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It’s the start of a new year, and Linda has finally decided to launch her DIY decoration shop on Amazon. New beginnings bring new energy, eh?
She opens an Amazon seller account and starts adding products to her store. But just when it looks like she has got everything figured out, the Amazon ASIN labels get her all confused, and she ends up stuck.
Is an ASIN the same as a regular barcode? What purpose does it even serve? Would she need to register a UPC if she already has an ASIN code for her products? These and many other questions start bothering her.
You’re probably wondering the same as Linda right now as you strap up to sell on Amazon this year. Let’s help you and Linda understand what an Amazon ASIN label is and how it works.
ASIN, short for Amazon Standard Identification Number, is a unique 10-character alphanumeric code individually assigned to products sold on Amazon. The code is autogenerated and primarily used for product identification across the marketplace.
Bear in mind sometimes different regional Amazon websites may use different ASINs for the same product if it’s listed in more than one country, creating duplicate ASINs. These PC soundbars from Razer listed on Amazon UK and Amazon Japan are a good example. More on why this happens later.
So, is an ASIN the same as a serial number printed on product barcodes?
No. ASIN labels are native to Amazon only and used to sort products in the Amazon database. Serial numbers or barcodes, on the other hand, are a part of the global supply chain and used more predominantly.
While almost all products on Amazon have an ASIN number, books are identified using ISBN or International Standard Book Number. You must get an ISBN for your book before you can list it on the Amazon marketplace.
There are more than 353 million products on Amazon. Imagine sorting through them all without an identification system in place. It would create an unwanted mess and lead to inefficient and unsustainable operations.
This is where ASIN numbers come in.
Think of them like Social Security Numbers (SSNs). Without them, the products sold on Amazon won’t have any identity, and it would be impossible to identify, track and distinguish them from the bulk.
Aside from that, ASIN labels also help customers with their search. They can type the ASIN of the product they are interested in on the Amazon website and quickly locate it without spending hours searching through the category pages.
Interestingly, ASINs can be of great help to Amazon sellers too. You can use them to spy on your competitor keywords through reverse ASIN lookup, find and track your shipments, and monitor all the relevant performance metrics for your individual SKUs.
This brings us to our next question:
Yes, you need a UPC and an ASIN to sell on Amazon. An ASIN is required for anything and everything you do on the Amazon marketplace. Meanwhile, a UPC serves as a global ID for your product as well as a way for Amazon to track sales data. However, there are cases where you can apply for GTIN/UPC exemption when first listing on Amazon. You can learn more about this in our UPC exemption guide.
Technically speaking, Amazon owns all the ASINs on its marketplace. Once an ASIN is generated, it cannot be taken down and is stored in the Amazon database forever. Even if you decide to close your store and stop selling on Amazon, the ASIN is retained. However, don’t confuse this with your product and listing rights. You are still the rightful and complete owner of your product.
So what does an ASIN even look like?
An ASIN is a string of ten characters containing letters and digits. The letters dominate the string and are typically written in all caps. There are no special characters in an ASIN number.
Here is an example ASIN for the product Modern LED Floor Lamp by MORE CHANGE:
Unfortunately, you cannot generate a custom ASIN code. Everything is autogenerated in the Amazon system and automatically linked to products.
Now that you know what an ASIN is and how it works, let’s understand how to get an ASIN for your product.
It all starts inside Seller Central, once you have set up your Amazon seller account.
If you’re planning to start an Amazon wholesale business and sell branded products already listed on Amazon, you don’t need to create a new ASIN. In that case, you’ll use an existing one.
The ASIN creation process works the same for listing product variations, where each variation gets its own, unique ASIN.
And what about the products listed on multiple marketplaces?
Products listed on multiple marketplaces usually have the same ASIN. However, sometimes you may find duplicate ASINs listed. Remember, we talked about this at the start of the blog?
Duplicate ASINs are created when sellers use different UPC codes to list the same product on different marketplaces. This is strictly prohibited as per Amazon’s ASIN creation policy , and your account may get suspended for violation.
In the case you have multiple products to sell, you can use the Amazon inventory template file to bulk upload your products and create new ASINs. You can access the option via Seller Central > Pull-down menu > Catalog > Add Products via Upload. Check out our guide on how to use the inventory file for bulk uploads for more details.
You cannot change the ASIN of your Amazon product once it’s issued. However, you can request ASIN merging for duplicate listings created accidentally through seller support. Amazon will review your case, and if everything is in order, it may agree to change your ASIN and merge it under one single ASIN label.
So how do you find the ASIN of your newly created listing or any product selling on Amazon?
There are multiple options to find the ASIN of an Amazon product. Some work best for individual SKUs, while others are more suited to scanning listings in bulk. Let’s take a look at them.
You can perform an Amazon ASIN search by visiting the product detail page. Every Amazon product detail page has the ASIN listed under the Product Information section, right below the product description.
You can also lookup for an Amazon product ASIN in its listing page URL. A typical Amazon listing URL looks like this:
The character string following “/dp” corresponds to that product’s ASIN number, ending right before the question mark. In the above example, B0B1V3VDX1 is the ASIN of the product in the spotlight.
Finally, you can find Amazon product ASINs using third-party ASIN extractor tools. These typically come as browser extensions and work only when you are on the Amazon website. Just type in the product keyword in the Amazon search bar and wait for the marketplace to process your search. Once done, click on the tool extension icon to view the ASINs for all the products showing up on the SERPs.
Some Amazon ASIN extractor tools also give you the option to export the ASINs in a CSV file for offline viewing.
An ASIN is used to identify a product in the Amazon catalog, while an SKU is used to identify an offer from the seller. Furthermore, ASINs are auto generated but SKUs are usually assigned on the seller’s part.
ASINs are unique to products, not to sellers. If multiple sellers are selling the same product, as is the case with Amazon wholesale, they’ll use the same ASIN for their listing.
Yes, you can. If you’re selling a product already listed on Amazon, you can use the original ASIN and skip creating a new ASIN altogether. However, you must have permission from the brand owner to use their ASIN.
An ASIN is a product identifier issued by Amazon to manage hundreds and thousands of products in its catalog efficiently. On the other hand, an ISBN is a global identifier for books sold in retail environments, including Amazon.
Amazon may sometimes deindex an ASIN, rendering it unsearchable on the marketplace. This can happen for various reasons, including IP issues, listing violations, inventory problems, sellers selling restricted products, and more. Of course, you can always open a case with Amazon if you think your ASIN has been wrongly suppressed.
Deleting an ASIN from Amazon removes the product and all the related details from your Amazon product catalog permanently. However, the ASIN is retained within the Amazon database.
So now that you understand how to get an ASIN for your product or find an existing ASIN on the Amazon marketplace, ZonGuru can help you with the possible next steps. You can:
Don’t worry; you won’t have to pay for any of this service until you feel fully confident in our product. We offer a free, easy-to-cancel trial for the first 7 days to all our potential customers. Hope to see you on the other side!
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