a sale.
Cell FM4, Start sale date, finally something that’s in order.
Cell FN4, End sale date, three cells in a row that make sense together!

It should look like Figure 2.8

Business to Business, Other blueish cells

Last section, this is not even needed, and I’ll confess, that even though I use the templates to upload products, I usually fix the B2B prices in the inventory tab.

Cell FO4, Business price, $11, we input just the 11.
Cell FP4, Quantity price type, drop-down menu, percentage or fixed. This is completely up to the seller, I like “percentage” better because it takes care of itself when I adjust the business price. Particularly in years with horrible inflation.
Cell FQ4, Quantity lower bound 1, the first break, let’s say that if you buy 2 units you will get a discount. So “2”.
Cell FR4, Quantity price 1, the discount. The percentage, say we want to give 5%, just type “5”.
Cells FS, FU, FW, and FY are the next quantity breaks.
Cells FT, FV, FX, and FZ are the next percent breaks.
Cell GA, Progressive discount, is something that new sellers don’t really need to worry about. This is for FBA items that sell big quantities, so leave it alone. It works the same way as the cell FP4. Just use it for larger quantities. Drop-down menu for percent or fixed.
Cells GH and GI are very rarely needed (definitely not for a floor cleaner)
Cell GJ4, Pricing action, is a drop-down menu that serves to delete either the whole B2B pricing structure, the quantity price, or the progressive discount. Most times seller will leave this blank.

Figure 2.9 looks like this:

And we are done. Your upload file is ready to go! From the screen shown in Figure 2.1, just click “Upload Inventory File” and upload it. I personally recommend saving and uploading the file as a TSV file, but an Excel works just as well.

If there are any errors, which can happen, click the tab that reads “Monitor Upload Status” and download the file with the errors. Check what the errors might be (they will be highlighted) and just fix them in the file. If you followed my instructions most errors will be the use of a “$” or “%” sign, or missing one place where the sequence of the cells was not logical. Again, this happens, and it’s not too problematic.

I really hope this guide on the file upload helps. Again, the template looks much more intimidating than it really is.

230

Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj

3 years ago

In reply to: Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj's post

3) Creating variations through the “Add Product” link

As indicated earlier, Oneida has created a very complete guide on how to create Variations. As all things Amazon, it’s much easier than what Amazon makes it sound.

The first thing to understand with variations are the concepts:

Variation: different versions of ultimately the same item.
Parent: the product itself in its basic form. If you’re selling shoes of different colors and sizes, the parent is the shoe.
Children: the slightly different versions of the product. On the example of the shoes, the children are the sizes and/or the colors.
Variation themes: is what is the actual variation between the children. For instance, the size and/or color.

Couple of common questions:

Can I see the SKU of the parent product of an existing variation created by another seller?

No. Nor can other sellers see the SKU of your parent products.

Can I add a child to an existing family?

Yes. But multiple considerations: is the product branded or generic? How many other sellers? Will this cause any problems to my account health? Am I listing the right product?

What if it is a branded product?

Contact the brand owner and indicate that a variation is missing. I do recommend sellers to consider why would a brand have an incomplete variation.

What child will be the “main” or “most visible” variation?

Amazon decides this. Some variations can be sorted alphabetically, others by best seller rating, others by the whims of the algorithm.

Can new-editions of an existing product be listed as variations?

No. Check this other thread by Oneida explaining how to add new-editions.

What if a variation theme “is missing”?

If Amazon decides that a product doesn’t qualify for a variation theme, the seller can’t force it. Even if it sounds absurd and if the category should have the variation, the seller shouldn’t perverse an accepted variation theme into another value. Sellers that abuse variations face risk of suspension.

There are many more FAQs that may be valid. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s possible to create a one-fit-all list. We can however show examples, step by step, to help illustrate how to create variations. In this section we will use the “Add product” functionality, and in the Fourth and last section of this thread we will show how to use the Variation Wizard and File-Uploads.

In the following examples I will list the steps for:

Creating a variation for package quantity.
Creating a variation for item size.
Creating a variation for package quantity and item size.

We will work with the same product we invented in the previous section, TallyTony’s Unparalleled Floor Cleaner ™.

The first step, creating a parent product, will be common to the three examples. To create a Parent Listing using the “Add Product” button, we simply follow the steps listed in the first part of this thread (Figure 1.1) until reaching the screen shown in Figure 1.5:

A parent product does not have a GTIN code or Product ID. Even if the fields are highlighted as required, when creating a parent product, the Product ID and the Product ID types are going to be left empty. Again, you will need a GTIN/Product ID for each child, but not for the Parent. Let’s think of the example that we are working: TallyTony’s Unparalleled Floor Cleaner is the product. I have a GTIN for the 1 gallon and for the box of 4 gallons; but not for the concept itself.

By filling the information, we would end with something like what is shown in Figure 3.1:

Product name is required, brand name is certainly recommended. For Unit Count Type I have selected “FlOZ”. Sellers can also select the value “Count”. As explained earlier, the advantage of using the FlOZ is that when the page shows the product it will show the price per ounce. So, dividing a price for 128 FlOZ (1 gallon) provides a much more impressive result than dividing the price by 1 count. Ultimately the result is the same, but it’s better marketing to divide by a larger number.

Please note that not shown on the print screen I also selected that the product was not expirable. That is a mandatory field.

After clicking the variation tab, sellers will be presented with a drop-down menu that looks like this, Figure 3.2:

Back to the exercise, the seller can now click on the highlighted tab of variation. This will bring us to our first example:

Creating a variation for package quantity.

For the current example we will work with “Item package quantity”, as we want to do an offering (variation) for 1 gallon and 4 gallons.

Once we select this variation theme, the screen will undergo two changes, Figure 3.3:

The first one is that the “vital info” and the “offer” tabs are no longer shown as missing information, while the variation tab is. The second is that now the screen alerts us (in bright red) that we need to create the variations.

To create the variations, we will simply input the quantities in the “package quantity” field. The quantities that we will use in this case are “1” and “4”. We will input them individually. Every time we add a number a new space is opened to include a following variation. It will look like Figure 3.4

As we only want to create these 2 variations, we will simply click “Add Variations” and the bottom of the screen will add the table shown in Figure 3.5:

Filling this table is not particularly complicated. The only thing needed is to have the Product IDs and prices of the child products. It’s not even necessary for them to already exist on the Amazon catalog, though if they exist, they can be linked to the parent simply by filling the information. If Amazon recognizes the Product ID, it will open a pop-up confirming that the seller is linking the right product to the Parent.

Once the information is filled, the screen will look like this, Figure 3.6:

At this point the variation is technically ready to go live. The seller can just click “Save and Finish” and the variation will appear. Please read the final considerations regarding variations at the end of this post.

Creating a variation for item size.

Let’s assume now that TallyTony’s Unparalleled Floor Cleaner can be sold in quarts and gallons.

If we return to Figure 3.2, we can choose the variation theme of “size”. This would prompt the screen shown in Figure 3.7:

For size we can easily select “quart” and “gallon”. We will input the value just as we did for the previous example, and we will then click “Add Variation”. The screen will look like Figure 3.8:

And once we fill the information, it will look like Figure 3.9:

Again, ready to save. Please read the considerations in the bottom of the post.

Creating a variation for package quantity and item size.

For the final part of the example, we will create a double variation. We want to sell quarts and gallons, but we want to sell quarts as singles, 6-packs and 12-packs, and the gallons as singles and 4-packs.

From Figure 3.2 we select the variation theme “Itempackagequantity – size” and we will have a screen that combines the results of Figures 3.3 and 3.8. This new screen will have the expanding fields for both package quantity and size, and they will be used just as they were used in the previous examples. Figure 3.10:

Please note that on the quantities we will list all the possible quantities (single, 4-pack, 6-pack, and 12-pack). Once we click the “Add Variation” button a table will appear showing us all the possible combinations of Package Quantity and Size. Sellers need to be careful to choose the right combinations. Figure 3.11:

As it’s usually the case, this table is much more intimidating than it has to be. The first thing to remember is that some of those values are not going to be used (4-pack of quarts, 6-pack of gallons, 12 pack of gallons). We select the “check-mark” next to these values and click the “delete selected” button as shown in Figure 3.12:

Finally, we fill the remaining fields in the table as we did in the previous examples. Figure 3.13:

A few considerations:

We didn’t add any description or images. If the children already exist, the images and description will be kept for each individual child. This however can be a bit frustrating to the buyer because each child will have different information, and to the seller because if each child is done individually, but the information shared (other than the variation) is the same, a lot of effort is wasted in duplication.
Once a variation theme is “saved and finished” it can’t be changed. So, either the parent must be killed, and a new variation built, or the existing variation needs to be accepted.
Reviews of existing children will merge. But it can take anyway from minutes to days for this to happen correctly.

170

Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj

3 years ago

In reply to: Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj's post

4) Creating variations through the “Variation Wizard” using a “File Upload”

The Variation Wizard has the following help page. All in all, it gives plenty of information and it’s quite easy to follow.

There are multiple ways to reach the Variation Wizard. Sellers can simply type “Variation Wizard” on the search bar in Seller Central, or they can reach it by clicking the link at the bottom right corner of the “Add Product” page, Figure 4.1:

By accessing the Variation Wizard, sellers will reach a screen that will allow them to “Add to or update an existing variation family”, “Create a new variation family by combining existing stand-alone listings within your catalog?” or “Download a Previously Generated Template”. Each of the first two option has its independent dropdown menu. I have edited the image below to include all three the menus expanded at the same time; please note that only one of the first two menus can be opened at a time. Figure 4.2:

A seller using the first option “Add to or update an existing variation family”, needs to input the ASIN of one of the existing members of variation (parent or child). Once the ASIN is searched, a list of the existing variation family will open, giving the seller two options: “add variation” or “generate template”. If we input the ASIN of our product TallyTony´s Unparalleled Floor Cleaner, the page will load all the existing variations for the product. It will look something like Figure 4.3:

To "simplify’ the thread, I´m only loading one image to explain all the virtues of this option. I have already clicked on the “Add Variation” button on the bottom left (circled in yellow). By clicking on said value the Variation Wizard has added the last line in the table with all the variations. I could simply input the ASIN, SKU, Product’s Description, Product ID, Variation Theme (in this case package quantity), condition, available quantity, and price, and I would add a new variation to the family. Simple as that.

I can edit any of the existing variations by clicking on the “edit” buttons to the right of the screen (also circled in yellow).

And (this one will blow the mind of many a seller!) I can download a partially filled File Upload for the whole variation family by simply pressing the “Generate Template” button on the bottom right corner of the table and downloading the file (bottom-bottom right corner). This file will have all the information of the products that conform the family, including descriptions, basic info, and variations.

What happens if we look for a product that has a double variation theme? Like, in the example of the Third Section, package quantity and size? On that case the screen will look like Figure 4.4:

(Please note that I forced the Product Names to show what they are to help follow the table. That’s not the proper way to name products).

To add a variation in this format, the seller would need to include the value of the Size (in this case 32 or 128 Fl OZ) and the quantity. For instance, a 4-pack of quarts would be size 32, Package Quantity 4. A 12-pack of gallons would be size 128, Package Quantity 128.

This concludes the explanation on “Add to or update an existing variation family”.

If the second option of the Variation Wizard, expanded in Figure 4.2 (“Create a new variation family by combining existing stand-alone listings within your catalog?”) is chosen, the screen will show a set of instructions on how to fill the Variation section of the File Upload template. We will close this thread repeating the variations we did using the “Add Product” functionality, but using the variation section for the File-upload that we explained in the Second Section. To prevent unnecessary scrolling, this is Figure 4.2:

These instructions can look a bit daunting; I personally despise how the “Parent” section is explained.

The first two bullet point for the “Parent” read:

a) Enter values for required fields, including SKU. This can be any alphanumeric string of 40 characters or less, but must be unique. Sellers often append “-parent” to their base SKU to remind them that this is a parent SKU.
b) Leave Parent SKU field blank.

Those instructions, in vacuum, would be enough to cause a migraine to any unfortunate soul that reads them. Not only does Amazon make a grammatical mistake (less instead of fewer…) but it gives apparently contradicting information.

To understand what they are trying to convey, we need to go back to the File-Upload template. Back in the Second Section of this thread we indicated where to find and download the File-Upload and how to fill it; now we will add the variations. As a refresher, Figure 2.2 shows what category and File-upload we are using for the example.

If we were to fill that template, the value of the SKU for the parent would be in column B, on the “Basic info” section; this is the one indicated in bullet point “a)” and is a required value. It has to be filled. The second value, bullet point “b)”, that Amazon calls in dark letters “Parent SKU” corresponds to column Y of the template file, on the “Variation” section.

This still sounds confusing, and it will be explained more clearly in the examples below.

The variation themes that we will do are:

Creating a variation for package quantity.

For our first example we will simply create the 1-Gallon and 4-Gallons variations of the product TallyTony’s Unparalleled Floor Cleaner. This means one parent with two children. The Basic info section of our file upload will look like this, Figure 4.5:

The 4th row is being used for the parent, the 5th and 6th are being used for the children.

In the row of the “Parent” we will not fill the Product ID, Product ID type, or Unit Count fields. We will fill cell B4, Seller SKU, which is the value that was “explained” in bullet point “a)” of Figure 4.2. The value of SKU of the parent, indicated in cell B4 will be referenced later when we create the variations. We will also fill the ProductName, Itemtype, Unitcounttype, and confirm that the product does not expire.

We will fill all the values in the rows of the “Children”. We will also fill the image URL, quantity, and Standard Price values.

Now, to create the variations, we will fill the Variation section so that it looks like Figure 4.6:

Column “V” has the option of a drop-down menu that reads either “variation” or “package contains”. Let’s not worry about “package contains”. For the purpose of this thread we will only choose “variation”. We select this value only for the children. The Parent’s value is left empty.

Columns “W”, “Z” and “AA” can be ignored. They are related to the “package contains” value that we will not explain on this thread.

Column “X” is a drop-down menu that gives us all the possible variation-themes. For this example, we will work with “Itempackagequantity”. We select this value for both parent and children.

Column “Y” is the final piece of the puzzle referenced in bullet point “b)” of Figure 4.2. The cell Y4, “Parent SKU” will be left empty, as the parent does not need to relate to itself. All the children (in this case Y5 and Y6) will indicate the Parent SKU value that we inputted on cell B4. In this example that value is TTUFCGA.

Column “AB” has a drop-down menu with two options: parent and child. The cell AB4 will be the “Parent”, and AB5 and AB6 will be “Child”.

At this point the variation is indicated, but it isn’t complete. We have indicated what type of Variation we are doing, but we haven’t assigned the value of “Package Quantity” in any given column. We need to scan the remaining columns of the template to see where to input the “Package Quantity”.

If we scroll to the “Offer” section, column “ET” provides the value. Cell ET4, the one for the parent product will be left empty. Cell ET5 will indicate 1 (1 gallon), and cell ET6 will indicate 4 (4 gallons), as shown in Figure 4.7:

Please revisit the Second Section of this thread to see how to fill the remaining parts of the template.

Creating a variation for item size.

Just as we did in the Third Section of the thread, we are going to offer the product in both Quarts and Gallons. The Basic Information section of the template will look as shown in Figure 4.8:

Small changes from Figure 4.5. I have updated all the SKUs to correspond to the products (including the parent) and of course Product ID, name, and standard price.

For the variations we will do something very similar to what we did in Figure 4.6, but this time we will choose “Size” as the variation theme, and we will also have to update the Parent SKU value on column “Y”. Figure 4.8:

And now we need to find the column where we will indicate “Size”. This is column BC on the “Discovery” section, and we will input the values of “Quart” and “Gallon”. We could have also used numbers, for instance 32 and 128 (the respective OZ for quarts and gallons). Please note that this section contains other attributes that are important to variations like “Color” or “Scent Name”. Figure 4.9 shows how the section will look:

Creating a variation for package quantity and item size.

For a slightly more complicated variation, we will create the relationship of both size and quantity.

We will offer Quarts as singles, 6-pack and 12-pack, and the Gallons as singles and 4-packs.

We fill the Basic Information section as shown in Figure 4.10:

And the Variation section as shown in Figure 4.11:

We will assign the sizes in the “Discovery” sections as shown in Figure 4.12:

And the Package Quantity in the “Offer” section as shown in Figure 4.13:

And with that our variations are done!

Once the files are done, they can be uploaded using the File Upload function shown in Figure 2.1.

And that closes the thread! I sincerely hope that it has helped clarify any confusion that there might have existed. Please be aware that despite my best efforts, it is extremely likely that I missed a detail or added some unnecessary information. As the products that we used for the examples don’t exist, I couldn’t compile the files and check for errors. In other words, the possibility of an error being returned, even if you followed all my steps, exists. If you do get an error, there’s nothing to it. Just download the report file that Amazon will generate, open it (it can be either an Excel or a .TSV) and follow the instructions. On the Excel file the errors will be highlighted; in other words, easy to find and fix. Also remember that just because the Upload-File is more “elegant”, it’s not mandatory to use it. If it remains intimidating, sellers can create variations using the “Add Product” functionality (explained on the Third Section), or the Variation Wizard. After that, and as explained in this section, they can easily download a partially filled File-Upload from the Variation Wizard, and compare it with the one they had done.

If you have only read this last section (Creating variations through the “Variation Wizard” using a “File Upload”), please review the considerations on the Third Section regarding variations and the explanation on the Second Section regarding how to fill the remaining parts of the Upload File.

Please note that the Upload File is an elegant tool to keep track of listings. Strictly speaking it is the way that products should be uploaded; but that doesn’t mean that sellers can’t use the “Add Product” function explained on the First Section. “Add Product” is a much simpler tool when creating individual products, and even when creating variations. With that said, the File Upload has advantages: it allows sellers to edit listings without tampering with the live ASINs; if previous versions are saved before every edit, sellers can simply re-upload an existing file and erase any “mistake”; they work as a back-up of information; and they are more orderly than the simple “Add Product” tabs.

230

Seller_sUfyk7ajzPzny

3 years ago

In reply to: Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj's post

@SEAmod - might I suggest that this helpful tutorial is worthy of consideration for being ‘pinned’ by the FMT (“Forum Moderation Team”)?

260

Seller_bD1cHkftXnubO

3 years ago

In reply to: Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj's post

This really quite a good job and VERY helpful. Thank you @TallyTony for you hard work.

I will admit this existed 4 years it would have cut down on the cursing.

Seller_hvDb6bxkxyHbe

3 years ago

In reply to: Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj's post

This is awesome! Thank you so much. I created some products years ago, but could not ever remember how I did it and have wanted to add more. Now I can!

Seller_DRNQ3p1DRjCS6

3 years ago

In reply to: Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj's post

Thank you so very much TallyTony!!!..I tried to create variations with my products when I first created them but could not figure out how to do so. This is VERY helpful! I noticed products that have variations share the same rankings (well for the most part they do. I’ve seen some that don’t which is even more confusing). This makes it difficult sometimes when researching new products to add to my catalog. Is there a benefit to move my products into one listing and have variations?

Seller_8LCWm21cBt6lf

3 years ago

In reply to: Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj's post

What do I do if I am working on a Macbook. No Excel. Amazon never offers any help to people who are working on a Mac. They sell a lot of Macs on their website but if you are using one to sell on Amazon, Good Luck. Why hasn’t this problem been addressed for sooooo many years. It’s very frustrating. I would welcome the chance to advance my sales with the ability to upload new products on a Mac. Thanks!

Seller_jZWpyInw8RkYT

3 years ago

In reply to: Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj's post

I think Amazon should hire @TallyTony, give him a six-figure salary, and let him just do his thing.

Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj

3 years ago

How to create listings and variations using the Add Product and the File-Upload functions

This thread is going to cover the different ways to add products and the basic steps to create variations. It is divided in four sections:

First Section: Adding a product through the “Add Product” link
Second Section: Adding a product using a “File Upload”
Third Section: Creating variations through the “Add Product” link
Fourth Section: Creating variations through the “Variation Wizard” using a “File Upload”

Even with these resources, there are many subtleties that can have long lasting effects on listings, and that many sellers miss until after the product is listed and live.

Some basic questions that a seller should answer before listing a product:

What product to list?

How to procure it?

How to sell it? FBM or FBA?

How to comply with Amazon’s expectations and requirements.

You can learn how to follow Amazon’s instructions by using Seller University, by searching Amazon’s help pages, or by Searching the Forums.

When should a seller list their product?

Ideally once its procured and paid.

3K views

48 replies

Create and Manage Listings

Tags:Add a product, GTIN, Listings, Pricing, Restricted Products

700

How to create listings and variations using the Add Product and the File-Upload functions

by Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj

3 years ago

This thread is going to cover the different ways to add products and the basic steps to create variations. It is divided in four sections:

First Section: Adding a product through the “Add Product” link
Second Section: Adding a product using a “File Upload”
Third Section: Creating variations through the “Add Product” link
Fourth Section: Creating variations through the “Variation Wizard” using a “File Upload”

Even with these resources, there are many subtleties that can have long lasting effects on listings, and that many sellers miss until after the product is listed and live.

Some basic questions that a seller should answer before listing a product:

What product to list?

How to procure it?

How to sell it? FBM or FBA?

How to comply with Amazon’s expectations and requirements.

You can learn how to follow Amazon’s instructions by using Seller University, by searching Amazon’s help pages, or by Searching the Forums.

When should a seller list their product?

Ideally once its procured and paid.

Create and Manage Listings

Tags:Add a product, GTIN, Listings, Pricing, Restricted Products

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Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj

3 years ago

In reply to: Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj's post

1) How to create a product using the “Add Product” link

Please follow this link for Amazon’s instructions on how to “Add Product”.

Once the seller reaches this screen, they can follow three options shown in Figure 1.1

If the Product ID is not in the catalogue, the seller will be redirected to this screen, Figure 1.2

After clicking “Create New Listing”, the seller will be redirected to the following screen Figure 1.3

Each bullet point includes the content of each tab.

Vital Info

Product ID, the seller will indicate the GS1 Product Identifier. For more information check this thread. Please remember that the number of digits is crucial. A 14-digit code is a GTIN, a 13-digit code is an EAN, 12-digit code is a UPC, and so on so forth. Figure 1.6

Product name, the title or product name must be short and to the point. Some categories even have a restriction on the number of characters. Spamming the title is a common problem that doesn’t help sellers for two reasons: first, it confuses buyers, second, there is no need to put search terms and keywords in the title when they can be added in many (many) more places. The product name is just that: the product name. It has to start with the brand, and then an extremely clear description of what the product is. For instance: “Tally Tony’s Boiled Peanuts, 12 oz” is an acceptable name. “Delicious snack, Hand-Harvested by THE Tally Tony himself, carefully measured to fit 12 oz bottles, with not an OZ to spare” is not an acceptable title, and it even fails to indicate what the product is.
Manufacturer, the manufacturer of the product. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Manufacturer Part Number, alphanumeric string that represents the manufacturer part number. This is a required field for Brand Registered products. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Brand Name, one of the most important steps of the listing process is to link the Product with the Brand. Please review the considerations explained earlier on the thread on how to list products after the brand has been registered.
Item Type Keyword, a value from a drop-down menu. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Model Number, optional value, different from the name and the manufacturer part number. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Unit Count, this value is important when calculating price per unit. It indicates how many units are being sold, and it is closely related to the next attribute (Unit Count Type). The Unit Count measures how many units are being sold. It is explained here.
Unit Count Type, it refers to the actual unit of measure of the Unit Type. It can measure weight, area, volume, length, or quantity. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Contains Liquid Content, a yes or no question. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Size, an attribute closely related to variations. The Size indicates how different items compare. It can be a numeric or text value. It doesn’t refer exclusively to clothing; size is an attribute that can be used when comparing the size of tumblers (FL OZ) or when measuring the length of a digital screen. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Size Map, predetermined value from a drop-down menu. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Color, another attribute closely related to variations, color of the item. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Color Map, a predetermined color from a drop-down menu. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Number of Boxes, number of boxes on which the product is shipped. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Is Product Expirable, a yes or no question. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Product Expiration Type, a drop-down menu. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Fulfilment Center Shelf Life, measured in days. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Item Form, a drop-down menu. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Number of Items, number of items included in the product. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Fitment Type, universal product that can work for all brands (a car soap can be used in a Ferrari or a Lada) or specific to a given brand/model (charger specific to a given type cellphone). (This attribute is not in every listing)

Variation

This will be studied in detail in the Thirrd Section of this thread. This section can be ignored by sellers that are not creating a parent product but a standalone listing.

Offer

Seller SKU, this is the SKU or identifier that the Seller uses to monitor the product. I have explained SKUs in length here. The SKU can be any value that the seller wants, anything from “IhateAmazon” to “Something_logical_and_easy_to_identify”. The SKU becomes an integral part of the listing, so it deserves a level of consideration. Again, I recommend checking the link provided above.
Product tax code, explained here by Amazon .
Merchant Shipping Group, the shipping template to which the listing is assigned.
Restock Date, in case of backorder, is the date at which the product will be available. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Standard Price, needless to say, one of the most important values. It refers to the price at which the product will be sold. For information on how to calculate this price check this link.
Sale Price, an offer price. It has to be lower than the Standard Price.
Sale Start Date, the date at which the “Sale Price” starts.
Sale End Date, the date at which the “Sale Price” ends.
Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price, also known as MSRP. Not all products have it, and it won’t be charged to the customers, but many products have a MSRP.
Quantity, the number of units available for sale. This value is for items Fulfilled by Merchant, FBA sellers can leave it empty. Sellers should not list product that they don’t have available. Offering products that are not in stock is an accident waiting to happen, and a good way to cause damage to the account, either by cancelling orders, causing late shipments or simply frustrating buyers.
Condition, a drop-down menu. Select if the item is new or used, and if used in what condition.
Condition note, for used items, what the buyers can expect of the item.
Max Order Quantity, the largest number of units a buyer can purchase in a single order.
Handling Time, how many days it takes the seller to process the order.
Offer can be Gift Messaged, a drop-down menu saying “true” or “false”.
Is Gift Wrap Available, a drop-down menu saying “yes” or “no”.
Offer Start Date, if a listing is created and product is not available, the seller can indicate a future date at which the item will be available. That way buyers can know when to expect the product. As a personal note, new sellers would do well to stay away from this attribute, it’s another accident waiting to happen.

Below these attributes sellers will see a table where they can control the Standard Price and Quantity in the different regions of a marketplace.

Compliance

Volume, a numeric value accompanied with a drop-down menu for units.
Item weight, a numeric value accompanied with a drop-down menu for units.
Watts hour per battery, a numeric value accompanied with a drop-down menu for units.
Battery weight (grams), a numeric value accompanied with a drop-down menu for units (extremely funny that it has a drop-down menu for units given that the name of the attribute indicates grams, but whatever.
Lithium content (grams), a numeric value accompanied with a drop-down menu for units.
Categorization/GHS pictograms (select all that apply), check the link of the SDS, this information is found in the second section.
Battery type/size, the type of battery from a drop-down menu.
Number of batteries, how many batteries.
Safety Data Sheet (SDS) URL, a website with the SDS of the product. It can be an URL external to Amazon.
Lithium Battery Packaging, drop-down menu.
Number of Lithium-ion Cells, a numeric answer.
Number of Lithium Metal Cells, another numeric answer.
Applicable Dangerous Goods Regulations, study in the SDS.
Is this product a battery or does it utilize batteries?, drop-down menu with yes or no.
UN number, listed in section 14 of the SDS.
Battery Composition, drop-down menu.
Batteries are Included, drop-down menu with yes or no.
Flash point (º C)?, listed in section 9 of the SDS.
California Proposition 65 Warning Type, listed in section 15 of the SDS.
California Proposition 65 Chemical Names, listed in section 15 of the SDS. List all that apply.
Pesticide Marking, drop-down menu.
Pesticide Registration Status, drop-down menu.
Pesticide Certification Number, please, please, please… don’t falsify this information.
Radio Frequency Emissions & Authorization Status, drop-down menu.
SDoC Contact US Phone Number (email, mailing address, and name), SDoC stands for Supplier Declaration of Conformity. If you don’t know what that is, or if you don’t have it, leave the following sections blank. You can ask your supplier/manufacturer. But as with all Hazmat information, please be careful not to invent it. The SoDC is a way to assure that a product complies with a given regulation.
FCC ID, Federal Communications Commission ID number.

Images

Fairly straightforward section. Just upload the pictures from your computer.

Make sure that the images meet Amazon requirements, particularly the main image.

Description

This, and the following section, are key for the discoverability of the product.

The “Description” section doesn’t have many attributes, but they all have repercussions on the impression that the listing causes.

Product Description, sellers can’t use HTML to “pretty-up” this section up. This is a professional page, keep it professional. The description will be a block of text, sellers need to make it count. Explain things clearly, in detail, fully aware that 97% of buyers will not read it. The description can have a lot of information, but buyers are advised not to expand too much as it can create confusion. Remember that on average a buyer doesn’t spend more than 1 minute per page. You only have 1 minute to convince the buyer to purchase your listing, and by the time the buyer reaches the description 30 seconds have already passed by looking through the images, key features (below) and price.
Key Features, when creating many listings sellers can add key features that will appear as bullet points between the product’s image and the price. Some categories (I think books) don’t have the option of writing key features. Key Features must be short, and to the point. Bursts of description that encapsulate what the product is and why it should be bought. Most buyers will spend more time in the Key Features than in the Description.
Legal Disclaimer, any legal information that needs to be added. This can’t be something that the seller “pulls out of a hat”. A “Legal Disclaimer” implies that there’s a reason why this is indicated, and that reason is a law. For instance, indicating that according to such regulation the product is for people over 21 years of age is a valid legal disclaimer; indicating that Tally Tony’s Boiled Peanuts taste better when combined with Tally Tony’s Cashews is not a valid disclaimer.
CPSIA Warning, drop-down menu with all the imaginable choking warnings.
CPSIA Warning Description, the alphanumerical description that corresponds to the warning.

Keywords

Style Specific Terms, different lines that can be added. These terms are descriptive words that help place the product in the right categories. Do not use sentences; if necessary, sellers can use multiple words, but no more than that.
Used for 1-3, drop-down menus with different applications, places of use for the product. Up to 3 can be selected.
Target Audience, drop-down menus for the different target audiences by age and gender.
Other Attributes, drop-down menu with other attributes.
Search Terms , super important part that gets often overlook. The “Search Terms” are what get the discoverability of the product. Write the search terms but don’t repeat them (if a seller is listing a red sweater the seller shouldn’t say “sweater”, “red”, and “red sweater’), do not separate terms by commas, just by spaces. Terms can be miss-spelled to common typos and in different languages.
Subject Matter, another important way to help the discoverability of the product is adding strings of keywords. Subject matter keywords are added in a similar way to the “Style-Specific Terms” explained above, sellers can enter up to 5 strings of keywords, each string with a maximum of 50 characters.
Platinum Keywords, from a third-party seller’s perspective, for all intents and purposes this is an obsolete feature; it appears that Amazon may not have deleted this solely to maintain legacy compatibility with certain software used almost exclusively by members of the Vendor Program.

More Details

Shipping Weight, how much the packaged item will weight. Sellers can select different units.
Dimensions and weight of the item, it is important to understand the difference between the item and the package. This section allows to list both.
Package Quantity, how many units the buyer will receive each time an item is purchased.
Launch Date, when the product will be available.
Is Discontinued by Manufacturer, drop-down menu with “yes” and “no”.

After all the information is added, the seller will simply press the “save and finish” button in the bottom right corner, and the listing will display in the inventory tab.

Please note that images may take anywhere from 5 minutes to 2 days to show.

Please note that you may have made mistakes and the item may be left on “drafts”.

200

Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj

3 years ago

In reply to: Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj's post

2) Adding a product using a “File Upload”

Many a poor soul has found it easier all together to stop selling on Amazon.

So, if a seller is back again in Figure 1.1 and choses “I’m uploading a file to add multiple products”

The seller will be redirected to the following screen. This screen can also be reached from Seller Central by going through “inventory”, “Add Products Via Upload” Figure 2.1

It is interesting to note that this screen offers a lot of information and possibilities beyond the simple download of category templates. Through this page we can reach

Inventory Loader, Price & Quantity, Book/Video/Music Loaders, Category Style Guides and BTGs.
Links for Category Approval Applications.
The BTGs (Browse Tree Guides) for each category with the exact item Type Keyword (as we will see later, one of the attributes on the file upload)

We scroll down to “generate template” and voila! We have generated the dreaded Excel spreadsheet. Time to fill it up!
The Template has multiple tabs.

Instructions, is completely illegible and will cause a headache to whomever tries to decipher it. Plus, half of it is literally in Chinese. My suggestion, skip it.
Images, literally the same information as this link, but poorly formatted. Just read the link.
Example, I’ll do a better one, that’s why I’m wasting hours with this thread, if the example was useful this wouldn’t be necessary. Skip it as well.
Data Definitions, finally! A useful tab. As indicated earlier, it is color-coded! The column “A” changes color from gray (format), to cream (required information), yellow (images), pink (variations), orange (basic info), green (discoverability), blue (dimensions), lighter blue (fulfillment), un-named color (compliance), red (offer), and lastly yet another blueish (B2B). Easy-peasy, they are roughly the same categories that we explained before. Column “B” indicates the “Field Name” basically what will the seller fill, Column “C” is redundant, take it as a synonym to column “B”, column “D” gives the description of the attribute (what I did on the previous post), Column “E” indicates accepted Values, basically if the question is “what’s the color?” you can’t answer “Sternum”. Column “F” indicates an example, like color = yellow, and lastly column “F” indicates if the attribute is required or optional.
Template, this is the dreaded section that needs to be filled. It’s just a vertical version of what was horizontally shown in “Data Definitions”. In my mind, that’s stupid confusing, but alas, worry not, in the words of the great Loki of Asgard:

The page has the same color-code that is shown in the “Data Definitions”. For instance, the value that needs to be filled in cell C4 (color coded cream) is “Product ID”. This value is explained on the “Data Definition” on cell C6. All the user needs to do is simply fill the value of the GTIN. If we continue down the template to, for instance, cell AF4 (color coded orange) “Product Description” we can check the “Data Definition” page and see that cell C31 explains what information to input.
Browse Data, for the purpose of this guide, let’s consider this another useless page.
Valid Values, a very useful page. This one is also color-coded as “Data Definitions” and “Template”. It contains many of the same values and it indicates (horizontally, just like data definitions) what type of information can be inputted. Going to the examples listed above, “Product ID” is explained in “Data Definition” as cell C6, in “Template” as cell C4 and in “Valid Values” as the values of row 3. “Product Description” is listed in “Data Definition” as cell C31, in “Template” as cell AF4 and in “Valid Values” as row 15.
In short, the template has 7 pages. Only 3 of them are important, and only 1 needs to be filled. Let’s fill it!

Basic info, Cream cells

Cell A4 is a drop-down menu with only one option: cleanningaggent, we select that.
Cell B4 is the item SKU, for the exercise we are working with TallyTony’s Unparallel Floor Cleaner 1 gallon, so we will say that the SKU is TTUFC1G. (As indicated above, I have explained my terminology for SKUs [here] (‼ Regarding GTINs and how to navigate the GS1 dashboard)).
Cell C4 is the GTIN, let’s say is a 12-digit code 876543210987.
Cell D4 is the Product ID type, as a 12-digit code is a UPC. This is a drop-down menu.
Cell E4 is the Product’s name: TallyTony’s Unparallel Floor Cleaner, 1 gallon.
Cell F4, Item Type Keyword, is a drop-down menu. Only one option.
Cell G4, Unit Count Type, we could argue that it could be either “Count” (because we can sell multiple gallons) or we could use “FLOZ” because we are selling the item by volume. Price per unit is calculated by dividing by the Unit Count. I recommend using “FLOZ”, so that the listing will say $X/FLOZ. This is always attractive information that the buyers like to see.
Cell H4 is Unit Count, a gallon has 128 FLOZ, so 128.
Cell I4, Is Product Expirable, drop-down menu. It depends on the product, a floor cleaner really doesn’t expire, so I’ll say no, but if you want it to expire you can say yes.
Cell J4, Main Image URL. Just copy the URL of the website where the image is. Let’s say www.TallyTony’sawesome. com/image/manydigitsthatdontmatter
Cell I4, quantity, how many units are available for sale, let’s say 10.
Cell L4, standard price, $12. I would love to sell for $10MM, but I would probably not sell very many units… Just write “12”, don’t include the dollar sign.

So, our file should look like what is shown in Figure 2.3

Image, Yellow cells

Variation, Pink cells

We will explain this in detail in the Fourth Section of the thread.

Basic, Orange cells

Cell AC4, Update Delete, type of update we are doing, is a drop-down menu. We are creating the product so it’s a full update.
Cell AD4, Brand name, TallyTony. It’s a drop-down menu. If the brand is registered and the seller is authorized to sell it, the brand should be listed in the menu.
Cell AE4, Model number, TK421 (credit to whomever guesses what that code references from memory).
Cell AF4, product description. Describe the product, I’ll accept any description that sings praises to my “Unparalleled Floor Cleaner”.
Cell AG4, Manufacturer’s Part Number, you can leave this blank if you want, you can add a part number if you have it. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter, but it doesn’t hurt to have it. This information becomes important if you are selling a product that’s super specific, for instance car part; many buyers will still miss it.
Cell AH4, Manufacturer, who did it? Well, of course, THE TallyTony.
Cell AI4, GTIN exemption reason. I don’t recommend getting exemptions, but that’s just me.

The File should look like Figure 2.4

Discovery, Green Cells

We reach a part a bit less intuitive and maybe more confusing, but still fairly straight-forward.

Cell AJ4, Style Name, not really needed for this product, we can say “Floor Cleaner” if we wanted to. But neither adds nor subtracts. Can be left blank.
Cells AK to AT 4, Key features that will appear as bullet points next to the product’s image. Super important part. We can say things like “Concentrated Floor Cleaner”, “Dilute 1/2 cup per gallon of water”, “Lavender Fragrance”, “Made in the USA”, “Peanut free!”. Whatever else you feel like, up to 10 bullet points, I personally recommend not using more than 5. It feels like trying too hard.
Cell AU4, Equivalent Product Volume Unit, is a drop-down menu, for this case let’s select “gallon”
Cell AV4, Equivalent Product Unit, as we selected “gallon” in the previous cell, let’s use 1.
Cell AW4, Search Terms. Check above for the explanation on search terms. We will use things like: “Floor cleaner lavender concentrated”. Then misspelled words like “fllor or clnr” and we’ll throw some Spanish too “Piso limpiador concentrado”. All is fair in love, war, and search terms.
Cell AX4, Scent name, I have decided it’s Lavender.
Cell AY4, Color, if the fragrance is Lavender, it better be purple.
Cell AZ4, Garment type, this isn’t clothing, so we leave this blank.
Cell BA4, Number of boxes, we are only shipping 1 box, so “1”.

We can leave cells BB-BD 4 empty for the purpose of the exercise because they don’t apply to this product.

This is a wide section, so I had to zoom out, but it looks like Figure 2.5:

Dimensions, Blue cells

This section has a trick. I have fallen for it in the past. Check it carefully.

Cell BE4, Item Width Unit of Measure, we’re in ‘Murrica, so let’s say “inches” (who measures sellable items in picometers?). This is a drop-down menu.
Cell BF4, Item Form, completely unrelated to the previous cell. Another drop-down menu, we are selling a liquid.
Cell BG4, Item Height Unit of Measure, another drop-down menu, for consistency “IN”.
Cells BH and BI 4, finally are Width and Height respectively. It’s frustrating that they aren’t exactly next to the “unit” cells. Let’s say that the width is 6 (inches) and the heigh is 11 (inches).
Cell BJ4, Item Display Volume Unit of Measure, another drop-down menu, we can use gallons or FLOZ. Let’s use Gallons here for the sake of the exercise.
Cell BK4, Liquid Volume, this is a trick. This cell has nothing to do with the previous one. This cell is related to the next one (BL4). Thanks Amazon, this is why people hate the templates. Anyway, rant’s over. In BL4 we will select FlOZ so here we will select 128.
Cell BL4, Liquid Volume Unit of Measure, we already ranted about this cell, is a drop-down menu, let’s select FlOZ.
Cell BM4, Display Volume, this is related to cell BJ4, so here is 1, because we are offering 1 gallon.
Cell BN4, Item Length Unit of Measure, drop-down menu, inches for the sake of consistency.
Cell BO4, Length, let’s say 6 inches.

In short, not a difficult section to fill, just confusing because of how disorganized it is. It should look like Figure 2.6

Fulfillment, Lighter Blue cells

It’s like the previous section, but here we are going to give the dimensions of the package that we will be shipping. Not of the item, the package.

Cell BP4, Package height unit of measure, drop-down menu, inches.
Cell BQ4, Package length…, guess what, nothing to do with the previous cell.
Cell BR4, Package width, surprise, surprise! Nothing to do with either of the previous cells either.
Cell BS4, Package weight unit of measures, drop-down menu, let’s say pounds.
Cell BT4, Package height, this cell relates to cell BP4. Enter the height of the package.
Cell BU4, Package width unit of measure. Relates to cell BR4. Drop-down menu.
Cell BV4, Fulfillment Center ID, drop-down menu. Amazon-fulfilled means FBA, Default means FBM.
Cell BW4, Package length unit of measure. Relates to cell BQ4. Drop-down menu.
Cell BX4, Package weight. Relates to cell BS4.

So, this is a minefield. Sellers just need to be careful to relate the right cells together. It’s not hard, just tedious. It should look like Figure 2.7

Compliance, Un-named color cells

If the product has an SDS (a floor cleaner would) just add the URL and copy the information.

Again, this is just long, but straightforward. I have faith in you, you can fill it!

There’s no way to add a Figure that covers from column BY to EQ, so imagine that it’s filled.

Offer, Red cells

This section has a couple of tricks, and it is a delicate one. Sellers are advised to fill it with particular care.

Cell ER4, Gift wrap, drop-down menu.
Cell ES4, MAP, whaterver the MAP is.
Cell ET4, Package quantity, how many items per package, so in this case, 1.
Cell EU4, Release date, whenever it becomes available, format MM/DD/YYYY.
Cell EV4, Offer End Date, a bit out of place as we haven’t indicated the offer start date.
Cell EW4, Currency, USD. This is why there’s no need to use the “$” sign when indicating price.
Cell EX4, MSRP, just the price, no $ sign.
Cell EY4, Product site launch date, format MM/DD/YYYY date when the product is shown on Amazon, but not necessarily available. This was described earlier on as an accident-waiting-to-happen. If you’re a new seller I suggest you avoid this.
Cell EZ4, Max order quantity, let’s say buyers can buy up to 4 at a time. But that’s up to the seller. Setting a max order quantity can prevent a single competitor from “hoarding” all the inventory with a fake purchase and stranding it as “pending” for weeks.
Cell FA4, Merchant shipping group, the shipping template associated with the item.
Cell FB4, Offer start date, a bit out of place but what’s new? Goes with cell EV4.
Cell FC4, Product expiration type, drop-down menu. This relates to cell I4 (no, I’m not joking)
Cell FD4, Restock date, also described as an accident waiting to happen. You’re just learning to fill a basic template, don’t play with dates that you can’t control.
Cell FE4, Number of items, this is redundant information, but let’s say 1, again…
Cell FF4, Fulfillment center shelf life, how long can the product be on a shelf. Think of it as a “sell by date”.
Cell FG4, Product tax code, again, explained above. This is indicated by Amazon.
Cell FH4, Handling time, how long it takes for you as a seller to prepare an order.
Cell FI4, Offering can be gift-messaged, drop-down menu.
Cell FJ, Condition, better be new. I don’t allow arbitrage of my brand.
Cell FK4, Condition note, only for non-new products.
Cell FL4, Sale Price, only if there’s a sale.
Cell FM4, Start sale date, finally something that’s in order.
Cell FN4, End sale date, three cells in a row that make sense together!

It should look like Figure 2.8

Business to Business, Other blueish cells

Last section, this is not even needed, and I’ll confess, that even though I use the templates to upload products, I usually fix the B2B prices in the inventory tab.

Cell FO4, Business price, $11, we input just the 11.
Cell FP4, Quantity price type, drop-down menu, percentage or fixed. This is completely up to the seller, I like “percentage” better because it takes care of itself when I adjust the business price. Particularly in years with horrible inflation.
Cell FQ4, Quantity lower bound 1, the first break, let’s say that if you buy 2 units you will get a discount. So “2”.
Cell FR4, Quantity price 1, the discount. The percentage, say we want to give 5%, just type “5”.
Cells FS, FU, FW, and FY are the next quantity breaks.
Cells FT, FV, FX, and FZ are the next percent breaks.
Cell GA, Progressive discount, is something that new sellers don’t really need to worry about. This is for FBA items that sell big quantities, so leave it alone. It works the same way as the cell FP4. Just use it for larger quantities. Drop-down menu for percent or fixed.
Cells GH and GI are very rarely needed (definitely not for a floor cleaner)
Cell GJ4, Pricing action, is a drop-down menu that serves to delete either the whole B2B pricing structure, the quantity price, or the progressive discount. Most times seller will leave this blank.

Figure 2.9 looks like this:

I really hope this guide on the file upload helps. Again, the template looks much more intimidating than it really is.

230

Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj

3 years ago

In reply to: Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj's post

3) Creating variations through the “Add Product” link

As indicated earlier, Oneida has created a very complete guide on how to create Variations. As all things Amazon, it’s much easier than what Amazon makes it sound.

The first thing to understand with variations are the concepts:

Variation: different versions of ultimately the same item.
Parent: the product itself in its basic form. If you’re selling shoes of different colors and sizes, the parent is the shoe.
Children: the slightly different versions of the product. On the example of the shoes, the children are the sizes and/or the colors.
Variation themes: is what is the actual variation between the children. For instance, the size and/or color.

Couple of common questions:

Can I see the SKU of the parent product of an existing variation created by another seller?

No. Nor can other sellers see the SKU of your parent products.

Can I add a child to an existing family?

Yes. But multiple considerations: is the product branded or generic? How many other sellers? Will this cause any problems to my account health? Am I listing the right product?

What if it is a branded product?

Contact the brand owner and indicate that a variation is missing. I do recommend sellers to consider why would a brand have an incomplete variation.

What child will be the “main” or “most visible” variation?

Amazon decides this. Some variations can be sorted alphabetically, others by best seller rating, others by the whims of the algorithm.

Can new-editions of an existing product be listed as variations?

No. Check this other thread by Oneida explaining how to add new-editions.

What if a variation theme “is missing”?

In the following examples I will list the steps for:

Creating a variation for package quantity.
Creating a variation for item size.
Creating a variation for package quantity and item size.

We will work with the same product we invented in the previous section, TallyTony’s Unparalleled Floor Cleaner ™.

By filling the information, we would end with something like what is shown in Figure 3.1:

Please note that not shown on the print screen I also selected that the product was not expirable. That is a mandatory field.

After clicking the variation tab, sellers will be presented with a drop-down menu that looks like this, Figure 3.2:

Back to the exercise, the seller can now click on the highlighted tab of variation. This will bring us to our first example:

Creating a variation for package quantity.

For the current example we will work with “Item package quantity”, as we want to do an offering (variation) for 1 gallon and 4 gallons.

Once we select this variation theme, the screen will undergo two changes, Figure 3.3:

As we only want to create these 2 variations, we will simply click “Add Variations” and the bottom of the screen will add the table shown in Figure 3.5:

Once the information is filled, the screen will look like this, Figure 3.6:

Creating a variation for item size.

Let’s assume now that TallyTony’s Unparalleled Floor Cleaner can be sold in quarts and gallons.

If we return to Figure 3.2, we can choose the variation theme of “size”. This would prompt the screen shown in Figure 3.7:

And once we fill the information, it will look like Figure 3.9:

Again, ready to save. Please read the considerations in the bottom of the post.

Creating a variation for package quantity and item size.

Finally, we fill the remaining fields in the table as we did in the previous examples. Figure 3.13:

A few considerations:

We didn’t add any description or images. If the children already exist, the images and description will be kept for each individual child. This however can be a bit frustrating to the buyer because each child will have different information, and to the seller because if each child is done individually, but the information shared (other than the variation) is the same, a lot of effort is wasted in duplication.
Once a variation theme is “saved and finished” it can’t be changed. So, either the parent must be killed, and a new variation built, or the existing variation needs to be accepted.
Reviews of existing children will merge. But it can take anyway from minutes to days for this to happen correctly.

170

Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj

3 years ago

In reply to: Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj's post

4) Creating variations through the “Variation Wizard” using a “File Upload”

The Variation Wizard has the following help page. All in all, it gives plenty of information and it’s quite easy to follow.

I can edit any of the existing variations by clicking on the “edit” buttons to the right of the screen (also circled in yellow).

What happens if we look for a product that has a double variation theme? Like, in the example of the Third Section, package quantity and size? On that case the screen will look like Figure 4.4:

(Please note that I forced the Product Names to show what they are to help follow the table. That’s not the proper way to name products).

This concludes the explanation on “Add to or update an existing variation family”.

These instructions can look a bit daunting; I personally despise how the “Parent” section is explained.

The first two bullet point for the “Parent” read:

This still sounds confusing, and it will be explained more clearly in the examples below.

The variation themes that we will do are:

Creating a variation for package quantity.

The 4th row is being used for the parent, the 5th and 6th are being used for the children.

We will fill all the values in the rows of the “Children”. We will also fill the image URL, quantity, and Standard Price values.

Now, to create the variations, we will fill the Variation section so that it looks like Figure 4.6:

Columns “W”, “Z” and “AA” can be ignored. They are related to the “package contains” value that we will not explain on this thread.

Column “X” is a drop-down menu that gives us all the possible variation-themes. For this example, we will work with “Itempackagequantity”. We select this value for both parent and children.

Column “AB” has a drop-down menu with two options: parent and child. The cell AB4 will be the “Parent”, and AB5 and AB6 will be “Child”.

Please revisit the Second Section of this thread to see how to fill the remaining parts of the template.

Creating a variation for item size.

Just as we did in the Third Section of the thread, we are going to offer the product in both Quarts and Gallons. The Basic Information section of the template will look as shown in Figure 4.8:

Small changes from Figure 4.5. I have updated all the SKUs to correspond to the products (including the parent) and of course Product ID, name, and standard price.

Creating a variation for package quantity and item size.

For a slightly more complicated variation, we will create the relationship of both size and quantity.

We will offer Quarts as singles, 6-pack and 12-pack, and the Gallons as singles and 4-packs.

We fill the Basic Information section as shown in Figure 4.10:

And the Variation section as shown in Figure 4.11:

We will assign the sizes in the “Discovery” sections as shown in Figure 4.12:

And the Package Quantity in the “Offer” section as shown in Figure 4.13:

And with that our variations are done!

Once the files are done, they can be uploaded using the File Upload function shown in Figure 2.1.

230

Seller_sUfyk7ajzPzny

3 years ago

In reply to: Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj's post

@SEAmod - might I suggest that this helpful tutorial is worthy of consideration for being ‘pinned’ by the FMT (“Forum Moderation Team”)?

260

Seller_bD1cHkftXnubO

3 years ago

In reply to: Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj's post

This really quite a good job and VERY helpful. Thank you @TallyTony for you hard work.

I will admit this existed 4 years it would have cut down on the cursing.

Seller_hvDb6bxkxyHbe

3 years ago

In reply to: Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj's post

This is awesome! Thank you so much. I created some products years ago, but could not ever remember how I did it and have wanted to add more. Now I can!

Seller_DRNQ3p1DRjCS6

3 years ago

In reply to: Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj's post

Seller_8LCWm21cBt6lf

3 years ago

In reply to: Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj's post

Seller_jZWpyInw8RkYT

3 years ago

In reply to: Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj's post

I think Amazon should hire @TallyTony, give him a six-figure salary, and let him just do his thing.

Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj

3 years ago

In reply to: Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj's post

1) How to create a product using the “Add Product” link

Please follow this link for Amazon’s instructions on how to “Add Product”.

Once the seller reaches this screen, they can follow three options shown in Figure 1.1

If the Product ID is not in the catalogue, the seller will be redirected to this screen, Figure 1.2

After clicking “Create New Listing”, the seller will be redirected to the following screen Figure 1.3

Each bullet point includes the content of each tab.

Vital Info

Product ID, the seller will indicate the GS1 Product Identifier. For more information check this thread. Please remember that the number of digits is crucial. A 14-digit code is a GTIN, a 13-digit code is an EAN, 12-digit code is a UPC, and so on so forth. Figure 1.6

Product name, the title or product name must be short and to the point. Some categories even have a restriction on the number of characters. Spamming the title is a common problem that doesn’t help sellers for two reasons: first, it confuses buyers, second, there is no need to put search terms and keywords in the title when they can be added in many (many) more places. The product name is just that: the product name. It has to start with the brand, and then an extremely clear description of what the product is. For instance: “Tally Tony’s Boiled Peanuts, 12 oz” is an acceptable name. “Delicious snack, Hand-Harvested by THE Tally Tony himself, carefully measured to fit 12 oz bottles, with not an OZ to spare” is not an acceptable title, and it even fails to indicate what the product is.
Manufacturer, the manufacturer of the product. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Manufacturer Part Number, alphanumeric string that represents the manufacturer part number. This is a required field for Brand Registered products. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Brand Name, one of the most important steps of the listing process is to link the Product with the Brand. Please review the considerations explained earlier on the thread on how to list products after the brand has been registered.
Item Type Keyword, a value from a drop-down menu. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Model Number, optional value, different from the name and the manufacturer part number. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Unit Count, this value is important when calculating price per unit. It indicates how many units are being sold, and it is closely related to the next attribute (Unit Count Type). The Unit Count measures how many units are being sold. It is explained here.
Unit Count Type, it refers to the actual unit of measure of the Unit Type. It can measure weight, area, volume, length, or quantity. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Contains Liquid Content, a yes or no question. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Size, an attribute closely related to variations. The Size indicates how different items compare. It can be a numeric or text value. It doesn’t refer exclusively to clothing; size is an attribute that can be used when comparing the size of tumblers (FL OZ) or when measuring the length of a digital screen. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Size Map, predetermined value from a drop-down menu. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Color, another attribute closely related to variations, color of the item. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Color Map, a predetermined color from a drop-down menu. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Number of Boxes, number of boxes on which the product is shipped. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Is Product Expirable, a yes or no question. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Product Expiration Type, a drop-down menu. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Fulfilment Center Shelf Life, measured in days. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Item Form, a drop-down menu. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Number of Items, number of items included in the product. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Fitment Type, universal product that can work for all brands (a car soap can be used in a Ferrari or a Lada) or specific to a given brand/model (charger specific to a given type cellphone). (This attribute is not in every listing)

Variation

This will be studied in detail in the Thirrd Section of this thread. This section can be ignored by sellers that are not creating a parent product but a standalone listing.

Offer

Seller SKU, this is the SKU or identifier that the Seller uses to monitor the product. I have explained SKUs in length here. The SKU can be any value that the seller wants, anything from “IhateAmazon” to “Something_logical_and_easy_to_identify”. The SKU becomes an integral part of the listing, so it deserves a level of consideration. Again, I recommend checking the link provided above.
Product tax code, explained here by Amazon .
Merchant Shipping Group, the shipping template to which the listing is assigned.
Restock Date, in case of backorder, is the date at which the product will be available. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Standard Price, needless to say, one of the most important values. It refers to the price at which the product will be sold. For information on how to calculate this price check this link.
Sale Price, an offer price. It has to be lower than the Standard Price.
Sale Start Date, the date at which the “Sale Price” starts.
Sale End Date, the date at which the “Sale Price” ends.
Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price, also known as MSRP. Not all products have it, and it won’t be charged to the customers, but many products have a MSRP.
Quantity, the number of units available for sale. This value is for items Fulfilled by Merchant, FBA sellers can leave it empty. Sellers should not list product that they don’t have available. Offering products that are not in stock is an accident waiting to happen, and a good way to cause damage to the account, either by cancelling orders, causing late shipments or simply frustrating buyers.
Condition, a drop-down menu. Select if the item is new or used, and if used in what condition.
Condition note, for used items, what the buyers can expect of the item.
Max Order Quantity, the largest number of units a buyer can purchase in a single order.
Handling Time, how many days it takes the seller to process the order.
Offer can be Gift Messaged, a drop-down menu saying “true” or “false”.
Is Gift Wrap Available, a drop-down menu saying “yes” or “no”.
Offer Start Date, if a listing is created and product is not available, the seller can indicate a future date at which the item will be available. That way buyers can know when to expect the product. As a personal note, new sellers would do well to stay away from this attribute, it’s another accident waiting to happen.

Below these attributes sellers will see a table where they can control the Standard Price and Quantity in the different regions of a marketplace.

Compliance

Volume, a numeric value accompanied with a drop-down menu for units.
Item weight, a numeric value accompanied with a drop-down menu for units.
Watts hour per battery, a numeric value accompanied with a drop-down menu for units.
Battery weight (grams), a numeric value accompanied with a drop-down menu for units (extremely funny that it has a drop-down menu for units given that the name of the attribute indicates grams, but whatever.
Lithium content (grams), a numeric value accompanied with a drop-down menu for units.
Categorization/GHS pictograms (select all that apply), check the link of the SDS, this information is found in the second section.
Battery type/size, the type of battery from a drop-down menu.
Number of batteries, how many batteries.
Safety Data Sheet (SDS) URL, a website with the SDS of the product. It can be an URL external to Amazon.
Lithium Battery Packaging, drop-down menu.
Number of Lithium-ion Cells, a numeric answer.
Number of Lithium Metal Cells, another numeric answer.
Applicable Dangerous Goods Regulations, study in the SDS.
Is this product a battery or does it utilize batteries?, drop-down menu with yes or no.
UN number, listed in section 14 of the SDS.
Battery Composition, drop-down menu.
Batteries are Included, drop-down menu with yes or no.
Flash point (º C)?, listed in section 9 of the SDS.
California Proposition 65 Warning Type, listed in section 15 of the SDS.
California Proposition 65 Chemical Names, listed in section 15 of the SDS. List all that apply.
Pesticide Marking, drop-down menu.
Pesticide Registration Status, drop-down menu.
Pesticide Certification Number, please, please, please… don’t falsify this information.
Radio Frequency Emissions & Authorization Status, drop-down menu.
SDoC Contact US Phone Number (email, mailing address, and name), SDoC stands for Supplier Declaration of Conformity. If you don’t know what that is, or if you don’t have it, leave the following sections blank. You can ask your supplier/manufacturer. But as with all Hazmat information, please be careful not to invent it. The SoDC is a way to assure that a product complies with a given regulation.
FCC ID, Federal Communications Commission ID number.

Images

Fairly straightforward section. Just upload the pictures from your computer.

Make sure that the images meet Amazon requirements, particularly the main image.

Description

This, and the following section, are key for the discoverability of the product.

The “Description” section doesn’t have many attributes, but they all have repercussions on the impression that the listing causes.

Product Description, sellers can’t use HTML to “pretty-up” this section up. This is a professional page, keep it professional. The description will be a block of text, sellers need to make it count. Explain things clearly, in detail, fully aware that 97% of buyers will not read it. The description can have a lot of information, but buyers are advised not to expand too much as it can create confusion. Remember that on average a buyer doesn’t spend more than 1 minute per page. You only have 1 minute to convince the buyer to purchase your listing, and by the time the buyer reaches the description 30 seconds have already passed by looking through the images, key features (below) and price.
Key Features, when creating many listings sellers can add key features that will appear as bullet points between the product’s image and the price. Some categories (I think books) don’t have the option of writing key features. Key Features must be short, and to the point. Bursts of description that encapsulate what the product is and why it should be bought. Most buyers will spend more time in the Key Features than in the Description.
Legal Disclaimer, any legal information that needs to be added. This can’t be something that the seller “pulls out of a hat”. A “Legal Disclaimer” implies that there’s a reason why this is indicated, and that reason is a law. For instance, indicating that according to such regulation the product is for people over 21 years of age is a valid legal disclaimer; indicating that Tally Tony’s Boiled Peanuts taste better when combined with Tally Tony’s Cashews is not a valid disclaimer.
CPSIA Warning, drop-down menu with all the imaginable choking warnings.
CPSIA Warning Description, the alphanumerical description that corresponds to the warning.

Keywords

Style Specific Terms, different lines that can be added. These terms are descriptive words that help place the product in the right categories. Do not use sentences; if necessary, sellers can use multiple words, but no more than that.
Used for 1-3, drop-down menus with different applications, places of use for the product. Up to 3 can be selected.
Target Audience, drop-down menus for the different target audiences by age and gender.
Other Attributes, drop-down menu with other attributes.
Search Terms , super important part that gets often overlook. The “Search Terms” are what get the discoverability of the product. Write the search terms but don’t repeat them (if a seller is listing a red sweater the seller shouldn’t say “sweater”, “red”, and “red sweater’), do not separate terms by commas, just by spaces. Terms can be miss-spelled to common typos and in different languages.
Subject Matter, another important way to help the discoverability of the product is adding strings of keywords. Subject matter keywords are added in a similar way to the “Style-Specific Terms” explained above, sellers can enter up to 5 strings of keywords, each string with a maximum of 50 characters.
Platinum Keywords, from a third-party seller’s perspective, for all intents and purposes this is an obsolete feature; it appears that Amazon may not have deleted this solely to maintain legacy compatibility with certain software used almost exclusively by members of the Vendor Program.

More Details

Shipping Weight, how much the packaged item will weight. Sellers can select different units.
Dimensions and weight of the item, it is important to understand the difference between the item and the package. This section allows to list both.
Package Quantity, how many units the buyer will receive each time an item is purchased.
Launch Date, when the product will be available.
Is Discontinued by Manufacturer, drop-down menu with “yes” and “no”.

After all the information is added, the seller will simply press the “save and finish” button in the bottom right corner, and the listing will display in the inventory tab.

Please note that images may take anywhere from 5 minutes to 2 days to show.

Please note that you may have made mistakes and the item may be left on “drafts”.

200

Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj

In reply to: Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj's post

3 years ago

1) How to create a product using the “Add Product” link

Please follow this link for Amazon’s instructions on how to “Add Product”.

Once the seller reaches this screen, they can follow three options shown in Figure 1.1

If the Product ID is not in the catalogue, the seller will be redirected to this screen, Figure 1.2

After clicking “Create New Listing”, the seller will be redirected to the following screen Figure 1.3

Each bullet point includes the content of each tab.

Vital Info

Product ID, the seller will indicate the GS1 Product Identifier. For more information check this thread. Please remember that the number of digits is crucial. A 14-digit code is a GTIN, a 13-digit code is an EAN, 12-digit code is a UPC, and so on so forth. Figure 1.6

Product name, the title or product name must be short and to the point. Some categories even have a restriction on the number of characters. Spamming the title is a common problem that doesn’t help sellers for two reasons: first, it confuses buyers, second, there is no need to put search terms and keywords in the title when they can be added in many (many) more places. The product name is just that: the product name. It has to start with the brand, and then an extremely clear description of what the product is. For instance: “Tally Tony’s Boiled Peanuts, 12 oz” is an acceptable name. “Delicious snack, Hand-Harvested by THE Tally Tony himself, carefully measured to fit 12 oz bottles, with not an OZ to spare” is not an acceptable title, and it even fails to indicate what the product is.
Manufacturer, the manufacturer of the product. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Manufacturer Part Number, alphanumeric string that represents the manufacturer part number. This is a required field for Brand Registered products. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Brand Name, one of the most important steps of the listing process is to link the Product with the Brand. Please review the considerations explained earlier on the thread on how to list products after the brand has been registered.
Item Type Keyword, a value from a drop-down menu. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Model Number, optional value, different from the name and the manufacturer part number. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Unit Count, this value is important when calculating price per unit. It indicates how many units are being sold, and it is closely related to the next attribute (Unit Count Type). The Unit Count measures how many units are being sold. It is explained here.
Unit Count Type, it refers to the actual unit of measure of the Unit Type. It can measure weight, area, volume, length, or quantity. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Contains Liquid Content, a yes or no question. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Size, an attribute closely related to variations. The Size indicates how different items compare. It can be a numeric or text value. It doesn’t refer exclusively to clothing; size is an attribute that can be used when comparing the size of tumblers (FL OZ) or when measuring the length of a digital screen. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Size Map, predetermined value from a drop-down menu. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Color, another attribute closely related to variations, color of the item. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Color Map, a predetermined color from a drop-down menu. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Number of Boxes, number of boxes on which the product is shipped. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Is Product Expirable, a yes or no question. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Product Expiration Type, a drop-down menu. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Fulfilment Center Shelf Life, measured in days. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Item Form, a drop-down menu. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Number of Items, number of items included in the product. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Fitment Type, universal product that can work for all brands (a car soap can be used in a Ferrari or a Lada) or specific to a given brand/model (charger specific to a given type cellphone). (This attribute is not in every listing)

Variation

This will be studied in detail in the Thirrd Section of this thread. This section can be ignored by sellers that are not creating a parent product but a standalone listing.

Offer

Seller SKU, this is the SKU or identifier that the Seller uses to monitor the product. I have explained SKUs in length here. The SKU can be any value that the seller wants, anything from “IhateAmazon” to “Something_logical_and_easy_to_identify”. The SKU becomes an integral part of the listing, so it deserves a level of consideration. Again, I recommend checking the link provided above.
Product tax code, explained here by Amazon .
Merchant Shipping Group, the shipping template to which the listing is assigned.
Restock Date, in case of backorder, is the date at which the product will be available. (This attribute is not in every listing)
Standard Price, needless to say, one of the most important values. It refers to the price at which the product will be sold. For information on how to calculate this price check this link.
Sale Price, an offer price. It has to be lower than the Standard Price.
Sale Start Date, the date at which the “Sale Price” starts.
Sale End Date, the date at which the “Sale Price” ends.
Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price, also known as MSRP. Not all products have it, and it won’t be charged to the customers, but many products have a MSRP.
Quantity, the number of units available for sale. This value is for items Fulfilled by Merchant, FBA sellers can leave it empty. Sellers should not list product that they don’t have available. Offering products that are not in stock is an accident waiting to happen, and a good way to cause damage to the account, either by cancelling orders, causing late shipments or simply frustrating buyers.
Condition, a drop-down menu. Select if the item is new or used, and if used in what condition.
Condition note, for used items, what the buyers can expect of the item.
Max Order Quantity, the largest number of units a buyer can purchase in a single order.
Handling Time, how many days it takes the seller to process the order.
Offer can be Gift Messaged, a drop-down menu saying “true” or “false”.
Is Gift Wrap Available, a drop-down menu saying “yes” or “no”.
Offer Start Date, if a listing is created and product is not available, the seller can indicate a future date at which the item will be available. That way buyers can know when to expect the product. As a personal note, new sellers would do well to stay away from this attribute, it’s another accident waiting to happen.

Below these attributes sellers will see a table where they can control the Standard Price and Quantity in the different regions of a marketplace.

Compliance

Volume, a numeric value accompanied with a drop-down menu for units.
Item weight, a numeric value accompanied with a drop-down menu for units.
Watts hour per battery, a numeric value accompanied with a drop-down menu for units.
Battery weight (grams), a numeric value accompanied with a drop-down menu for units (extremely funny that it has a drop-down menu for units given that the name of the attribute indicates grams, but whatever.
Lithium content (grams), a numeric value accompanied with a drop-down menu for units.
Categorization/GHS pictograms (select all that apply), check the link of the SDS, this information is found in the second section.
Battery type/size, the type of battery from a drop-down menu.
Number of batteries, how many batteries.
Safety Data Sheet (SDS) URL, a website with the SDS of the product. It can be an URL external to Amazon.
Lithium Battery Packaging, drop-down menu.
Number of Lithium-ion Cells, a numeric answer.
Number of Lithium Metal Cells, another numeric answer.
Applicable Dangerous Goods Regulations, study in the SDS.
Is this product a battery or does it utilize batteries?, drop-down menu with yes or no.
UN number, listed in section 14 of the SDS.
Battery Composition, drop-down menu.
Batteries are Included, drop-down menu with yes or no.
Flash point (º C)?, listed in section 9 of the SDS.
California Proposition 65 Warning Type, listed in section 15 of the SDS.
California Proposition 65 Chemical Names, listed in section 15 of the SDS. List all that apply.
Pesticide Marking, drop-down menu.
Pesticide Registration Status, drop-down menu.
Pesticide Certification Number, please, please, please… don’t falsify this information.
Radio Frequency Emissions & Authorization Status, drop-down menu.
SDoC Contact US Phone Number (email, mailing address, and name), SDoC stands for Supplier Declaration of Conformity. If you don’t know what that is, or if you don’t have it, leave the following sections blank. You can ask your supplier/manufacturer. But as with all Hazmat information, please be careful not to invent it. The SoDC is a way to assure that a product complies with a given regulation.
FCC ID, Federal Communications Commission ID number.

Images

Fairly straightforward section. Just upload the pictures from your computer.

Make sure that the images meet Amazon requirements, particularly the main image.

Description

This, and the following section, are key for the discoverability of the product.

The “Description” section doesn’t have many attributes, but they all have repercussions on the impression that the listing causes.

Product Description, sellers can’t use HTML to “pretty-up” this section up. This is a professional page, keep it professional. The description will be a block of text, sellers need to make it count. Explain things clearly, in detail, fully aware that 97% of buyers will not read it. The description can have a lot of information, but buyers are advised not to expand too much as it can create confusion. Remember that on average a buyer doesn’t spend more than 1 minute per page. You only have 1 minute to convince the buyer to purchase your listing, and by the time the buyer reaches the description 30 seconds have already passed by looking through the images, key features (below) and price.
Key Features, when creating many listings sellers can add key features that will appear as bullet points between the product’s image and the price. Some categories (I think books) don’t have the option of writing key features. Key Features must be short, and to the point. Bursts of description that encapsulate what the product is and why it should be bought. Most buyers will spend more time in the Key Features than in the Description.
Legal Disclaimer, any legal information that needs to be added. This can’t be something that the seller “pulls out of a hat”. A “Legal Disclaimer” implies that there’s a reason why this is indicated, and that reason is a law. For instance, indicating that according to such regulation the product is for people over 21 years of age is a valid legal disclaimer; indicating that Tally Tony’s Boiled Peanuts taste better when combined with Tally Tony’s Cashews is not a valid disclaimer.
CPSIA Warning, drop-down menu with all the imaginable choking warnings.
CPSIA Warning Description, the alphanumerical description that corresponds to the warning.

Keywords

Style Specific Terms, different lines that can be added. These terms are descriptive words that help place the product in the right categories. Do not use sentences; if necessary, sellers can use multiple words, but no more than that.
Used for 1-3, drop-down menus with different applications, places of use for the product. Up to 3 can be selected.
Target Audience, drop-down menus for the different target audiences by age and gender.
Other Attributes, drop-down menu with other attributes.
Search Terms , super important part that gets often overlook. The “Search Terms” are what get the discoverability of the product. Write the search terms but don’t repeat them (if a seller is listing a red sweater the seller shouldn’t say “sweater”, “red”, and “red sweater’), do not separate terms by commas, just by spaces. Terms can be miss-spelled to common typos and in different languages.
Subject Matter, another important way to help the discoverability of the product is adding strings of keywords. Subject matter keywords are added in a similar way to the “Style-Specific Terms” explained above, sellers can enter up to 5 strings of keywords, each string with a maximum of 50 characters.
Platinum Keywords, from a third-party seller’s perspective, for all intents and purposes this is an obsolete feature; it appears that Amazon may not have deleted this solely to maintain legacy compatibility with certain software used almost exclusively by members of the Vendor Program.

More Details

Shipping Weight, how much the packaged item will weight. Sellers can select different units.
Dimensions and weight of the item, it is important to understand the difference between the item and the package. This section allows to list both.
Package Quantity, how many units the buyer will receive each time an item is purchased.
Launch Date, when the product will be available.
Is Discontinued by Manufacturer, drop-down menu with “yes” and “no”.

After all the information is added, the seller will simply press the “save and finish” button in the bottom right corner, and the listing will display in the inventory tab.

Please note that images may take anywhere from 5 minutes to 2 days to show.

Please note that you may have made mistakes and the item may be left on “drafts”.

200

Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj

3 years ago

In reply to: Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj's post

2) Adding a product using a “File Upload”

Many a poor soul has found it easier all together to stop selling on Amazon.

So, if a seller is back again in Figure 1.1 and choses “I’m uploading a file to add multiple products”

The seller will be redirected to the following screen. This screen can also be reached from Seller Central by going through “inventory”, “Add Products Via Upload” Figure 2.1

It is interesting to note that this screen offers a lot of information and possibilities beyond the simple download of category templates. Through this page we can reach

Inventory Loader, Price & Quantity, Book/Video/Music Loaders, Category Style Guides and BTGs.
Links for Category Approval Applications.
The BTGs (Browse Tree Guides) for each category with the exact item Type Keyword (as we will see later, one of the attributes on the file upload)

We scroll down to “generate template” and voila! We have generated the dreaded Excel spreadsheet. Time to fill it up!
The Template has multiple tabs.

Instructions, is completely illegible and will cause a headache to whomever tries to decipher it. Plus, half of it is literally in Chinese. My suggestion, skip it.
Images, literally the same information as this link, but poorly formatted. Just read the link.
Example, I’ll do a better one, that’s why I’m wasting hours with this thread, if the example was useful this wouldn’t be necessary. Skip it as well.
Data Definitions, finally! A useful tab. As indicated earlier, it is color-coded! The column “A” changes color from gray (format), to cream (required information), yellow (images), pink (variations), orange (basic info), green (discoverability), blue (dimensions), lighter blue (fulfillment), un-named color (compliance), red (offer), and lastly yet another blueish (B2B). Easy-peasy, they are roughly the same categories that we explained before. Column “B” indicates the “Field Name” basically what will the seller fill, Column “C” is redundant, take it as a synonym to column “B”, column “D” gives the description of the attribute (what I did on the previous post), Column “E” indicates accepted Values, basically if the question is “what’s the color?” you can’t answer “Sternum”. Column “F” indicates an example, like color = yellow, and lastly column “F” indicates if the attribute is required or optional.
Template, this is the dreaded section that needs to be filled. It’s just a vertical version of what was horizontally shown in “Data Definitions”. In my mind, that’s stupid confusing, but alas, worry not, in the words of the great Loki of Asgard:

The page has the same color-code that is shown in the “Data Definitions”. For instance, the value that needs to be filled in cell C4 (color coded cream) is “Product ID”. This value is explained on the “Data Definition” on cell C6. All the user needs to do is simply fill the value of the GTIN. If we continue down the template to, for instance, cell AF4 (color coded orange) “Product Description” we can check the “Data Definition” page and see that cell C31 explains what information to input.
Browse Data, for the purpose of this guide, let’s consider this another useless page.
Valid Values, a very useful page. This one is also color-coded as “Data Definitions” and “Template”. It contains many of the same values and it indicates (horizontally, just like data definitions) what type of information can be inputted. Going to the examples listed above, “Product ID” is explained in “Data Definition” as cell C6, in “Template” as cell C4 and in “Valid Values” as the values of row 3. “Product Description” is listed in “Data Definition” as cell C31, in “Template” as cell AF4 and in “Valid Values” as row 15.
In short, the template has 7 pages. Only 3 of them are important, and only 1 needs to be filled. Let’s fill it!

Basic info, Cream cells

Cell A4 is a drop-down menu with only one option: cleanningaggent, we select that.
Cell B4 is the item SKU, for the exercise we are working with TallyTony’s Unparallel Floor Cleaner 1 gallon, so we will say that the SKU is TTUFC1G. (As indicated above, I have explained my terminology for SKUs [here] (‼ Regarding GTINs and how to navigate the GS1 dashboard)).
Cell C4 is the GTIN, let’s say is a 12-digit code 876543210987.
Cell D4 is the Product ID type, as a 12-digit code is a UPC. This is a drop-down menu.
Cell E4 is the Product’s name: TallyTony’s Unparallel Floor Cleaner, 1 gallon.
Cell F4, Item Type Keyword, is a drop-down menu. Only one option.
Cell G4, Unit Count Type, we could argue that it could be either “Count” (because we can sell multiple gallons) or we could use “FLOZ” because we are selling the item by volume. Price per unit is calculated by dividing by the Unit Count. I recommend using “FLOZ”, so that the listing will say $X/FLOZ. This is always attractive information that the buyers like to see.
Cell H4 is Unit Count, a gallon has 128 FLOZ, so 128.
Cell I4, Is Product Expirable, drop-down menu. It depends on the product, a floor cleaner really doesn’t expire, so I’ll say no, but if you want it to expire you can say yes.
Cell J4, Main Image URL. Just copy the URL of the website where the image is. Let’s say www.TallyTony’sawesome. com/image/manydigitsthatdontmatter
Cell I4, quantity, how many units are available for sale, let’s say 10.
Cell L4, standard price, $12. I would love to sell for $10MM, but I would probably not sell very many units… Just write “12”, don’t include the dollar sign.

So, our file should look like what is shown in Figure 2.3

Image, Yellow cells

Variation, Pink cells

We will explain this in detail in the Fourth Section of the thread.

Basic, Orange cells

Cell AC4, Update Delete, type of update we are doing, is a drop-down menu. We are creating the product so it’s a full update.
Cell AD4, Brand name, TallyTony. It’s a drop-down menu. If the brand is registered and the seller is authorized to sell it, the brand should be listed in the menu.
Cell AE4, Model number, TK421 (credit to whomever guesses what that code references from memory).
Cell AF4, product description. Describe the product, I’ll accept any description that sings praises to my “Unparalleled Floor Cleaner”.
Cell AG4, Manufacturer’s Part Number, you can leave this blank if you want, you can add a part number if you have it. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter, but it doesn’t hurt to have it. This information becomes important if you are selling a product that’s super specific, for instance car part; many buyers will still miss it.
Cell AH4, Manufacturer, who did it? Well, of course, THE TallyTony.
Cell AI4, GTIN exemption reason. I don’t recommend getting exemptions, but that’s just me.

The File should look like Figure 2.4

Discovery, Green Cells

We reach a part a bit less intuitive and maybe more confusing, but still fairly straight-forward.

Cell AJ4, Style Name, not really needed for this product, we can say “Floor Cleaner” if we wanted to. But neither adds nor subtracts. Can be left blank.
Cells AK to AT 4, Key features that will appear as bullet points next to the product’s image. Super important part. We can say things like “Concentrated Floor Cleaner”, “Dilute 1/2 cup per gallon of water”, “Lavender Fragrance”, “Made in the USA”, “Peanut free!”. Whatever else you feel like, up to 10 bullet points, I personally recommend not using more than 5. It feels like trying too hard.
Cell AU4, Equivalent Product Volume Unit, is a drop-down menu, for this case let’s select “gallon”
Cell AV4, Equivalent Product Unit, as we selected “gallon” in the previous cell, let’s use 1.
Cell AW4, Search Terms. Check above for the explanation on search terms. We will use things like: “Floor cleaner lavender concentrated”. Then misspelled words like “fllor or clnr” and we’ll throw some Spanish too “Piso limpiador concentrado”. All is fair in love, war, and search terms.
Cell AX4, Scent name, I have decided it’s Lavender.
Cell AY4, Color, if the fragrance is Lavender, it better be purple.
Cell AZ4, Garment type, this isn’t clothing, so we leave this blank.
Cell BA4, Number of boxes, we are only shipping 1 box, so “1”.

We can leave cells BB-BD 4 empty for the purpose of the exercise because they don’t apply to this product.

This is a wide section, so I had to zoom out, but it looks like Figure 2.5:

Dimensions, Blue cells

This section has a trick. I have fallen for it in the past. Check it carefully.

Cell BE4, Item Width Unit of Measure, we’re in ‘Murrica, so let’s say “inches” (who measures sellable items in picometers?). This is a drop-down menu.
Cell BF4, Item Form, completely unrelated to the previous cell. Another drop-down menu, we are selling a liquid.
Cell BG4, Item Height Unit of Measure, another drop-down menu, for consistency “IN”.
Cells BH and BI 4, finally are Width and Height respectively. It’s frustrating that they aren’t exactly next to the “unit” cells. Let’s say that the width is 6 (inches) and the heigh is 11 (inches).
Cell BJ4, Item Display Volume Unit of Measure, another drop-down menu, we can use gallons or FLOZ. Let’s use Gallons here for the sake of the exercise.
Cell BK4, Liquid Volume, this is a trick. This cell has nothing to do with the previous one. This cell is related to the next one (BL4). Thanks Amazon, this is why people hate the templates. Anyway, rant’s over. In BL4 we will select FlOZ so here we will select 128.
Cell BL4, Liquid Volume Unit of Measure, we already ranted about this cell, is a drop-down menu, let’s select FlOZ.
Cell BM4, Display Volume, this is related to cell BJ4, so here is 1, because we are offering 1 gallon.
Cell BN4, Item Length Unit of Measure, drop-down menu, inches for the sake of consistency.
Cell BO4, Length, let’s say 6 inches.

In short, not a difficult section to fill, just confusing because of how disorganized it is. It should look like Figure 2.6

Fulfillment, Lighter Blue cells

It’s like the previous section, but here we are going to give the dimensions of the package that we will be shipping. Not of the item, the package.

Cell BP4, Package height unit of measure, drop-down menu, inches.
Cell BQ4, Package length…, guess what, nothing to do with the previous cell.
Cell BR4, Package width, surprise, surprise! Nothing to do with either of the previous cells either.
Cell BS4, Package weight unit of measures, drop-down menu, let’s say pounds.
Cell BT4, Package height, this cell relates to cell BP4. Enter the height of the package.
Cell BU4, Package width unit of measure. Relates to cell BR4. Drop-down menu.
Cell BV4, Fulfillment Center ID, drop-down menu. Amazon-fulfilled means FBA, Default means FBM.
Cell BW4, Package length unit of measure. Relates to cell BQ4. Drop-down menu.
Cell BX4, Package weight. Relates to cell BS4.

So, this is a minefield. Sellers just need to be careful to relate the right cells together. It’s not hard, just tedious. It should look like Figure 2.7

Compliance, Un-named color cells

If the product has an SDS (a floor cleaner would) just add the URL and copy the information.

Again, this is just long, but straightforward. I have faith in you, you can fill it!

There’s no way to add a Figure that covers from column BY to EQ, so imagine that it’s filled.

Offer, Red cells

This section has a couple of tricks, and it is a delicate one. Sellers are advised to fill it with particular care.

Cell ER4, Gift wrap, drop-down menu.
Cell ES4, MAP, whaterver the MAP is.
Cell ET4, Package quantity, how many items per package, so in this case, 1.
Cell EU4, Release date, whenever it becomes available, format MM/DD/YYYY.
Cell EV4, Offer End Date, a bit out of place as we haven’t indicated the offer start date.
Cell EW4, Currency, USD. This is why there’s no need to use the “$” sign when indicating price.
Cell EX4, MSRP, just the price, no $ sign.
Cell EY4, Product site launch date, format MM/DD/YYYY date when the product is shown on Amazon, but not necessarily available. This was described earlier on as an accident-waiting-to-happen. If you’re a new seller I suggest you avoid this.
Cell EZ4, Max order quantity, let’s say buyers can buy up to 4 at a time. But that’s up to the seller. Setting a max order quantity can prevent a single competitor from “hoarding” all the inventory with a fake purchase and stranding it as “pending” for weeks.
Cell FA4, Merchant shipping group, the shipping template associated with the item.
Cell FB4, Offer start date, a bit out of place but what’s new? Goes with cell EV4.
Cell FC4, Product expiration type, drop-down menu. This relates to cell I4 (no, I’m not joking)
Cell FD4, Restock date, also described as an accident waiting to happen. You’re just learning to fill a basic template, don’t play with dates that you can’t control.
Cell FE4, Number of items, this is redundant information, but let’s say 1, again…
Cell FF4, Fulfillment center shelf life, how long can the product be on a shelf. Think of it as a “sell by date”.
Cell FG4, Product tax code, again, explained above. This is indicated by Amazon.
Cell FH4, Handling time, how long it takes for you as a seller to prepare an order.
Cell FI4, Offering can be gift-messaged, drop-down menu.
Cell FJ, Condition, better be new. I don’t allow arbitrage of my brand.
Cell FK4, Condition note, only for non-new products.
Cell FL4, Sale Price, only if there’s a sale.
Cell FM4, Start sale date, finally something that’s in order.
Cell FN4, End sale date, three cells in a row that make sense together!

It should look like Figure 2.8

Business to Business, Other blueish cells

Last section, this is not even needed, and I’ll confess, that even though I use the templates to upload products, I usually fix the B2B prices in the inventory tab.

Cell FO4, Business price, $11, we input just the 11.
Cell FP4, Quantity price type, drop-down menu, percentage or fixed. This is completely up to the seller, I like “percentage” better because it takes care of itself when I adjust the business price. Particularly in years with horrible inflation.
Cell FQ4, Quantity lower bound 1, the first break, let’s say that if you buy 2 units you will get a discount. So “2”.
Cell FR4, Quantity price 1, the discount. The percentage, say we want to give 5%, just type “5”.
Cells FS, FU, FW, and FY are the next quantity breaks.
Cells FT, FV, FX, and FZ are the next percent breaks.
Cell GA, Progressive discount, is something that new sellers don’t really need to worry about. This is for FBA items that sell big quantities, so leave it alone. It works the same way as the cell FP4. Just use it for larger quantities. Drop-down menu for percent or fixed.
Cells GH and GI are very rarely needed (definitely not for a floor cleaner)
Cell GJ4, Pricing action, is a drop-down menu that serves to delete either the whole B2B pricing structure, the quantity price, or the progressive discount. Most times seller will leave this blank.

Figure 2.9 looks like this:

I really hope this guide on the file upload helps. Again, the template looks much more intimidating than it really is.

230

Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj

In reply to: Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj's post

3 years ago

2) Adding a product using a “File Upload”

Many a poor soul has found it easier all together to stop selling on Amazon.

So, if a seller is back again in Figure 1.1 and choses “I’m uploading a file to add multiple products”

The seller will be redirected to the following screen. This screen can also be reached from Seller Central by going through “inventory”, “Add Products Via Upload” Figure 2.1

It is interesting to note that this screen offers a lot of information and possibilities beyond the simple download of category templates. Through this page we can reach

Inventory Loader, Price & Quantity, Book/Video/Music Loaders, Category Style Guides and BTGs.
Links for Category Approval Applications.
The BTGs (Browse Tree Guides) for each category with the exact item Type Keyword (as we will see later, one of the attributes on the file upload)

We scroll down to “generate template” and voila! We have generated the dreaded Excel spreadsheet. Time to fill it up!
The Template has multiple tabs.

Instructions, is completely illegible and will cause a headache to whomever tries to decipher it. Plus, half of it is literally in Chinese. My suggestion, skip it.
Images, literally the same information as this link, but poorly formatted. Just read the link.
Example, I’ll do a better one, that’s why I’m wasting hours with this thread, if the example was useful this wouldn’t be necessary. Skip it as well.
Data Definitions, finally! A useful tab. As indicated earlier, it is color-coded! The column “A” changes color from gray (format), to cream (required information), yellow (images), pink (variations), orange (basic info), green (discoverability), blue (dimensions), lighter blue (fulfillment), un-named color (compliance), red (offer), and lastly yet another blueish (B2B). Easy-peasy, they are roughly the same categories that we explained before. Column “B” indicates the “Field Name” basically what will the seller fill, Column “C” is redundant, take it as a synonym to column “B”, column “D” gives the description of the attribute (what I did on the previous post), Column “E” indicates accepted Values, basically if the question is “what’s the color?” you can’t answer “Sternum”. Column “F” indicates an example, like color = yellow, and lastly column “F” indicates if the attribute is required or optional.
Template, this is the dreaded section that needs to be filled. It’s just a vertical version of what was horizontally shown in “Data Definitions”. In my mind, that’s stupid confusing, but alas, worry not, in the words of the great Loki of Asgard:

The page has the same color-code that is shown in the “Data Definitions”. For instance, the value that needs to be filled in cell C4 (color coded cream) is “Product ID”. This value is explained on the “Data Definition” on cell C6. All the user needs to do is simply fill the value of the GTIN. If we continue down the template to, for instance, cell AF4 (color coded orange) “Product Description” we can check the “Data Definition” page and see that cell C31 explains what information to input.
Browse Data, for the purpose of this guide, let’s consider this another useless page.
Valid Values, a very useful page. This one is also color-coded as “Data Definitions” and “Template”. It contains many of the same values and it indicates (horizontally, just like data definitions) what type of information can be inputted. Going to the examples listed above, “Product ID” is explained in “Data Definition” as cell C6, in “Template” as cell C4 and in “Valid Values” as the values of row 3. “Product Description” is listed in “Data Definition” as cell C31, in “Template” as cell AF4 and in “Valid Values” as row 15.
In short, the template has 7 pages. Only 3 of them are important, and only 1 needs to be filled. Let’s fill it!

Basic info, Cream cells

Cell A4 is a drop-down menu with only one option: cleanningaggent, we select that.
Cell B4 is the item SKU, for the exercise we are working with TallyTony’s Unparallel Floor Cleaner 1 gallon, so we will say that the SKU is TTUFC1G. (As indicated above, I have explained my terminology for SKUs [here] (‼ Regarding GTINs and how to navigate the GS1 dashboard)).
Cell C4 is the GTIN, let’s say is a 12-digit code 876543210987.
Cell D4 is the Product ID type, as a 12-digit code is a UPC. This is a drop-down menu.
Cell E4 is the Product’s name: TallyTony’s Unparallel Floor Cleaner, 1 gallon.
Cell F4, Item Type Keyword, is a drop-down menu. Only one option.
Cell G4, Unit Count Type, we could argue that it could be either “Count” (because we can sell multiple gallons) or we could use “FLOZ” because we are selling the item by volume. Price per unit is calculated by dividing by the Unit Count. I recommend using “FLOZ”, so that the listing will say $X/FLOZ. This is always attractive information that the buyers like to see.
Cell H4 is Unit Count, a gallon has 128 FLOZ, so 128.
Cell I4, Is Product Expirable, drop-down menu. It depends on the product, a floor cleaner really doesn’t expire, so I’ll say no, but if you want it to expire you can say yes.
Cell J4, Main Image URL. Just copy the URL of the website where the image is. Let’s say www.TallyTony’sawesome. com/image/manydigitsthatdontmatter
Cell I4, quantity, how many units are available for sale, let’s say 10.
Cell L4, standard price, $12. I would love to sell for $10MM, but I would probably not sell very many units… Just write “12”, don’t include the dollar sign.

So, our file should look like what is shown in Figure 2.3

Image, Yellow cells

Variation, Pink cells

We will explain this in detail in the Fourth Section of the thread.

Basic, Orange cells

Cell AC4, Update Delete, type of update we are doing, is a drop-down menu. We are creating the product so it’s a full update.
Cell AD4, Brand name, TallyTony. It’s a drop-down menu. If the brand is registered and the seller is authorized to sell it, the brand should be listed in the menu.
Cell AE4, Model number, TK421 (credit to whomever guesses what that code references from memory).
Cell AF4, product description. Describe the product, I’ll accept any description that sings praises to my “Unparalleled Floor Cleaner”.
Cell AG4, Manufacturer’s Part Number, you can leave this blank if you want, you can add a part number if you have it. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter, but it doesn’t hurt to have it. This information becomes important if you are selling a product that’s super specific, for instance car part; many buyers will still miss it.
Cell AH4, Manufacturer, who did it? Well, of course, THE TallyTony.
Cell AI4, GTIN exemption reason. I don’t recommend getting exemptions, but that’s just me.

The File should look like Figure 2.4

Discovery, Green Cells

We reach a part a bit less intuitive and maybe more confusing, but still fairly straight-forward.

Cell AJ4, Style Name, not really needed for this product, we can say “Floor Cleaner” if we wanted to. But neither adds nor subtracts. Can be left blank.
Cells AK to AT 4, Key features that will appear as bullet points next to the product’s image. Super important part. We can say things like “Concentrated Floor Cleaner”, “Dilute 1/2 cup per gallon of water”, “Lavender Fragrance”, “Made in the USA”, “Peanut free!”. Whatever else you feel like, up to 10 bullet points, I personally recommend not using more than 5. It feels like trying too hard.
Cell AU4, Equivalent Product Volume Unit, is a drop-down menu, for this case let’s select “gallon”
Cell AV4, Equivalent Product Unit, as we selected “gallon” in the previous cell, let’s use 1.
Cell AW4, Search Terms. Check above for the explanation on search terms. We will use things like: “Floor cleaner lavender concentrated”. Then misspelled words like “fllor or clnr” and we’ll throw some Spanish too “Piso limpiador concentrado”. All is fair in love, war, and search terms.
Cell AX4, Scent name, I have decided it’s Lavender.
Cell AY4, Color, if the fragrance is Lavender, it better be purple.
Cell AZ4, Garment type, this isn’t clothing, so we leave this blank.
Cell BA4, Number of boxes, we are only shipping 1 box, so “1”.

We can leave cells BB-BD 4 empty for the purpose of the exercise because they don’t apply to this product.

This is a wide section, so I had to zoom out, but it looks like Figure 2.5:

Dimensions, Blue cells

This section has a trick. I have fallen for it in the past. Check it carefully.

Cell BE4, Item Width Unit of Measure, we’re in ‘Murrica, so let’s say “inches” (who measures sellable items in picometers?). This is a drop-down menu.
Cell BF4, Item Form, completely unrelated to the previous cell. Another drop-down menu, we are selling a liquid.
Cell BG4, Item Height Unit of Measure, another drop-down menu, for consistency “IN”.
Cells BH and BI 4, finally are Width and Height respectively. It’s frustrating that they aren’t exactly next to the “unit” cells. Let’s say that the width is 6 (inches) and the heigh is 11 (inches).
Cell BJ4, Item Display Volume Unit of Measure, another drop-down menu, we can use gallons or FLOZ. Let’s use Gallons here for the sake of the exercise.
Cell BK4, Liquid Volume, this is a trick. This cell has nothing to do with the previous one. This cell is related to the next one (BL4). Thanks Amazon, this is why people hate the templates. Anyway, rant’s over. In BL4 we will select FlOZ so here we will select 128.
Cell BL4, Liquid Volume Unit of Measure, we already ranted about this cell, is a drop-down menu, let’s select FlOZ.
Cell BM4, Display Volume, this is related to cell BJ4, so here is 1, because we are offering 1 gallon.
Cell BN4, Item Length Unit of Measure, drop-down menu, inches for the sake of consistency.
Cell BO4, Length, let’s say 6 inches.

In short, not a difficult section to fill, just confusing because of how disorganized it is. It should look like Figure 2.6

Fulfillment, Lighter Blue cells

It’s like the previous section, but here we are going to give the dimensions of the package that we will be shipping. Not of the item, the package.

Cell BP4, Package height unit of measure, drop-down menu, inches.
Cell BQ4, Package length…, guess what, nothing to do with the previous cell.
Cell BR4, Package width, surprise, surprise! Nothing to do with either of the previous cells either.
Cell BS4, Package weight unit of measures, drop-down menu, let’s say pounds.
Cell BT4, Package height, this cell relates to cell BP4. Enter the height of the package.
Cell BU4, Package width unit of measure. Relates to cell BR4. Drop-down menu.
Cell BV4, Fulfillment Center ID, drop-down menu. Amazon-fulfilled means FBA, Default means FBM.
Cell BW4, Package length unit of measure. Relates to cell BQ4. Drop-down menu.
Cell BX4, Package weight. Relates to cell BS4.

So, this is a minefield. Sellers just need to be careful to relate the right cells together. It’s not hard, just tedious. It should look like Figure 2.7

Compliance, Un-named color cells

If the product has an SDS (a floor cleaner would) just add the URL and copy the information.

Again, this is just long, but straightforward. I have faith in you, you can fill it!

There’s no way to add a Figure that covers from column BY to EQ, so imagine that it’s filled.

Offer, Red cells

This section has a couple of tricks, and it is a delicate one. Sellers are advised to fill it with particular care.

Cell ER4, Gift wrap, drop-down menu.
Cell ES4, MAP, whaterver the MAP is.
Cell ET4, Package quantity, how many items per package, so in this case, 1.
Cell EU4, Release date, whenever it becomes available, format MM/DD/YYYY.
Cell EV4, Offer End Date, a bit out of place as we haven’t indicated the offer start date.
Cell EW4, Currency, USD. This is why there’s no need to use the “$” sign when indicating price.
Cell EX4, MSRP, just the price, no $ sign.
Cell EY4, Product site launch date, format MM/DD/YYYY date when the product is shown on Amazon, but not necessarily available. This was described earlier on as an accident-waiting-to-happen. If you’re a new seller I suggest you avoid this.
Cell EZ4, Max order quantity, let’s say buyers can buy up to 4 at a time. But that’s up to the seller. Setting a max order quantity can prevent a single competitor from “hoarding” all the inventory with a fake purchase and stranding it as “pending” for weeks.
Cell FA4, Merchant shipping group, the shipping template associated with the item.
Cell FB4, Offer start date, a bit out of place but what’s new? Goes with cell EV4.
Cell FC4, Product expiration type, drop-down menu. This relates to cell I4 (no, I’m not joking)
Cell FD4, Restock date, also described as an accident waiting to happen. You’re just learning to fill a basic template, don’t play with dates that you can’t control.
Cell FE4, Number of items, this is redundant information, but let’s say 1, again…
Cell FF4, Fulfillment center shelf life, how long can the product be on a shelf. Think of it as a “sell by date”.
Cell FG4, Product tax code, again, explained above. This is indicated by Amazon.
Cell FH4, Handling time, how long it takes for you as a seller to prepare an order.
Cell FI4, Offering can be gift-messaged, drop-down menu.
Cell FJ, Condition, better be new. I don’t allow arbitrage of my brand.
Cell FK4, Condition note, only for non-new products.
Cell FL4, Sale Price, only if there’s a sale.
Cell FM4, Start sale date, finally something that’s in order.
Cell FN4, End sale date, three cells in a row that make sense together!

It should look like Figure 2.8

Business to Business, Other blueish cells

Last section, this is not even needed, and I’ll confess, that even though I use the templates to upload products, I usually fix the B2B prices in the inventory tab.

Cell FO4, Business price, $11, we input just the 11.
Cell FP4, Quantity price type, drop-down menu, percentage or fixed. This is completely up to the seller, I like “percentage” better because it takes care of itself when I adjust the business price. Particularly in years with horrible inflation.
Cell FQ4, Quantity lower bound 1, the first break, let’s say that if you buy 2 units you will get a discount. So “2”.
Cell FR4, Quantity price 1, the discount. The percentage, say we want to give 5%, just type “5”.
Cells FS, FU, FW, and FY are the next quantity breaks.
Cells FT, FV, FX, and FZ are the next percent breaks.
Cell GA, Progressive discount, is something that new sellers don’t really need to worry about. This is for FBA items that sell big quantities, so leave it alone. It works the same way as the cell FP4. Just use it for larger quantities. Drop-down menu for percent or fixed.
Cells GH and GI are very rarely needed (definitely not for a floor cleaner)
Cell GJ4, Pricing action, is a drop-down menu that serves to delete either the whole B2B pricing structure, the quantity price, or the progressive discount. Most times seller will leave this blank.

Figure 2.9 looks like this:

I really hope this guide on the file upload helps. Again, the template looks much more intimidating than it really is.

230

Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj

3 years ago

In reply to: Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj's post

3) Creating variations through the “Add Product” link

As indicated earlier, Oneida has created a very complete guide on how to create Variations. As all things Amazon, it’s much easier than what Amazon makes it sound.

The first thing to understand with variations are the concepts:

Variation: different versions of ultimately the same item.
Parent: the product itself in its basic form. If you’re selling shoes of different colors and sizes, the parent is the shoe.
Children: the slightly different versions of the product. On the example of the shoes, the children are the sizes and/or the colors.
Variation themes: is what is the actual variation between the children. For instance, the size and/or color.

Couple of common questions:

Can I see the SKU of the parent product of an existing variation created by another seller?

No. Nor can other sellers see the SKU of your parent products.

Can I add a child to an existing family?

Yes. But multiple considerations: is the product branded or generic? How many other sellers? Will this cause any problems to my account health? Am I listing the right product?

What if it is a branded product?

Contact the brand owner and indicate that a variation is missing. I do recommend sellers to consider why would a brand have an incomplete variation.

What child will be the “main” or “most visible” variation?

Amazon decides this. Some variations can be sorted alphabetically, others by best seller rating, others by the whims of the algorithm.

Can new-editions of an existing product be listed as variations?

No. Check this other thread by Oneida explaining how to add new-editions.

What if a variation theme “is missing”?

In the following examples I will list the steps for:

Creating a variation for package quantity.
Creating a variation for item size.
Creating a variation for package quantity and item size.

We will work with the same product we invented in the previous section, TallyTony’s Unparalleled Floor Cleaner ™.

By filling the information, we would end with something like what is shown in Figure 3.1:

Please note that not shown on the print screen I also selected that the product was not expirable. That is a mandatory field.

After clicking the variation tab, sellers will be presented with a drop-down menu that looks like this, Figure 3.2:

Back to the exercise, the seller can now click on the highlighted tab of variation. This will bring us to our first example:

Creating a variation for package quantity.

For the current example we will work with “Item package quantity”, as we want to do an offering (variation) for 1 gallon and 4 gallons.

Once we select this variation theme, the screen will undergo two changes, Figure 3.3:

As we only want to create these 2 variations, we will simply click “Add Variations” and the bottom of the screen will add the table shown in Figure 3.5:

Once the information is filled, the screen will look like this, Figure 3.6:

Creating a variation for item size.

Let’s assume now that TallyTony’s Unparalleled Floor Cleaner can be sold in quarts and gallons.

If we return to Figure 3.2, we can choose the variation theme of “size”. This would prompt the screen shown in Figure 3.7:

And once we fill the information, it will look like Figure 3.9:

Again, ready to save. Please read the considerations in the bottom of the post.

Creating a variation for package quantity and item size.

Finally, we fill the remaining fields in the table as we did in the previous examples. Figure 3.13:

A few considerations:

We didn’t add any description or images. If the children already exist, the images and description will be kept for each individual child. This however can be a bit frustrating to the buyer because each child will have different information, and to the seller because if each child is done individually, but the information shared (other than the variation) is the same, a lot of effort is wasted in duplication.
Once a variation theme is “saved and finished” it can’t be changed. So, either the parent must be killed, and a new variation built, or the existing variation needs to be accepted.
Reviews of existing children will merge. But it can take anyway from minutes to days for this to happen correctly.

170

Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj

In reply to: Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj's post

3 years ago

3) Creating variations through the “Add Product” link

As indicated earlier, Oneida has created a very complete guide on how to create Variations. As all things Amazon, it’s much easier than what Amazon makes it sound.

The first thing to understand with variations are the concepts:

Variation: different versions of ultimately the same item.
Parent: the product itself in its basic form. If you’re selling shoes of different colors and sizes, the parent is the shoe.
Children: the slightly different versions of the product. On the example of the shoes, the children are the sizes and/or the colors.
Variation themes: is what is the actual variation between the children. For instance, the size and/or color.

Couple of common questions:

Can I see the SKU of the parent product of an existing variation created by another seller?

No. Nor can other sellers see the SKU of your parent products.

Can I add a child to an existing family?

Yes. But multiple considerations: is the product branded or generic? How many other sellers? Will this cause any problems to my account health? Am I listing the right product?

What if it is a branded product?

Contact the brand owner and indicate that a variation is missing. I do recommend sellers to consider why would a brand have an incomplete variation.

What child will be the “main” or “most visible” variation?

Amazon decides this. Some variations can be sorted alphabetically, others by best seller rating, others by the whims of the algorithm.

Can new-editions of an existing product be listed as variations?

No. Check this other thread by Oneida explaining how to add new-editions.

What if a variation theme “is missing”?

In the following examples I will list the steps for:

Creating a variation for package quantity.
Creating a variation for item size.
Creating a variation for package quantity and item size.

We will work with the same product we invented in the previous section, TallyTony’s Unparalleled Floor Cleaner ™.

By filling the information, we would end with something like what is shown in Figure 3.1:

Please note that not shown on the print screen I also selected that the product was not expirable. That is a mandatory field.

After clicking the variation tab, sellers will be presented with a drop-down menu that looks like this, Figure 3.2:

Back to the exercise, the seller can now click on the highlighted tab of variation. This will bring us to our first example:

Creating a variation for package quantity.

For the current example we will work with “Item package quantity”, as we want to do an offering (variation) for 1 gallon and 4 gallons.

Once we select this variation theme, the screen will undergo two changes, Figure 3.3:

As we only want to create these 2 variations, we will simply click “Add Variations” and the bottom of the screen will add the table shown in Figure 3.5:

Once the information is filled, the screen will look like this, Figure 3.6:

Creating a variation for item size.

Let’s assume now that TallyTony’s Unparalleled Floor Cleaner can be sold in quarts and gallons.

If we return to Figure 3.2, we can choose the variation theme of “size”. This would prompt the screen shown in Figure 3.7:

And once we fill the information, it will look like Figure 3.9:

Again, ready to save. Please read the considerations in the bottom of the post.

Creating a variation for package quantity and item size.

Finally, we fill the remaining fields in the table as we did in the previous examples. Figure 3.13:

A few considerations:

We didn’t add any description or images. If the children already exist, the images and description will be kept for each individual child. This however can be a bit frustrating to the buyer because each child will have different information, and to the seller because if each child is done individually, but the information shared (other than the variation) is the same, a lot of effort is wasted in duplication.
Once a variation theme is “saved and finished” it can’t be changed. So, either the parent must be killed, and a new variation built, or the existing variation needs to be accepted.
Reviews of existing children will merge. But it can take anyway from minutes to days for this to happen correctly.

170

Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj

3 years ago

In reply to: Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj's post

4) Creating variations through the “Variation Wizard” using a “File Upload”

The Variation Wizard has the following help page. All in all, it gives plenty of information and it’s quite easy to follow.

I can edit any of the existing variations by clicking on the “edit” buttons to the right of the screen (also circled in yellow).

What happens if we look for a product that has a double variation theme? Like, in the example of the Third Section, package quantity and size? On that case the screen will look like Figure 4.4:

(Please note that I forced the Product Names to show what they are to help follow the table. That’s not the proper way to name products).

This concludes the explanation on “Add to or update an existing variation family”.

These instructions can look a bit daunting; I personally despise how the “Parent” section is explained.

The first two bullet point for the “Parent” read:

This still sounds confusing, and it will be explained more clearly in the examples below.

The variation themes that we will do are:

Creating a variation for package quantity.

The 4th row is being used for the parent, the 5th and 6th are being used for the children.

We will fill all the values in the rows of the “Children”. We will also fill the image URL, quantity, and Standard Price values.

Now, to create the variations, we will fill the Variation section so that it looks like Figure 4.6:

Columns “W”, “Z” and “AA” can be ignored. They are related to the “package contains” value that we will not explain on this thread.

Column “X” is a drop-down menu that gives us all the possible variation-themes. For this example, we will work with “Itempackagequantity”. We select this value for both parent and children.

Column “AB” has a drop-down menu with two options: parent and child. The cell AB4 will be the “Parent”, and AB5 and AB6 will be “Child”.

Please revisit the Second Section of this thread to see how to fill the remaining parts of the template.

Creating a variation for item size.

Just as we did in the Third Section of the thread, we are going to offer the product in both Quarts and Gallons. The Basic Information section of the template will look as shown in Figure 4.8:

Small changes from Figure 4.5. I have updated all the SKUs to correspond to the products (including the parent) and of course Product ID, name, and standard price.

Creating a variation for package quantity and item size.

For a slightly more complicated variation, we will create the relationship of both size and quantity.

We will offer Quarts as singles, 6-pack and 12-pack, and the Gallons as singles and 4-packs.

We fill the Basic Information section as shown in Figure 4.10:

And the Variation section as shown in Figure 4.11:

We will assign the sizes in the “Discovery” sections as shown in Figure 4.12:

And the Package Quantity in the “Offer” section as shown in Figure 4.13:

And with that our variations are done!

Once the files are done, they can be uploaded using the File Upload function shown in Figure 2.1.

230

Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj

In reply to: Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj's post

3 years ago

4) Creating variations through the “Variation Wizard” using a “File Upload”

The Variation Wizard has the following help page. All in all, it gives plenty of information and it’s quite easy to follow.

I can edit any of the existing variations by clicking on the “edit” buttons to the right of the screen (also circled in yellow).

What happens if we look for a product that has a double variation theme? Like, in the example of the Third Section, package quantity and size? On that case the screen will look like Figure 4.4:

(Please note that I forced the Product Names to show what they are to help follow the table. That’s not the proper way to name products).

This concludes the explanation on “Add to or update an existing variation family”.

These instructions can look a bit daunting; I personally despise how the “Parent” section is explained.

The first two bullet point for the “Parent” read:

This still sounds confusing, and it will be explained more clearly in the examples below.

The variation themes that we will do are:

Creating a variation for package quantity.

The 4th row is being used for the parent, the 5th and 6th are being used for the children.

We will fill all the values in the rows of the “Children”. We will also fill the image URL, quantity, and Standard Price values.

Now, to create the variations, we will fill the Variation section so that it looks like Figure 4.6:

Columns “W”, “Z” and “AA” can be ignored. They are related to the “package contains” value that we will not explain on this thread.

Column “X” is a drop-down menu that gives us all the possible variation-themes. For this example, we will work with “Itempackagequantity”. We select this value for both parent and children.

Column “AB” has a drop-down menu with two options: parent and child. The cell AB4 will be the “Parent”, and AB5 and AB6 will be “Child”.

Please revisit the Second Section of this thread to see how to fill the remaining parts of the template.

Creating a variation for item size.

Just as we did in the Third Section of the thread, we are going to offer the product in both Quarts and Gallons. The Basic Information section of the template will look as shown in Figure 4.8:

Small changes from Figure 4.5. I have updated all the SKUs to correspond to the products (including the parent) and of course Product ID, name, and standard price.

Creating a variation for package quantity and item size.

For a slightly more complicated variation, we will create the relationship of both size and quantity.

We will offer Quarts as singles, 6-pack and 12-pack, and the Gallons as singles and 4-packs.

We fill the Basic Information section as shown in Figure 4.10:

And the Variation section as shown in Figure 4.11:

We will assign the sizes in the “Discovery” sections as shown in Figure 4.12:

And the Package Quantity in the “Offer” section as shown in Figure 4.13:

And with that our variations are done!

Once the files are done, they can be uploaded using the File Upload function shown in Figure 2.1.

230

Seller_sUfyk7ajzPzny

3 years ago

In reply to: Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj's post

@SEAmod - might I suggest that this helpful tutorial is worthy of consideration for being ‘pinned’ by the FMT (“Forum Moderation Team”)?

260

Seller_sUfyk7ajzPzny

In reply to: Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj's post

3 years ago

@SEAmod - might I suggest that this helpful tutorial is worthy of consideration for being ‘pinned’ by the FMT (“Forum Moderation Team”)?

260

Seller_bD1cHkftXnubO

3 years ago

In reply to: Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj's post

This really quite a good job and VERY helpful. Thank you @TallyTony for you hard work.

I will admit this existed 4 years it would have cut down on the cursing.

Seller_bD1cHkftXnubO

In reply to: Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj's post

3 years ago

This really quite a good job and VERY helpful. Thank you @TallyTony for you hard work.

I will admit this existed 4 years it would have cut down on the cursing.

Seller_hvDb6bxkxyHbe

3 years ago

In reply to: Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj's post

This is awesome! Thank you so much. I created some products years ago, but could not ever remember how I did it and have wanted to add more. Now I can!

Seller_hvDb6bxkxyHbe

In reply to: Seller_4RRTjOpWG0qkj's post

3 years ago

This is awesome! Thank you so much. I created some products years ago, but could not ever remember how I did it and have wanted to add more. Now I can!