Listing creation: manual, flat file, and the processing report

Collect everything the listing needs in one place before touching Seller Central:

• Identity — GTIN, brand, manufacturer, model or part number.
• Content — approved product name, five bullet points, description, backend search terms.
• Attributes — the required fields for the product type (dimensions, weight, material, color and size names, unit count, batteries, country of origin).
• Images — a main image on a pure white background with the product filling at least 85% of the frame, at least 1,000 px on the longest side (1,600 px enables zoom), plus supporting images.
• Pack information — pack count and unit count, stated explicitly rather than inferred from a photo.

Resolve every missing value now. A guess made at the template stage becomes a wrong attribute on a live page.

Catalog → Add Products is the right tool for a handful of items. Search by GTIN or ASIN first. If the product exists, you are only adding an offer — price, quantity, condition, fulfillment. If it does not, choose "I'm adding a product not sold on Amazon", pick the product type (category) carefully, and complete the required fields. Toggle Advanced view to expose every attribute rather than just the required ones — the optional attributes are what drive filters and search.

For more than a few items, use Catalog → Add Products via Upload. Download the template for the product type, or start from a Category Listing Report, which arrives pre-filled with your existing data.

A template has four tabs that matter:

1. Instructions — how the file works.
2. Data Definitions — every column: what it means, whether it is required, and the accepted format.
3. Valid Values — the exact strings Amazon accepts for constrained fields (variation themes, color maps, units). A value not on this list is rejected.
4. Template — the sheet you fill. The first three rows are headers Amazon reads; never edit or delete them.

The update_delete column controls what an upload does. Update replaces the whole record — blank cells overwrite existing values with nothing. PartialUpdate changes only the columns you filled and leaves everything else alone. For edits to existing listings, PartialUpdate is almost always what you want. Delete removes your offer.

After an upload, Monitor Upload Status shows the batch: records processed, successful, with errors, with warnings. Download the processing report; each row is a SKU, an error code, and a message.

• Errors mean the row was rejected — nothing changed for that SKU.
• Warnings mean the row was accepted, with something Amazon wants you to look at.

The codes you will meet most often:

• 8541 and 8560 — your data conflicts with what is already on the matched ASIN (a different brand, product ID, or a key attribute). Either correct your file to Amazon's value, or — if the catalog is wrong — open a case with evidence instead of forcing the upload.
• 5665 — the brand name was not accepted. Usually the brand is not registered, the GTIN's GS1 record names a different brand, or the value does not match what is on the packaging.
• Missing or invalid value for a required attribute — the message names the column; check Data Definitions and Valid Values for the accepted format.

Fix, re-upload only the affected rows, and read the next report.

A processed row is a milestone, not a finished listing. Give Amazon fifteen minutes to a few hours, then:

• Check the SKU's status in Manage All Inventory — Active, Inactive, Incomplete, or Search suppressed.
• Open the live detail page and read it as a shopper: title, images, attributes, and the offer must describe the same item.
• Look at the Listing Quality Dashboard for attributes Amazon flags as missing or at risk.

Only then mark the listing done.