Creating duplicate listings on Amazon, where a duplicate ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number) is used, is a violation of Amazon’s listing policies. But, what are they and why would anyone want to create one?
Basically, duplicate listings on Amazon are when sellers create a new ASIN for themselves for an already featured Amazon product and in doing so, create a new product web page to avoid competing for the same sought after buy-box. By doing this, they automatically own the buy-box and take impressions/traffic away from your listing too.
Duplicate listings make the search and purchase experience for shoppers more complicated, which is something consumer-first Amazon wants to avoid. There are approximately over 5 million suspected duplicate products on Amazon’s catalogue to date.
How to remove or merge a duplicate listing on Amazon
So, if this is something you have noticed duplicate listings you may be able to merge or remove the duplicate listing as a brand owner. By merging duplicate listings all of the reviews accumulated between both listings will be gathered in one listing, meaning you may improve the ranking of your single product listing.
As duplicate listings are so frowned upon by Amazon, brand owners are given tools in order to deal with them quickly. Firstly, you could open a case with Amazon and state the issue outright. You, as the brand owner, can claim the duplicate listing is the same as yours and request that it be merged into yours. Alternatively, you can merge do this yourself via the help page or by reporting an infringement.
The best argument to give Amazon is to explain how the duplicate listing will negatively affect the consumer and may lead them to have an experience less than perfect on the marketplace. As this is a sore spot for Amazon, they are likely to act quickly. Most cases like these will be looked at between 2 to 24 hours, meaning that as little damage as possible can be done.
Brands that are enrolled in Amazon’s Project Zero can skip the approval step and remove counterfeit listings themselves, speeding up the removal process.
What if I accidentally make a duplicate listing on Amazon?
Although it doesn’t happen often, sometimes a third-party seller may create a duplicate listing themselves. Luckily, Amazon has given sellers a way to double-check their listings via the ‘manage inventory page’.
If Amazon discovers a duplicate listing, they may warn you that your listing will be suppressed and will add them to your inventory page. It is then up to you as the seller to either accept or reject them as duplicates.
To avoid suppression, which essentially means your products will not appear in searches, follow these steps:
- Go to Inventory > Manage Inventory in Seller Central.
- Click Potential Duplicates at the top of the page.
- Click the ‘Review Duplicates’ button for an ASIN.
- Review your ASIN with its potential duplicate.
- Select the appropriate button at the bottom of the page to confirm whether your ASIN is a duplicate or not.
- Repeat the process for the remaining ASINs.
- ASINs for a brand that is registered in Amazon Brand Registry can only be merged by the rights owner, even if you are a licensed reseller.