Developing the correct barcodes for Amazon inventory

 

What does it mean when your inventory is Un-commingled, Stickered, has Amazon barcodes, or FNSKUs?

When creating a shipment to send inventory in for FBA, you will have to choose what kind of labeling you would like for your items.

You have two options. Either use the UPC/EAN or other Manufacturer Barcode, or apply Amazon labels.

Use of Amazon labels generates an FNSKU for your listing, which must be placed on each item as a sticker with a barcode. The inventory is now considered stickered and will be un-commingled.

This means the items will belong only to your account, and will not be shared between accounts selling the same items. When a buyer purchases an item from a listing, an item supplied by the business with an FNSKU will be sent to them.

How to tell the difference between FNSKU and ASIN:

• FNSKUs can be identified because they start with an X.
• ASINs will start with a B.

What determines an item to be called commingled, sticker-less, or a manufactured barcode?

Conversely, items without these labels might be called commingled, sticker-less, or manufacturer barcoded. Instead of FNSKUs, they will show the ASIN on your FBA inventory page.  

Sticker-less, or commingled items can be shared between seller accounts that list the same ASIN. In practice, this means that all units of the same ASIN sent in by different sellers are kept in the same pool.

Potential reasons you could get hit with a warning:

• A buyer who chooses your listing may not get one of the items you sent in. Resulting in a removal order may not return your original items to you.

It also means you could be hit with a warning for an inauthentic or infringing product for example – even if the unit that was problematic was supplied by another seller.

All listings start as sticker-less when you create them. The best time to convert is when you first send inventory in for FBA. You shouldn’t convert a listing that you’ve already used for sticker-less items, as this can cause issues.

Also, once a listing is stickered, you will not be able to change it back to sticker-less.

Don’t hesitate to ask for help:

If you would ever like to change the labeling preference for an item, we recommend you start by creating a new listing.

This help page is a good place to start for more information about FBA labeling requirements.

If you have more questions about the pros and cons of stickered vs. sticker-less, reach out to