23 Sep What are Amazon Barcodes? How to Barcode and Label your products

Amazon has grown to be one of the largest online retail brands in the world. One of their features is FBA which is short for ‘Fulfillment by Amazon’. 

Amazon FBA’s main purpose is to facilitate sellers. If you want to sell an item, you would need to send it to Amazon, and it’ll store it securely in one of their warehouses. Once a purchase is made they take care of the packaging and the shipping of the item. Its hassle-free. 

This makes it convenient for sellers to not get into the complexities of online business while also being associated with a credible brand. This makes their operation quite smooth. 

However, Amazon comes packed with policies for everything. It’s important to understand how to send out your items and put their labels. 

What are the requirements for FBA Barcodes?

It’s due to FBA that selling for any business has become this easy at Amazon. To meet its conditions, it’s important to identify the items you are selling. Amazon operates on a system that keeps records through barcodes so it is essential to identify your products so they can correctly send out the items from their warehouse. Every item sent through FBA would need a barcode. 

There are kinds of identification

Manufacturer Barcode

If your product has a manufacturer label and barcode, it is likely Amazon won’t ask you to label it again. They would let you know if your item qualifies for this option at the time of shipment and link it to your account if it succeeds. You will be credited once a sale is made. 

The types of barcodes Amazon accepts are UPS, ISBN, and EAN. 

UPC and EAN are commonly found in barcodes on products manufactured in Europe and the USA. ISBN is the unique barcode used to identify books circulating commercially. It can be easily found on the back of book covers. 

Amazon Barcode

In the case where your product doesn’t come with a manufacturer barcode, you will be asked to assign it an Amazon barcode called FNSKU.

Fulfillment Network Stock Keeping Unit is exclusive to Amazon. This is what is used to track and maintain stock throughout their warehouse. It is also used to identify the sellers and send out orders accurately. This number is made available to the sellers and they receive their profits through it as well. 

To generate barcodes yourself you would need to invest in a UPC which then Amazon will convert to FNSKU. To generate these barcodes, there are two ways to go about it. 

Amazon Labelling Service

If you cannot purchase a printer or your financial capacity doesn’t allow you to, Amazon will do it for you. Once you’re in the labeling section you will be asked ‘’Who Labels’’, where you may choose Amazon. However, they would charge you a fee for each label generated for your items.

Do It Yourself

If getting labels done from Amazon is not budget friendly for you, you may want to invest in a printer with a resolution of 300 dpi or more. This is the minimum requirement from Amazon for the barcodes generated. Your printer should include laser sheets and print-ready material. 

Formatting

Once you have created your products’ page, Amazon will convert the barcodes into FNSKU. In order to do it efficiently you would need to list:

• Product’s name
• Its condition; whether it is old or new
• Its FNSKU number

The barcode for each item should be able to scan easily. Amazon barcodes are printed in black ink and their size is 1-2 by 2-3 inches. They should also be printed on self-adhesive, white non-reflective labels. 

What is an ASIN?

Amazon Standard Identification Number is assigned to all products on Amazon and is used to keep track of inventory. It also helps shoppers to look for their desired items. 

ASIN is often confused with FNSKU, that’s because their purpose is somewhat the same: identifying products across Amazon. 

No product on this popular platform can exist without an ASIN number assigned to it. Once an item is registered at Amazon, it is matched with an ASIN, or a new one is created for it. However, it only requires an FNSKU when it’s sold and needs to head to the Amazon warehouse. 

Barcode Placement

As you have to label each and every item in your inventory, it can often cause careless placement of the labels.  Hence, how you place the barcodes is important. You should avoid curves, edges, and corners. This will make the barcodes scannable. If your item is extra layered in packaging, you should label the outermost layer. This way your item will not be required to be stripped of its packaging to get scanned. 

Warning labels

It depends on your products what kind of labeling they require and which category they fall under. These labels give further instructions to the handlers, Amazon, and customers. 

Suffocation

This warning is meant for the customers and is required on all bags with 5 inches or larger openings. If the manufacturer has already put the warning label, you may not need to, if not, it is essential that you do. 

Heavy Object 

This is for the handlers and Amazon FBA support so they’re notified of the weight of the object. They might need more manpower to lift the object and take safety measures. 

Handle with Care

‘’Handle with Care’’ or ‘’Fragile’’ are both used for delicate objects which can pose the danger of breaking during shipping. This is meant for handlers and Amazon FBA support. 

Lithium Battery

As Lithium batteries have dangerous substances, they need to be labeled. This is to notify handling support to keep such a product away from heat and to avoid damage. 

Sold as Set

If you would want your products to sell in a set, you need to label it so Amazon is clearly notified. This would inform the personnel to not separate the products. 

Ready to Ship

If your products are ready for shipping when they reach Amazon’s warehouse, this label will let the support staff know that they’re not to be opened. 

Loose products

Every product that you send to Amazon should be contained in secure packaging. They will not go through separate items and organize them for you. You need to label your package as ‘’Loose Products’ when you dispatch them. 

Expiration Date

Amazon doesn’t accept items with an expiration date of fewer than 90 days from the date they are received at the warehouse. The date should be clearly mentioned on the package. If you miss out on the date of the month, they will likely not process your product. 

What if my labels are incorrect?

If your labels are incorrect, the processing will take more time. Amazon will face challenges to organize its inventory which would make delays to put your product up for sale. 

The most common mistakes are:

• Wrong labeling
• Un-scannable barcode
• Packaging issues
• Wrong products or delivery at the wrong warehouse
• Barcode missing

In conclusion

In order to sell your products, it is essential that you keep the rules and regulations set by Amazon in mind. Barcodes are one of the most important aspects in keeping a record of your products and finally selling them. 

We hope we brought you a step closer to understanding Amazon and its policies better.