Amazon / eBay (AliExpress) - EAN

[Mark McLachlan]

Hello all, first post for me. I think I may have searched the full internet to try to understand this prior to asking. I apologise as I think it may be a topic which has done the rounds time and again. I am brand new to retail and e-commerce. I am an engineer so good at fixing things - business is my new venture and think this may be why it's not making a lot of sense to me.

I have a PrestaShop store which I've set up with products I have bought from AliExpress and am in the process of receiving at the moment (circa £600 worth at the moment). That seems to have been the easy part -- though, in honesty, it's not been all that easy at all.

So, I plan to use my website to sell in the future and have a bunch of add-ons lined up to purchase. However, prior to that, I am looking to get my products selling through eBay and Amazon. I purchased a module which allows me to export and synchronise my products from my store to Amazon and this is where I have fallen short.

I purchased from China, through AliExpress. They don't appear to have any markings along the way of barcodes. However, Amazon seems to require them? I have read up on ISBN, ASIN, UPC and EAN codes and my understanding is that in order to sell on Amazon I need my products' EAN numbers, as I've received them without EAN numbers I don't have them. However, these are products which are not made "for" me like Alibaba.com, but are sold to me.

My confusion comes from the fact that I can see the same some of products I have purchased already on Amazon without an EAN or UPC codes yet I don't seem to be able to get my products up without them.

So, I supposedly need an EAN or UPC code to sell on Amazon, which I can buy, but would it be a case of buying EAN codes for products which I intend to "bring" to the market - made by me/ for me by my supplier? I am in neither of those positions and wondering about how to get my products to Amazon for sale.

TIA,

Mark

 

[GraemeL]

A barcode is essential to sell through Amazon.

If you are using Amazon FBA, then the barcodes must be on the packaging in order that Amazon warehouses can read them.

If you are using Amazon markeplace to sell, your products will never go near Amazon, so barcodes do not have to be printed on the packaging. However, in order to load your products onto Amazons systems they must have a barcode.

I use GS1 to create barcodes https://www.gs1uk.org/

 

[Mark McLachlan]

Thanks Graeme, I appreciate your response.

I am still having some issues getting this into my head. The items I have purchased are not unique - they are available on eBay and Amazon already - without EAN or UPC codes.

I would understand buying an EAN for a new product but I don't understand for something which I have purchased without one?

Is it as simple as buyIng EAN codes and applying them? If I buy an EAN and apply it to the product can someone else then use that EAN and sell the same product - potentially for less?

I know this seems to have been beaten to death all over the Internet but I'm struggling to understand. Ideally the products would have EAN's but they have arrived and do not.

Mark

 

[GraemeL]

You are thinking too much!

I am still having some issues getting this into my head. The items I have purchased are not unique - they are available on eBay and Amazon already - without EAN or UPC codes.

How do you tell the products do not have an EAN code? It doesn't need to be printed on the package and in these cases has not been - though it will be if it is stocked in an Amazon warehouse.

I would understand buying an EAN for a new product but I don't understand for something which I have purchased without one?

The EAN is unique to your company. It identifies your company and the product

Is it as simple as buyIng EAN codes and applying them? If I buy an EAN and apply it to the product can someone else then use that EAN and sell the same product - potentially for less?

Yes.

The EAN is unique to your company so cannot be used (legally) by others. The products I sell are exclusive to me so I am not 100% sure how Amazon works when more than one seller have exact same items. I think that you have to include brand name and the manufacturers part number to Amazon in the file load and that is how Amazon pulls together the same product from different sellers

Graeme

 

[Mark McLachlan]

Yes, I often do. Jumping into things without understanding what I'm getting into causes me a lot of stress. Unfortunately it seems like I have done exactly that as I was completely unaware of he requirement for EAN/UPC codes to sell on Amazon; I thought I simply bought products for x and sold them for y.

I have tried to find an EAN for the products but have drawn a blank. Buying an EAN to label something which I have manufactured makes sense to me but with this, I did not make it and also don't have an EAN for it.

I think my misunderstanding is, as you say your products are exclusive to you but I have bought products which are not.

 

[GraemeL]

So all you do is to go to GS1, set up your account and buy your barcodes. Easy!

 

[Mark McLachlan]

OK, it's as easy as that then.

So what's the difference then with people who are selling the same items but without EAN codes? Amazon links products, so someone can come along and sell the exact same product as me -- as they can buy it as easily as I did -- but then use the EAN I have bought to sell their products? Or am I missing something, again?

 

[GraemeL]

The EAN is unique to your company so cannot be used (legally) by others. The products I sell are exclusive to me so I am not 100% sure how Amazon works when more than one seller have exact same items.

Have you looked as 'Rules on ASIN creation' in Seller Central help? I think it might be answering what you are asking.

G

 

[Mark McLachlan]

Thanks again.

I hadn't seen that, no. I think I now understand it. Not so difficult really - as you said I think I may have been overthinking it.

The issues I've been having is because of the products already being produced. I'm looking into getting products too - have spoken with manufacturers on Alibaba about getting samples, then I'd simply register with GS1, buy EAN codes, stick them to my product packaging and put it up on Amazon.

I think I have struggled with understanding the differences between eBay and Amazon.

 

[Iain_Henderson]

Hi, from my experience with Amazon all they really want is one listing for each identical product (unlike eBay where every listing is unique and there can be 20 listings for the identical item from 20 different sellers) and that each listing has its own ASIN code.

Only Amazon can give a listing an ASIN and they prefer to link an ASIN to an EAN number. If you purchase product already on Amazon you can 'add your product' by using Amazon's ASIN code so you don't need to know the products EAN code.

If you are creating new listings on Amazon then you'll probably need to buy EAN codes (some categories, like jewellery, can get exemption by enrolling in brand registry).

If you want to keep costs down you can buy EAN codes on eBay. I bought 200 for £10 and have had no issues. However, if you buy them from eBay you could run into problems! You may be sold an EAN already in use so it will cause problems with Amazon or the original buyer of the EAN will stop paying for it and the EAN code will be sold again.

Good luck with your new venture!

Iain

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