What are ASIN numbers? ASINs are 10 digit codes for products bought and sold on Amazon! Maximize ASINs to grow your catalog and business!
What are ASIN Numbers and ASIN Meaning?
ASIN numbers, also known as Amazon Standard Identification Numbers, are 10-digit codes composing of numbers and letters assigned to any product sold or bought on Amazon. ASINs are known as “product identifiers” that are used by both Amazon and its sellers to identify any product with ease. Before ASINs, products had a multitude of product identifiers, but Amazon decided to overhaul and streamline the old management system by implementing a new standard that is specifically tied to their system. This is how ASINs came to be.
Along with ASINs, there are other product identifiers including UPCs (universal product codes), GTINs, (global trade item number), EANs (European article numbers), or ISBNs (international standard book numbers). Each product identifier is used for different kinds of products and within different online marketplaces. In some cases, a single product may have multiple product identifiers for different markets. Not only has Amazon taken over the e-commerce industry, but their ASIN product identification system is quickly becoming a global standard.
Why You Should Use ASINs for Amazon Selling
ASINs are essential for every Amazon seller to expand product catalogs, track and manage inventory, scout potential products, and more. While you can use other product identifiers when selling on Amazon, ASINs are the most useful, easiest to use, and most common on Amazon. Here are some of the biggest benefits of using ASIN numbers:
Protecting Your Brand and Products using ASINs
The first benefit of using ASINs is protecting your brands and products you sell on Amazon. This is often referred to as “brand gating.” When you add a new product to Amazon, you’ll be required to add a product identifier like an ASIN so Amazon can correctly catalog your products to their databases.
While we’ll cover how to add ASINs for products, using ASINs for your products creates a barrier to entry that prevents other sellers from selling your products or brands without your permission. Since your unique ASIN is linked to your specific brand and products, you’ll instantly notice if an unauthorized seller hijacks your ASIN and starts selling your products without prior authorization. ASINs also protect from counterfeiters! If another seller starts selling fake products they claim are the same as yours, you can easily stop these sales using ASINs to gate your brand!
By using ASINs, you gain a defensive tool to protect yourself from potentially harmful sellers. Specifically, if you sell Amazon wholesale or Amazon private label, ASINs are vital to protecting your brand name or white label products.
Product Scouting and Product Research with ASINs
If you’re looking to expand your product catalogs to increase your sales on Amazon, ASINs are a great resource! The first thing is to find a competitor. If you are already selling on Amazon, look for other FBA sellers who are currently selling similar products to your current catalog. Then, simply analyze their products and take down their ASIN numbers. By having their ASINs on hand, you can track their products, sales performances, organic rankings, advertising campaigns, and more.
ASINs provide a direct route to keep tabs on other sellers to find popular products you can start selling and identify new trends that can help grow your business!
How to Find ASINs on Amazon
There are 2 methods of finding a product’s ASIN on Amazon, both of which are extremely easy and should take less than a minute!
1. Product URLs
This first method uses the URL from the product page. When you arrive on a product’s page, quickly scan the URL for “dp/” followed by a 10-digit code of numbers and letters. For our example using the Simple Being Anti Fatigue Kitchen Floor Mat, we easily identified the ASIN in the URL by finding the “dp/” followed by
“B07P6HH3XH”.
2. Product Information
Every product page includes a small box below the product description titled “Product information.” Once you enter a product page, just scroll down until you see the box. The Product information box includes the product’s core data including the product’s dimension, weight, manufacturer, and of course, the ASIN. For our example, the Product information table explicitly provides the ASIN as you can see from the graphic, displaying “B07P6HH3XH.”
ASIN Lookup Tools
For our more experienced Amazon sellers, you may have to scan hundreds if not thousands of ASINs at once. One way to analyze and find hundreds of ASINs is through using FBA tools.
If you don’t currently use any FBA tools, we highly suggest looking into Sellgo’s FBA tools, particularly the Search Management tool. With the Search Management tool, you can quickly upload a supplier’s catalog and the tool will review thousands of ASINs instantly. This will not only save you plenty of time, but can also provide in-depth insights into which products have the highest profit potentials so you can add to your catalog, source from suppliers, and get right to selling on Amazon!
ASINs vs. UPCs vs. EANs/GTINs vs. ISBNs
As we mentioned previously, ASINs are not the only product identifier you can use, but they are the easiest and most common on Amazon. Here is a quick snapshot of the other identifiers and how they match up versus ASINs.
Universal Product Code (UPC)
Compared to ASIN, UPCs are the second most common product identifier, trailing on ASINs. UPCs, as the name entails, are quite universal and commonly used industry-wide. UPCs contain 12-digits consisting of a series of numbers and are most often used in physical retail stores.
European Article Number (EAN), formerly known as GTIN or “Global Trade Identification Number”
Behind UPCs in terms of use and popularity are EANs, formerly known as GTINs. EANs, as the name suggests, is most often used in Europe to identify products from across the globe. EANs contain 13 digits and are applied to all sorts of products ranging from furniture to toys. If a product doesn’t have an ASIN or UPC, it most likely has an EAN.
International Standard Book Number (ISBN)
The fourth most common product identifier is ISBNs. From the name, you can infer that these identifiers are specifically used for organizing books and other literary publications. ISBNs can range between 10 to 13 digits and are the most common method for books. Unlike ASINs, the biggest benefit of using ISBN is that they differentiate books by the publication edition, book materials (hardcover vs. paperback), and publication information. ISBNs are so handy, that even Amazon uses ISBNs more often than ASINs for books sold on their platform! While ISBNs are globally standardized, they are the least common on Amazon since they can only be applied to books and publications. Regardless, ISBNs are awesome!
How to Add ASINs for Existing Products
By this point, you should have a good understanding of what ASINs are, how they can be used, and how they match up against other product identifiers. The last thing we want to cover is how to use ASINs to add products to your Amazon Seller Central Account and expand your Amazon catalog or business.
The first thing to note is that you cannot add an ASIN to an existing product. This means before you add a new product and ASIN to your Amazon account, quickly check if the product is already being sold on Amazon by searching the ASIN in Amazon’s search bar, If the identical product appears, it means that the product is already being sold and you can simply add it to your inventory through the existing ASIN.
If the product already exists, don’t feel discouraged! Existing products and ASINs make it even easier to add products to your Amazon business! Simply go to your Amazon Seller Account, click “Manage Inventory,” and easily add the product listing to your Amazon catalog using the existing ASIN for the product.
Warning: it is explicitly prohibited by Amazon to create a new ASIN for a product that already exists on Amazon. If you try to get around these restrictions, Amazon can quickly suspend or remove your product for being unauthorized or because they suspect your account of selling counterfeit products.
How to Create ASINs for New Products
If you are adding new products that are not currently sold on Amazon, you will need to register the product to obtain a brand new ASIN number. In addition, if you utilize the FBA method, you will also need to include these new ASINs on your products before you ship them to an Amazon fulfillment center.
To create a new ASIN, simply go to your Amazon Seller Central Account and click the “Add a Product” option. This will direct you to input your current product identifier or “Product ID,” usually a UPC or ISBN. Most products come with an existing label, which should include a 10 to 13-digit code which is most likely its UPC, EAN, or ISBN.
Amazon’s Add a Product tool will also request additional product information such as the product name, brand name, color, size and dimensions, material, department/product category, and more. After you input all of the information, simply hit “Save and Finish,” and you’re set! Your product should have a unique ASIN and it’s cataloged into Amazon’s database and ready to sell!
ASINs for Products with Multiple Variations
The last thing we want to note about ASINs is for our sellers who sell products with multiple variations such as products with different colors and sizes. This is known to Amazon as “parent and child” products or “variation relationships.”
When looking at a listing with multiple variations, you should separate the listing or the “parent,” from the possible products or “children.” Look at this example with the Anker Soundcore headphones. These headphones have two color variations, one black, and one silver. In this example, the “parent” is just the listing itself, “Anker Soundcore” headphones. But, the black headphones and silver headphones are the “children” and each has its own unique ASIN. By using the tactics we showed you earlier, we easily identified the black headphone’s ASIN (B07NM3RSRQ) and the silver headphone’s ASIN (B07X3ZBYRF).
Essentially, products with variations will have different ASINs for each variant, but they all share the same listing. While the headphones from our example only had two variants based on color, other products may have dozens of colors, or possibly different sizes, models, etc. If you are selling a new product with multiple colors, make sure to add the products individually to cover every color or size variation of the product. Note that variations can range to dozens of options.
Master ASINs and Get to Selling!
ASINs are a crucial aspect of Amazon’s foundation and it makes buying and selling on Amazon so much simpler! Now that you are fully trained on ASINs, you can take this knowledge and apply it to your Amazon selling or buying! Find some amazing products, create their ASINs and add them to Amazon, then start selling products through your Amazon business! While we covered multiple ways that you can find and use ASINs, we understand that some methods will work better for sellers with smaller catalogs.
If you are a more experienced seller with a large catalog, we highly suggest you check out FBA tools to help automate your ASIN analysis. If you’re not sure where to start looking for tools, we recommend our tools including our Search Management, Profit Finder, and Profit Tracker tool that will not only help you find ASINs but will also give you real data to find the best products to sell on Amazon to grow your sales, profits, and Amazon business. So what are you waiting for? We’ll see you on Sellgo.com
