Amazon Seller Central Business Value
Amazon Seller Central Catalog Management
Section 4: Editing Variations in Seller Central
Cheat Sheet
How to create variations manually
• In order to create variations, you would first need to have a parent SKU as you are selling different sizes, colours, et cetera of these products.
• To create variations manually in Seller Central, click on the “Add a Product” from the “Inventory” tab Drop Down Menu on the top menu of Seller Central.
• Click on the link saying “Create a new product listing”.
• Select your category as you would if you were creating a stand-alone ASIN as described in section 2 and click the yellow “Select” button.
• On the next page, be sure to click the “Advanced Settings” button as before and proceed to fill in all the information on each of the tabs as before.
• Remember, that for the images, you can only possibly upload a main image for starters, which will relate to the parent ASIN, but you would need to go into each of the variations once they have been created and select the “Manage Images” from the grey “Edit” button to the right of each Child ASIN or variation to ensure that you are only uploading images that are relevant to that specific variation, that is, you cannot put images of the other colours or sizes and expect to use them for all your variations.
• Under the “Variations” tab, select which variation type you would like to use for your variations from the grey “Select” Button Drop Down Menu.
• List all your variations in all the relevant cells and keep adding until you have included them all.
• Then click the yellow “Add Variations” button.
• In the table that is generated, complete all information in all fields, that is, Color Map, Seller SKU, Product ID, Product ID Type, Condition, Your price and Quantity for each of the variations.
• Once you are happy with all the information you have inserted for each, click the yellow “Save and Finish” button at the bottom.
How to create variations via Template
• To create variations via Template in Seller Central, click on the “Add a Product” from the “Inventory” tab Drop Down Menu on the top menu of Seller Central.
• Click on the link saying “Download an Inventory File”.
• On the next page, scroll down to the header “Inventory Files” and click on the “Category-Specific Inventory Files” link.
• In the Pop-Up Window under the “Choose a File Template” Section, click on the “Template for Specific Categories” Link and then click on the relevant Category for which you are creating the variations on the next page.
• Make sure that you complete all the information for the Parent ASIN as before and then fill in the relevant information under the “Variations” section in as many cells as you can.
• For the Variations, select “Child” in the “Parentage” Field; select “Variation” in the “Relationship Type” Field; put in the Parent SKU to which this Child SKU is to be related to and select the applicable Variation Theme in the “Variation Theme” Field.
• Be sure to always fill in as many cells as you can on this template as the more complete your listing, the better for SEO and for consumers.
• Be reminded that you need to save this file in .txt format before uploading it under the “Check and Upload Your Inventory File” tab on the “Add Products Via Upload” Page.
How to edit variations Manually
• When we edit variations, we are referring to the variation itself, that is, size, colour, material, et cetera.
• In order to edit variations manually, select “Manage Inventory” from the “Inventory” tab Drop Down Menu on the top menu of Seller Central.
• Click on the arrow alongside the variations you wish to edit to reveal the variations of that parent ASIN below.
• Click on the grey “Edit” Button to the right of the variation you wish to edit.
• On the next page, proceed to edit the fields you wish to edit by scrolling along the tabs at the top.
• Note that not all fields will be editable as this is the Child ASIN and these fields will normally relate to the Parent ASIN and so can only be edited in the Parent ASIN itself and not in the Child ASIN.
• Any fields uneditable in the variation of a Parent ASIN in the variation table can only be edited if you click on the Child ASIN itself and go through to the Product Listing Edit Page.
• If you select the UPC, you may not be able to change the variation, for example, the colour from black to grey or the size from small to medium.
• It is more likely to accept the change if you select the ASIN of the product you wish to edit.
• Otherwise you need to contact Support.
• Note that you cannot change the Variation Theme manually here.
• Once you have entered all the new changes, click the yellow “Save and Finish” button at the bottom of the page.
How to edit variations via File Template
• In order to edit variations via Template in Seller Central, click on the “Add a Product” from the “Inventory” tab Drop Down Menu on the top menu of Seller Central.
• Click on the link saying “Download an Inventory File”.
• On the next page, scroll down to the header “Inventory Files” and click on the “Category-Specific Inventory Files” link.
• In the Pop-Up Window under the “Choose a File Template” Section, click on the “Template for Specific Categories” Link and then click on the relevant Category for which you are editing the variations on the next page.
• Make sure that you complete all the information for the Parent ASIN as before and then fill in the relevant new information under the “Variations” section in as many cells as you can.
• Only via this template can you edit or change the Variation Theme.
• It is now vital for you to select the “Update” or “Partial Update” item from the Drop Down Menu provided in the “Update Delete” Field on the sheet.
• This way, Amazon’s systems will know to only update the newly entered information and not replace all other fields with nothing if you have left some fields incomplete.
• If in doubt, make sure that you fill in all information in all the “required” cells, remembering that some previously not required cells may become required by being highlighted by a red border.
• Be reminded that you need to save this file in .txt format before uploading it under the “Check and Upload Your Inventory File” tab on the “Add Products Via Upload” Page.
How to create a new variation family by combining existing stand-alone ASINs
• In order to create a new variation family by combining existing stand-alone ASINs, the ASINs would need to have the following stipulations:
* The Brand name should be the same;
* The ASIN should not be part of a variation, that is, it needs to be stand-alone; and
* The ASINs you add as variations should be in the same category.
• If you wish to create a whole new variation family from existing stand-alone ASINs, you can either choose to do so manually by following the same steps as in section 2 of this course or the first video in this or the first and second videos of this section.
• Alternately, you can do so using the Variation Wizard by selecting “Add a Product” from the “Inventory” tab Drop Down Menu on the top menu of Seller Central.
• Click on the link saying “Add a Variation Using Variation Wizard”.
• On the next page, select the “Create a New Variation Family by Combining Existing Stand-Alone Listings within Your Catalog” and follow the instructions given here in this block and ensure that:
* You use the same category from the product page for all the Child ASINs now in this template so that they all appear in the same category and on the same page; and
* You copy all information from the stand-alone ASINs exactly into the relevant fields in the template.
• The template they refer to is the Category-Specific Inventory File template which can be found by selecting the “Add a Product” from the “Inventory” tab Drop Down Menu on the top menu of Seller Central.
• Click on the link saying “Download an Inventory File”.
• On the next page, scroll down to the header “Inventory Files” and click on the “Category-Specific Inventory Files” link.
• In the Pop-Up Window under the “Choose a File Template” Section, click on the “Template for Specific Categories” Link and then click on the relevant Category for which you are creating the variations family on the next page.
• Remember to save this file in .txt format before uploading it under the “Check and Upload Your Inventory File” tab on the “Add Products Via Upload” Page.
How to add a stand-alone ASIN to an existing variation Family
• In order to add a stand-alone ASIN to an existing variation, the ASIN would need to have the following stipulations:
* The Brand name should be the same as the Parent ASIN;
* The ASIN should not be part of a variation, that is, it needs to be stand-alone. If another Seller has this same ASIN as part of another variation, it won’t work so it has to be stand alone everywhere on the Amazon page; and
* The ASINs you add should be in the same category as the Parent ASIN.
• In order to add a stand-alone ASIN as a variation, go to the “Manage Inventory” from the “Inventory” tab Drop Down menu on the top menu of Seller Central.
• Click on the grey “Edit” button to the right of the Parent ASIN.
• Under the “Variations” tab, type the variation name in the relevant cells. Then click the yellow “Add Variations” button.
• In the table that is generated, complete all information in all fields, that is, Color Map, Seller SKU, Product ID, Product ID Type, Condition, Your price and Quantity exactly as it appears on the stand-alone ASIN you are now adding as a variation to this Parent ASIN.
• Once you are happy with all the information you have inserted, click the yellow “Save and Finish” button at the bottom.
• It is important to note here that, while adding the stand-alone ASIN to the existing variation, you need use the same variation theme as of the parent to the ASIN you are going to add manually.
• However, you can change the variation theme if you follow the steps to edit/create variations steps via file template upload explained above.
How to merge variations
• If you would like to merge variations and have variations from one Parent ASIN added to another Parent ASIN, you can do so both manually and via the Template.
• If you are doing this manually, go to the “Manage Inventory” from the “Inventory” tab Drop Down menu on the top menu of Seller Central.
• In order to merge ASINs, the ASINs would need to have the following stipulations:
* The Brand name should be the same for all ASINs;
* The ASINs you merge should be in the same category.
• You would then need to delete the parent ASIN for the ASINs you wish to add to another existing Parent ASIN, making the Child ASINs stand-alone ASINs.
• It is advisable that you delete the Parent ASIN with the least number of Child ASINs so you have less Child ASINs to add to the new/other Parent ASIN.
• Make sure that you click on the little Arrow alongside the Parent ASIN beforehand to be sure you only delete the Parent ASIN and not the Child ASINs as well.
• Once these Child ASINs are stand-alone ASINs, you can proceed to click on the grey “Edit” button to the right of the Parent ASIN you wish to add these Child ASINs to.
• Under the “Variations” tab, proceed to add the two new variations as you would if you were creating new variations.
• Remember to copy all the information exactly from the now stand-alone Child ASINs to the new variations you are setting up under the Parent ASIN, that is, the same SKU, price, et cetera as the ASINs you wish to merge under this new Parent ASIN.
• You can also choose to rename the Parent ASIN title to make it more relevant to the newly configured variations.
• Once you are happy with your changes, click the yellow “Save and Finish” button at the bottom of the page.
• In order to merge Variations via Template, click on the “Add a Product” from the “Inventory” tab Drop Down Menu on the top menu of Seller Central.
• Click on the link saying “Download an Inventory File”.
• On the next page, scroll down to the header “Inventory Files” and click on the “Category-Specific Inventory Files” link. In the Pop-Up Window under the “Choose a File Template” Section, click on the “Template for Specific Categories” Link and then click on the relevant Category for which you are merging the variations on the next page.
• Make sure that you fill in all the same information under the “Variations” section as it stands for these newly formed stand-alone Child ASINs (SKU, et cetera) and insert the new Parent ASIN they are being mapped to.
• Here you would select the “Partial Update” item from the Drop Down Menu provided in the “Update Delete” Field on the sheet for the variations and you would only be adding the stand-alone ASINs from the deleted Parent ASIN to this other Parent ASIN.
• You wouldn’t need to re-add all the Child ASINs already under this Parent ASIN.
• Make sure that you fill in all the required information and we recommend that you also fill in the “Item Type Keyword” field to ensure you are using the same category as you did for the Parent ASIN you are mapping these Child ASINs to.
• In the event that the Parent ASIN is new, you would need to proceed to fill in all the information for the Parent ASIN as you would when creating a new Listing and select “Update” from the “Update Delete” Field.
• Be reminded that you need to save this file in .txt format before uploading it under the “Check and Upload Your Inventory File” tab on the “Add Products Via Upload” Page.
• Again, it should be noted here that, while merging ASINs to the existing variation, you need use the same variation theme as of the parent to the ASIN you are going to add manually.
• However, you can change the variation theme if you follow the steps to edit/create variations steps via file template upload explained above.
How to split variations
• In some instances, you may wish to split variations by taking some variations from out of an existing Parent ASIN and adding them to another Parent ASIN, existing or new.
• You can split the ASINs manually by selecting “Manage Inventory” from the “Inventory” tab Drop Down menu on the top menu of Seller Central.
• You would then need to delete the parent ASIN for the ASINs you wish to split, making the Child ASINs stand-alone ASINs.
• Make sure that you click on the little Arrow alongside the Parent ASIN beforehand to be sure you only delete the Parent ASIN and not the Child ASINs as well.
• Once these Child ASINs are stand-alone ASINs, you can proceed to create a new Parent ASIN as you would a new product and when you fill out the variations tab for the new Parent ASIN, be sure to include all the information (SKU, price, et cetera) of the Child ASIN in the variations tab for the new Parent ASIN.
• Whichever other previous Child ASINs you wished to add to another Parent, you can then repeat the same process with them.
• Thus, you would have successfully created two or more new Parent ASINs and split your Child ASINs between these Parent ASINs.
• Once you have completed all the relevant information for the new Parent ASIN, click the yellow “Save and Finish” button at the bottom of the page.
• In order to split Variations via Template, click on the “Add a Product” from the “Inventory” tab Drop Down Menu on the top menu of Seller Central.
• Click on the link saying “Download an Inventory File”. On the next page, scroll down to the header “Inventory Files” and click on the “Category-Specific Inventory Files” link.
• In the Pop-Up Window under the “Choose a File Template” Section, click on the “Template for Specific Categories” Link and then click on the relevant Category for which you are splitting the variations on the next page.
• Make sure that you complete all the information for the new Parent ASIN/ASINS as before and then fill in all the same information under the “Variations” section in as many cells as you can for each of the new Parent ASINs.
• You are essentially mapping the Child ASINs to a new Parent ASIN or ASINs.
• It is vital for you to select the “Update” item from the Drop Down Menu provided in the “Update Delete” Field on the sheet for the variations and the Parent ASIN.
• Make sure that you fill in all information in all the “required” cells, remembering that some previously not required cells may become required by being highlighted by a red border. Be reminded that you need to save this file in .txt format before uploading it under the “Check and Upload Your Inventory File” tab on the “Add Products Via Upload” Page.
How to remove an ASIN as a variation
• In order to remove an ASIN as a variation, go to the “Manage Inventory” from the “Inventory” tab Drop Down menu on the top menu of Seller Central.
• Click on the grey “Edit” button to the right of the Parent ASIN (not the Child ASIN you wish to remove!).
• On the next page, proceed to the “Variations” tab of the listing and scroll down to the table of variations below.
• Click the box to the left of the ASINs you wish to remove from the Parent ASIN and click the grey “Delete Selected” button above the table of variations.
• This will remove the ASIN from the Parent ASIN but will delete your ASIN altogether from your Inventory, that is, the actual ASIN will now need to be re-added as you would add a new product as an existing ASIN on Amazon.
• Remember to click on the yellow “Save and Finish” button at the bottom of the page to affect your changes.
• The only way to remove an ASIN as a variation without deleting the ASIN itself is via a Template.
• In order to remove an ASIN as a variation via Template in Seller Central, click on the “Add a Product” from the “Inventory” tab Drop Down Menu on the top menu of Seller Central.
• Click on the link saying “Download an Inventory File”.
• On the next page, scroll down to the header “Inventory Files” and click on the “Category-Specific Inventory Files” link.
• In the Pop-Up Window under the “Choose a File Template” Section, click on the “Template for Specific Categories” Link and then click on the relevant Category for which you are removing the variation ASIN on the next page.
• Make sure that you complete all the information for the Parent ASIN as before and ALL information for all Child ASINs you want to keep, including the ASIN which you would like to remove as a variation.
• It is imperative that you leave the Variation fields blank for this ASIN you wish to remove but everything else must be filled in.
• If you select “Partial Update” from the Drop Down Menu provided in the “Update Delete” Field on the sheet, it will update the listing, keeping the variation information in.
• If you select “Update” from the Drop Down Menu provided in the “Update Delete” Field on the sheet it will remove the Variation information and so remove the ASIN as a Child in this variation family.
• If you do not fill out the other fields, then your ASIN listing will end up with blank fields, which is why all fields need to be updated for all Parent and Child ASINs alike – only the Variation fields for the ASIN you wish to remove from the variation family are to remain blank, with the “Update” option selected.
• All other Child ASINs you wish to keep as variations as well as the Parent ASIN need to have the “Partial Update” selected from the “Update Delete” Field Drop Down Menu.
• Be reminded that you need to save this file in .txt format before uploading it under the “Check and Upload Your Inventory File” tab on the “Add Products Via Upload” Page.