Part 10 – What are ASINS (EAN‘s GTIN’s etc.)

In this tutorial we take a look at the key to selling on Amazon.

So in the video above, we show you a breakdown of the different barcode types including:

• EAN
• UPC
• ISBN
• GTIC

We show you exactly where you can find the ASINs on different product pages as if your product already exists this makes listing super simple as you will see in the next tutorial.

But in this tutorial you will learn:

• ASINs are only unique per marketplace
• The same products on different Amazon marketplaces may use different ASINs
• For books, ISBNs and ASINs are the same
• We then take a look on Amazon to look at ASINs first hand.

For you to be able to sell your products on Amazon, you need to have an ASIN; while booksellers would need an ISBN.

The acronyms in the first sentence are not meant to confuse you. In fact, they lead to this tutorial topic – the ASIN and its key role in relation to the different types of barcodes used on Amazon.

ASIN stands for Amazon Standard Identification Number and every single product that’s sold on Amazon has it.

An ASIN is a combination of letters and numbers in the URL of a product page, next to the product’s name.

You can also see it on either the left- or right-hand side of the Product Information section.

It’s worth noting that a product may have different ASINs depending on the Amazon marketplace it is sold on.

If, for example, you are selling the same product on Amazon’s UK and USA sites, it will carry a different ASIN for each marketplace.

Every product sold on Amazon needs an ASIN; this explains why it’s called the ‘key’ to selling on Amazon.

When you upload a new product on Amazon, it shall be assigned an ASIN that bears a unique identification number for your product’s standard identifier, otherwise known as barcode.

All products, except for books, sold in the EU have the EAN, which stands for European Article Number.

On the other hand, anything that is sold in the USA and Canada, except for books, carries the Universal Product Code or UPC.

If you are selling books, you will be assigned an International Standard Book Number or ISBN, which is the equivalent of an ASIN.

Then there’s the Global Trade Item Number or GTIN, which is the new global standard barcode for non-book related items that are sold worldwide.

Amazon uses a unified product catalogue to make identifying products on its different marketplaces easier.

Once an item you are selling already exists on Amazon, you can list your product under its unified catalogue and ASIN, and then add in your product’s price, quantity, condition and SKU so that you can sell it.

Note, however, that there are instances when one product page on Amazon displays more than one ASIN. This is especially true for products with different variations.

In this tutorial you learned about ASIN, why it’s the key to selling on Amazon, as well as how a product can be assigned different ASINs.

Besides that, you were also introduced to the different types of barcodes.