Amazon ASIN: What is an ASIN number?
Amazon uses ASINs to manage its ever-growing catalog of products. These unique product identifiers are an important part of Amazon’s sales policies because they help buyers find the items they want. If they are not used correctly, Amazon sellers can violate the terms of sale and even lose their eligibility for the marketplace.
To make sure you can list and sell your items on Amazon, learn what Amazon ASIN numbers are, why they’re important, and how to use them to find and identify your product listings in this article.
What is an ASIN number?
ASIN stands for Amazon Standard Identification Number. It is a 10-digit alphanumeric unique identifier assigned by Amazon.com and its partners. It is primarily used for product identification within the product catalog. For books, the ASIN is identical to the ISBN number.
ASINs are only guaranteed to be unique within a marketplace. Thus, different national Amazon sites may use different ASINs for the same product.
Why the Amazon ASIN is important for Amazon and its sellers
An Amazon ASIN is important to both Amazon and its sellers because an ASIN is used to reference catalog data, track inventory for products, and index catalog pages for searching and browsing.
The ASIN number is the basis for Amazon’s product catalog structure, which in turn provides buyers with advanced search options, such as browsing multiple categories. Buyers can even enter a product description or the ASIN number in the search box to find the exact item they are looking for. Using a product’s ASIN, Amazon delivers accurate and relevant product searches every time.
It is therefore important that sellers identify and use the correct ASIN identifier for their products. Otherwise, Amazon will not be able to organize and search your products for customers. So if you want to list a product on Amazon, you need to match your product to an existing ASIN number or create a new one.
How to find your Amazon ASIN number
You can find an Amazon ASIN number for your product in several places: in the product’s web address, in the product details, or using an ASIN search software tool.
The fastest way is to search for the product you want to sell in your browser’s address bar. The Amazon ASIN will be after the product name and “dp” as highlighted below.
The second place you can find the ASIN is in the product details on Amazon.com, near the bottom of the product page.
Sellers can also use software tools like Synccentric to look up ASIN numbers. If you have thousands of products, you don’t want to look up web addresses for each item individually. Instead, you can use an online tool to do a bulk upload of your product identifiers that will return each ASIN number.
Of course, these types of tools cost something. Whether you need one depends on how many items you have and how often you list new products on Amazon.
Note that it is illegal to create a new ASIN for a product that already exists on Amazon. This may result in your selling privileges being temporarily suspended or permanently removed. It is important to check if your item already exists on Amazon!
Product Variations Policy
When searching and adding ASIN numbers, Amazon sellers often deal with product variations or parent-child relationships. Variations allow buyers to compare and purchase products based on different attributes such as size, color, or other features. Here’s what variations might look like for an Amazon shopper:
There will be a parent ASIN number for these products. However, Amazon has several rules about how variations should be listed. There are also several prohibited practices to prevent sellers from abusing variations and fundamentally altering children’s products and their relationship to their parent ASIN number.
Read more about the Amazon Variation Relationships policy.
Adding unique Amazon ASINs: Using GTINs, UPCs, ISBNS, and EANs
When you add a new item to Amazon, sellers must create a new ASIN to add it to the Amazon catalog. Manufacturers often need to add new ASINs for their products.
To create a new ASIN, Amazon provides an “Add Product” tool. Once your product page is set up, you can sell your items. (Note that other sellers can also use this ASIN number to sell the same items.)
When creating a new ASIN, you will need to know the GTINs (Global Trade Item Numbers) of your products. The most commonly used GTINs are UPCs, ISBNs, and EANs. These types of product codes are usually located near the barcode on your product’s packaging. Amazon uses these universal product identifiers to create and customize its own unique ASIN codes.
- ISBN (International Standard Book Number): 10 digits or 13 digits.
- UPC (Universal Product Code): 12 digits
- EAN (European Article Number): 13 digits
- GTIN-14 (Global Trade Item Number): 14 digits
If you don’t know your GTIN yet, you can ask the manufacturer of your product for it. However, if you manufactured the item yourself, you will need to register your product through GS1 US for UPCs or the US ISBN Agency for ISBNs (for US sellers).
Limit for creating an ASIN
Amazon limits the number of new listings sellers can create based on sales history, listing creation history, and other factors. As you increase your sales, your capacity to create new listings also increases. Amazon suggests prioritizing the products you list to quickly increase your sales.
Read more about Amazon’s limits on ASIN creation.
Creating a new Amazon ASIN indicates low competition.
Amazon continues to expand its extensive product catalog into hundreds of categories. However, this also means that Amazon has become an extremely competitive marketplace for sales.
If you need to create a new Amazon ASIN for your product, this is an indication that you are the only seller for that product. You then don’t have to compete with other direct sellers. This is a great strategy to help you win the Amazon Buy Box, which is a sure way to increase sales.
If you want to offer new products on Amazon, you should pay attention to how competitive this item is. Are there already several sellers offering it, or are you creating a new ASIN for it?
What to do next
Identifying your Amazon ASIN number is the first step in listing your products on Amazon. It’s important that you understand the process for customizing or creating your ASIN so that your items are searchable by customers.