You often see black and white patterns printed on Amazon product packaging known as barcodes. But little do you know about the key role of these patterns in keeping track of items and ensuring a smooth flow of operations. They are unique product identifiers that help scan the relevant product quickly and accurately.
Sellers need to understand and follow the Amazon barcode requirements for the optimal maintenance of their inventories and to stay competitive in the rapidly evolving Amazon Marketplace. In this blog guide, we have discussed the details of Amazon barcode requirements including their types and best practices. So let’s get into the specifics of these requirements!
The Role of Amazon Barcode Requirements
The black bars and spaces on products that are identified by barcode readers as specific products are barcodes. As we all know, Amazon is a vast marketplace offering millions of products under the same roof, so the barcodes are handy here. So, in short, barcodes simplify the process of product identification, organization, and management.
Whenever sellers register on Amazon and create a product listing, they need to provide a valid barcode of their product to Amazon. Later, this unique barcode eases Amazon to place the product in its relevant category. These barcodes help sellers to help maintain consistency across millions of product listings in the complex Amazon market.
Amazon offers three types of barcodes to its sellers that include:
1. Manufacturer barcodes: This type of Amazon barcodes are assigned by the manufacturer of the product e.g., UPC, EAN, or ISBN.
2. Transparency barcodes: These types of barcodes are generally used to track high-value products through the supply chain.
3. Amazon barcodes: Amazon generates these unique barcodes for each specific product listing to track its inventory e.g. FNSKU barcodes.
Amazon Barcode Requirements – A Deeper Dive
If you are registering yourself as a seller on the Amazon marketplace, then you need to fully understand the Amazon barcode requirements. This understanding will further help you to increase your business, sales, and visibility on Amazon. These requirements may vary in the context of different categories. Now, let’s take a look at some of the Amazon barcode requirements in some specific categories:
What Are Amazon Barcode Requirements for FBA?
It’s essential for sellers who are using Amazon FBA to fulfill some special Amazon barcode requirements to maintain their inventory and be successful. There are some unique barcodes for Amazon FBA sellers including barcodes like FNSKU (Fulfillment Network Stock Keeping Unit) or manufacturer barcodes (UPC/EAN). However, their usage depends on the type of chosen fulfillment method.
Along with the major requirements, there are certain Amazon FBA label size requirements that the sellers need to fulfill. These include:
- Label printed on white paper having black ink.
- The box label of FBA should be 4 inches x 6 inches.
- The label of 6 to 8 inches maximum size is acceptable.
- The label edge-to-box edge distance is 0.25 inches.
In addition, to these, there are Amazon FNSKU label size requirements which are:
- The size of the label is 1 inch to 2 inches.
- You can take the label up to 2 to 3 inches maximum in size.
- The distance between the label edge to the product edge is 0.25 inches.
So, it is important for you as a seller to follow these practices in order to avoid incorrect label sizes. Because, these errors can lead to shipment delays, affecting your performance metrics and customer satisfaction too.
What Are Amazon Barcode Requirements for Seller Central
When a seller registers on Amazon Seller Central, the barcode requirements are different as compared to the FBA. The Seller Central allows its sellers to utilize their manufacturer barcodes. However, sellers need to fulfill some important Amazon barcode requirements when working under Seller Central. First of all, the category of the specific product and fulfillment method should be accurate. They have to use general barcodes for their products and also print the labels considering Amazon’s specifications.
What Are Amazon Barcode Size Requirements?
Sellers on Amazon should keep the Amazon barcode size considering the specific dimensions and formats so that it is readable easily. The basic requirements include:
- The width of the barcode should be at least -2 inches and the height should be 1 inches tall.
- A non-compliance barcode can cause scanning errors at fulfillment centers, so avoid this practice.
- The barcode must be made using black ink with non-reflective printing paper with having sticky back.
(Tip: Besides specially designed barcodes, you will also require high-quality product images, thoughtfully designed product insert cards, and Amazon A+ Content. If you need these services, then, Do Contact Us because our team of experts will help you take your business to the next level!)
Amazon Barcode Requirements 2025
With the advancement of the e-commerce industry, Amazon services are also stretched with time and we expect them to grow more in 2025. The barcode requirement will likely meet new requirements and challenges in the coming year. We have collected some insights into the specifics of these requirements for 2025 including:
1. More transparency in the barcodes of highly valued products is expected to protect consumers and combat counterfeiting.
2. Sellers may need to adopt new barcode technologies like matrix codes or QR codes.
3. Environment-friendly sustainable materials for barcodes should be prioritized by Amazon in the coming year.
4. More usage of advanced technologies like AI, AR, IoT, and blockchain should be expected to analyze barcodes for tracking, inventory, and shipment-related queries.
Sellers need to be well-prepared and well-informed regarding the latest updates on barcode requirements in the future. Sellers should adopt new technologies regarding barcodes and ensure to follow all the requirements to stay successful in this e-commerce market.
Final Thoughts
As a seller, you should understand the importance of barcodes in product tracking, inventory, and shipment process. Amazon barcode requirements are highly important to ensure smooth product listing, inventory management, and overall success. Thus, sellers must stay informed about potential updates and adopt new barcode technologies as they emerge in 2025. I hope reading this article will provide you with a comprehensive overview of Amazon’s barcode requirements.
FAQs
1. Can I Create My Own Product Barcode to Sell on Amazon?
Yes, as a seller you can create barcodes for your own products, but you have to use GS1 barcodes for Amazon listings. Because GS1 helps to obtain GSINs that are unique product identification numbers for your products.
2. Is It Possible to Sell on Amazon Without UPC codes?
If you want to sell on Amazon without using any UPC code, then you should have to obtain a GTIN exemption. Once your GTN exemption is accepted, then you can list your product easily on Amazon without using UPC.
3. What Is the Cost to Obtain a Barcode?
The cost of owning a barcode may vary, for GS1 barcodes, initially you have to pay 250 to 1500 $. But this rate may vary with your requirement of the number of barcodes. Later, you need to pay around 50 to 150 $ annually. Although some third parties are giving lesser rates GS1 is the top-rated and reliable.
