What’s the difference between an ASIN, SKU, FNSKU, UPC/EAN?
There sure are a lot of acronyms on Amazon, and a lot of unique identifiers as well. Β Hopefully this will clarify for you!
ASIN
Every item that is in the amazon product catalog is assigned a unique ASIN. If you create a new listing, it will get a new ASIN. Β If youβre a wholesaler listing on an existing catalog item, youβre listing on an existing ASIN. Β In short, each item that comes up in search is a unique product detail page, and it has an ASIN.
VariationsΒ of the same product still have a unique ASIN for each variation. Β For example, if youβre creating 2 variations for baseball caps, by color, Red and Blue, youβd have 3 ASINβs: 1 for Red, 1 for Blue, and 1 for the parent item that binds the two together, but is never seen in search.
To sell an ASIN, you create an βofferβ so that your offer can be listed on that ASINβs product detail page. Β On popular wholesale items, there can be a hundred different offers per ASIN.
SKU
SKU is short for Stock Keeping UnitΒ β itβs what you call the product in your system. Β You can use whatever naming convention you want here. Β A lot of people use a pattern like Brand-Model-FulfillmentMethod to name their products. Always ensure you make SKUβs mean something so that when you see it in a list, youβll know what product/variation itβs talking about. Every time you create a new offer for an ASIN, youβll be asked to provide a unique SKU.
FNSKU
The FNSKU is the alphanumeric number that is used to generate the barcode that you put on your product when you send inventory to the FBA warehouse. Β Each βFulfilled by Amazonβ SKU you add to Amazon will have itβs on FNSKU Barcode. Youβre not required to use FNSKUβs to list on Amazon. Β You can also use the manufacturer barcode (UPC) that is printed on the product package.
UPC
A UPC is a Universal Product Code. Β Every item you buy in the supermarket has one, itβs what they scan at checkout. Β UPCβs are purchased, from GS1, who holds the rights to distribute them, and anyone in the world who looks up your UPC on any system can find out what the product is. Β Each product on Amazon, unless youβve been given an exemption, requires a UPC.
EAN
EAN is the European version of the UPC barcode.