Amazon selling terms from A-to-Z
Starting an ecommerce business can mean building a whole new skill set—and a new vocabulary. Whether you’ve been selling online since the dawn of the internet or you’re completely new to the process, our A-to-Z selling glossary can help along the way.
With so many terms to learn as an Amazon seller, sometimes it’s easy to get them mixed up. Here are some of the more commonly confused terms—and how to tell them apart:
deal/coupon/discount/promotion/incentive
At Amazon, a deal is a time-bound promotional offer created using the Deals tool in Seller Central, and a coupon is a digital voucher created using either the Coupons or Brand Tailored Coupons tool. Discount means a promotional offer created using the Price Discounts tool, and promotion is a promotional offer created using either the Promotions or Brand Tailored Promotions tool. Lastly, incentive is a benefit selling partners receive for using a tool, program, or service.
deliver/send/ship/distribute/fulfill
Deliver refers to the process of handing off items to customers, while send relates to moving inventory into the Amazon network. Ship has two meanings in Amazon parlance: It can be a synonym for sending inventory to Amazon, or to sending items to customers. Distribute is about moving inventory from warehouse to warehouse, fulfillment center to fulfillment center, or warehouse to fulfillment center. And fulfill is specifically about picking, packing, and delivering items to customers.
ASIN/SKU/GTIN
ASIN is a unique Amazon-assigned number for a product to help identify it in the Amazon store. SKU, or stock keeping unit, is a unique alphanumeric code that retailers assign to each of their products to help them manage their inventory. A GTIN, or Global Trade Item Number, serves a similar purpose on a global scale, so a product can be tracked and located throughout the supply chain across the world.
product detail page/listing/offer
The product detail page is the portion of a listing where a product’s information appears, whereas a listing is the combination of a product detail page and its offers.
distribution center/fulfillment center/warehouse
A distribution center and a warehouse are similar things. For example, a long-term storage facility like an Amazon Warehousing and Distribution (AWD) facility. Comparatively, a fulfillment center is a short-term storage facility where customer orders are picked, packed, and shipped. For example, a Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) facility.
Rights Owner/ Administrator/Registered Agent/Brand Representative/Reseller
While these terms are related to one another, they mean different things. At Amazon, a Rights Owner is a trademark owner (or their employee) who enrolled a brand in Amazon Brand Registry. An Administrator is an account user with permission to assign brand protection or selling roles. A Registered Agent is an external third-party authorized by an Amazon Brand Registry Administrator to use the Report a Violation tool and access other brand protection benefits. A Brand Representative is an internal, first-party selling partner who has been granted access to brand selling tools—like A+ Content or Brand Analytics by an Amazon Brand Registry Administrator. And lastly, a Reseller is a role assigned to an external, third-party seller authorized by a brand enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry to sell the brand’s products.
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