Product Identifiers requirements

Modified on Tue, 25 Jun at 2:46 PM

Overview

Item Identifiers are standardized codes that represent retail products worldwide. The most commonly used Product Identifiers are Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs). They provide information on each particular product and its manufacturer. GTINs are accepted internationally and include UPCs (12 digits), EANs (13 digits), JANs (13 digits), ISBNs (10 or 13 digits), etc.

Identifiers like UPC and EAN play a crucial role in seller performance. Merchants use them to track inventory more accurately and make sure that Channel recognizes the products they sell. Items with included Identifiers have greater visibility for customers and are ranked higher on search engines; thus, are more profitable.

Requirements for eBay, Amazon, Walmart

Search engines on Channels and other websites use Product Identifiers in various algorithms to fulfill users’ queries and show relevant search results. Below are the requirements for assigning Products Identifiers on eBay, Amazon, and Walmart.

eBay

Depending on the eBay category, Item Identifiers can be “Not applicable”, “Optional”, or “Required”. eBay requires including Item Identifiers like GTIN (UPC, EAN, ISBN), MPN, or brand name in certain categories. Check out the list of categories here.

In M2E Pro, you can specify the proper Product Identifiers for items in the Description Policy. For products that do not have UPC/EAN, you can opt for Does not apply or Unbranded values correspondingly.

For more information on how to add eBay Description Policy, please read this article. 

Apart from the Description Policy, please ensure that required Item Specifics are added for your products. It is important since they also can include GTIN (UPC, EAN, ISBN), MPN, or brand.

To edit the eBay category and Item Specifics, go to eBay > Configuration > Categories.

Amazon

Product identifiers are obligatory for listing items on Amazon. UPC and EAN are the main Identifiers on this Channel. Based on the UPC/EAN values, your products can be matched with existing items in the Amazon catalog. As a result, they are assigned to the appropriate ASINs.

In M2E Pro you can indicate Product Identifiers in the Search Settings when creating a new Listing.

You can edit the Search Settings anytime under Amazon > Listings > Edit Settings > Search

Based on these settings, M2E Pro will automatically assign products to an appropriate ASIN/ISBN. Alternatively, you can run a manual ASIN/ISBN search by indicating Product Identifiers for each product in the Listing.

Automatic ASIN/ISBN search is not available for Bundle and Simple products with custom options.

If an automatic or manual ASIN/ISBN search does not return any results, you can create a new ASIN/ISBN for the product. For this, make sure that your Listing uses the Description Policy with UPC or EAN indicated.

Find more details on how to create a new ASIN/ISBN for products here.

In case the products you sell do not imply Product Identifiers (e.g. handmade, private-label) you need to get Amazon approval for GTIN exemption. Once it is obtained, you can skip indicating UPC/EAN for your product; instead, select one of the Product ID Override options in the Description Policy.

Walmart

Product Identifiers are essential for publishing items on Walmart. As a rule, UPC and EAN are the most commonly used ones on the Channel. They allow Walmart to associate your product with items in the catalog. In M2E Pro you can specify Product Identifiers under Walmart > Configuration > General.

At any time, you can edit Product Identifier settings for non-listed products under Walmart > Configuration > General. The setting for listed products can be changed inside the M2E Pro Listing by clicking Edit next to an item`s Product ID.

In the General section, you can also enable Product ID Override for items that do not have GTIN (private label or handmade). However, first, please ensure Walmart has approved your UPC Exemption Request.