Modify Your Inventory File
Uploading inventory files is the primary method of sending product data to Amazon. There is no limit to the number of files you can create and upload. You can use inventory files to:
- Update existing products and offerings on Amazon.
- Create new products and offerings on Amazon.
- Delete existing products and offerings on Amazon.
If you have not built an inventory file, refer to Build your Inventory File.
After you build and upload your original inventory file, you do not need to upload an inventory file containing all of your product listings whenever you want to update information about your SKUs. When you want to update your inventory, you can upload an inventory file containing information about only the SKUs you want to create, update or delete.
If you have already uploaded a product file to the Amazon catalog, the product data you provided for a SKU remains in Amazon's catalog until you upload a new product file specifically referencing that SKU. If you uploaded a product matching file, your listing data will remain on Amazon until you upload a new file to modify or delete the specific SKUs matched to pages in Amazon's catalog.
The following table shows how this incremental upload process affects the data in Amazon's catalog after four separate inventory file uploads:
| Attempt | Inventory File Contents | Catalog Data | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SKU | Name | Price | Operation | SKU | Name | Price | |
| 1 | 001 | Big Shirt | 45.00 | Update | 001 | Big Shirt | 45.00 |
| 002 | Small Shoes | 39.00 | 002 | Small Shoes | 39.00 | ||
| 2 | 003 | Long Pants | 23.00 | Update | 001 | Big Shirt | 45.00 |
| 002 | Small Shoes | 39.00 | |||||
| 003 | Long Pants | 23.00 | |||||
| 3 | 002 | Small Shoes | 0.00 | Delete | 001 | Big Shirt | 45.00 |
| 003 | Long Pants | 23.00 | |||||
| 4 | 001 | Men's Big Shirt | 44.99 | Update | 001 | Men's Big Shirt | 44.99 |
| 003 | Men's Long Pants | 38.99 | 003 | Men's Long Pants | 38.99 | ||
In the example above, each upload is either updated or deleted data in the catalog. You can modify, create, and delete products in the catalog using several feeds or using just a single feed.
Data Management Tips
When working with incremental uploads, you might lose track of your full data set. Here are a few pointers to help maintain your data integrity:
- Always maintain a primary product template in each category you sell that contains your latest product data. The product template is the Microsoft Excel file you use to generate your inventory files.
- Keep a blank product template on hand. Then, when you make changes to your primary file you want reflected in the Amazon catalog, you can delete the modified rows from the primary template and paste them in the blank template. Then, you can create a new inventory file containing data for just the items you want to update.
- Never change the value in a product's SKU field. We use the SKU to match your product data with the appropriate entry in the catalog.
Updating catalog data
Updating the catalog data associated with one of your SKUs is as simple as uploading an inventory file containing the modified information. You should also include all previous data for that SKU that is not changing. If you are following the data management tips above, simply change the entry for that SKU in your primary product template, paste the modified row into your blank template, repeating as necessary for other SKUs, save the new template as a tab-delimited text file, and then upload it.
Updating existing products
Updating the product or offering data associated with one of your SKUs is as simple as uploading an inventory file containing the modified information. If you are using a product file or matching file, you should also include all the data for that SKU that is not changing. The Price & Quantity file only accepts three columns - SKU, price, and quantity – and is the quickest way to update inventory levels, including setting out-of-stock items to zero (0) quantity.
If you are following the data management tips above, simply change the entry for that SKU in your primary product template, paste the modified row into your blank template, repeating as necessary for other SKUs, save the new template as a tab-delimited text file, and then upload it.
Creating new product listings
Creating a new product page in the Amazon catalog is as simple as uploading a new inventory file containing product data for the new item. If you follow the data management tips above, simply add the entry for that SKU in your primary product template, paste the new row into your blank template, repeating as necessary for any other new SKUs, save the new template as a tab-delimited text file, and then upload it.
Deleting catalog data
Deleting the catalog data associated with one of your SKUs is similar to creating or updating products with a few differences. To delete a product from your inventory, submit an inventory file with no value for the price and quantity data for the selected SKUs. Also, enter "delete" into the update-delete field for selected SKUs.
If you follow the data management tips above, simply cut the entry for the SKU you want to delete from your primary product template and then paste the entry into your blank template, repeating for other SKUs if necessary. Next, remove any price- and quantity-related values. Then, enter "delete" in the update-delete field. Finally, save the template as a tab-delimited text file and then upload it.
Deleting Existing Products
Explicitly deleting the product data associated with one of your SKUs is similar to creating or updating products, but with a few differences. The specific process to use will depend on the type of file you are submitting. Note that explicitly deleting a product SKU will remove your inventory offerings as well as your product data contributions for the product. If you only need to make a listing temporarily unavailable for purchase but expect to have more stock later, simply modify the listing to set the quantity to zero (0).
Inventory files for non-BMVD categories
To explicitly delete a product from your inventory and remove your product data contributions for that product using a category-specific file for a non-BMVD product category, submit your category-specific inventory file with no value for the price and quantity data for the selected SKU. Also, enter "delete" into the "update-delete" field for selected SKUs.
If you upload multiple category-specific files for different products, you can use an Inventory Loader File to delete listings and products in all of the categories you sell in. You can create an Inventory Loader File using an Active Listings Report. Learn more about Using Reports to Update Inventory.
Inventory files for BMVD categories
To explicitly delete a product from your inventory and remove your product data contributions for that product using a category-specific file for a BMVD product category, submit your category-specific file with a value of zero (0) quantity for the selected SKUs. Also, enter "x" into the "add-delete" field for the selected SKUs.
Inventory loader files (all product categories)
To explicitly delete a product from your inventory and remove your product data contributions for that product using an Inventory Loader File, submit a file with a zero (0) quantity value for the selected SKUs. Also, enter "x" into the "add-delete" field for the selected SKUs.
For more information, see Inventory Loader SKU Deletion
If you follow the data management tips above, simply cut the entry for the SKU you want to delete from your primary product template and then paste the entry into your blank template, repeating for other SKUs if necessary. Next, remove any price- and quantity-related values. Then, code the explicit delete field for your file type as explained above. Finally, save the template as a tab-delimited text file and then upload it.
Special Considerations
There are a few special things to consider when you use inventory files to update, modify, or delete your inventory.
- A child item cannot be assigned a new parent-sku value without first removing the relationship to its original parent item. To eliminate the relationship, you can delete either the parent or child product SKU.
- When you delete a parent, you remove the relationship between that parent and all of its children.
- When you delete a child item, you eliminate the relationship between just that child and its parent.
- After the original relationship is removed, you can re-assign the child item to a new parent item by entering that parent item's SKU in the child item's parent-sku field.
For some products, your upload might trigger Error Code 8005. This error occurs when you attempt to change certain fields for items with current offers on Amazon. For more information about this error and corrective steps to take, see Error 8005.
