Amazon Barcode Requirements
Amazon’s policy for barcode numbers continues to change, and there are variations in how strictly it is enforced. While we work to keep this information up to date, if you want to be certain about barcode acceptance on Amazon or any other retailer, it is best to check with them directly.
Amazon uses barcode numbers (13-digit EAN or 12-digit UPC) as unique product identifiers, and then it assigns its own unique identification number, called an ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number).
Until a few years ago, barcodes on Amazon were very uncontrolled – anyone could list any product on Amazon using any barcode number, as long as that barcode number wasn’t already being used for another product on Amazon. However, this caused some serious problems for legitimate sellers, and some found that their numbers had already been stolen and used illegally by someone else on Amazon.
Searching legacy barcode numbers
In 2016, an Amazon Executive joined GS1’s board of governors, and they began to implement tighter policies and started undertaking some ‘housecleaning’ to tidy up the Amazon database. Unfortunately, legacy barcode numbers are still used on Amazon, which conflicts with our own and sells numbers. We have implemented increasingly deep-level searches for Amazon databases to find these fraudulent legacy numbers and avoid issues. We use the Amazon APIs, which have some success with current products, but unfortunately, these are limited in how deeply they search the Amazon databases. So, our tech gurus developed some sophisticated search software that goes far beyond the traditional Amazon search options. We use this software to search Amazon for all numbers deep before we sell them. If it finds any of these (historically fraudulent listings using our numbers), we delete the numbers and don’t sell them. This proprietary software is much more effective than Amazon’s APIs and searches far deeper than any other barcode seller.
Current requirements
Amazon prefers barcode numbers to come directly from GS1 – they have a preference that their suppliers are current members of GS1. Unfortunately, this is very expensive, especially for smaller manufacturers/businesses, as GS1 charges relatively expensive joining fees, plus recurring fees for the rest of your product life. So GS1 membership is effective for listing on Amazon, but it is also an expensive option.
We don’t know where Amazon is heading regarding its barcodes policy. We hope they will be reasonable and allow people to list products using legitimate, verifiable barcode numbers (the ones we sell). However, Amazon might become more restrictive and eventually stop accepting our barcodes.
Amazon Error Codes
Listing on Amazon can be difficult, and a few specific error codes commonly occur while trying to list. These commonly have to do with the ‘Brand’ field during the listing process.
Fortunately, these usually have a simple solution. Common error codes and solutions can be seen here: https://internationalbarcodes.net/amazon-error-codes-and-solutions/.
Note: You may also want to see our videos about listing on Amazon: https://internationalbarcodes.net/videos-on-how-to-list-on-amazon/.
if you have any questions feel free to contact us.