I’m sure you’ve been there when someone writes something on social media or an Amazon forum that looks like gibberish and you’re left feeling like the idiot in the group. Not fun. So, if you’ve been wondering how to learn the Amazon seller lingo, we put this Amazon abbreviations blog post together so you’ll feel super smart next time someone speaks in the Amazon seller code.
In fact, you can even start using them yourself to sound like a real “guru”!
Here we go….
Updated: August 2021
A+ Content: Formerly known as EBC (Enhanced Brand Content), A+ Content is an exclusive feature offered to branded products that allows sellers to make the most out of their product description by adding image and text placements. When used effectively, A+ Content can help you increase conversions and sales.
ABG – Amazon Brand Gating – Amazon Brand Gating is an Amazon-run program that helps brands protect their products against counterfeiting by preventing third-party sellers from selling knockoff items. While Amazon Brand Gating is automatically offered for larger/established brands, other vendors can also apply for it, provided they meet certain brand and trademark registrations requirements.
ACoS – Advertising Cost of Sale – ACoS is a way to measure performance on sponsored product campaigns. This number is the ratio of ad spend to targeted sales and is calculated like this: ACoS = ad spend ÷ sales
AMS – Amazon Marketing Services is an array of marketing services offered through the Vendor Central platform. Sellers cannot access these services from Seller Central.
ASIN – Amazon Standard Identification Number – This is a unique ten-digit combination of numbers and letters used to identify products listed on Amazon. Each product bears an individual ASIN assigned to it when it’s added to Amazon’s catalog.
AWS – Amazon Web Services – Amazon Web Services is a subsidiary of Amazon.com that provides on-demand cloud computing platforms to individuals, companies, and governments, on a paid subscription basis. (Source Wikipedia)
BB – Buy Box – The Buy Box refers to the white box on the right side of the Amazon product detail page. This is where customers can click Add to Cart. If you don’t have the buy box you are not getting the sale.
BR – Brand Registered – Amazon Brand Registry gives you access to tools that enable you to more accurately represent your brand, find and report violations, and share information that can help Amazon proactively prevent violations. (Source Amazon)
BSMS – The Amazon Buyer-Seller Messaging Service makes communicating with customers/ third-party sellers easy and secure. Many customers opt out of unsolicited messages from third-party sellers by updating their Promotional E-mail settings in E-mail Preferences & Notifications .
BSR – Best Seller Ranking – The Amazon Best Sellers Rank (BSR) calculation is based on Amazon.com sales and is updated hourly to reflect recent and historical sales of every item sold on the Marketplace.
C&D – Cease and Desist – This is a document sent to an individual or business to stop purportedly illegal activity (“cease”) and not to restart it (“desist”). The letter may warn that if the recipient does not discontinue specified conduct, or take certain actions, by deadlines set in the letter, that party may be sued. Useful for getting rid of hijackers.
Child ASIN – This ASIN is assigned to a product/listing relating to a parent product/listing. Each Child ASIN varies from its Parent ASIN in some way with regards to certain features or characteristics such as size or color.
CPC – Cost Per Click – The Cost Per Click (CPC) is the amount you pay when a customer clicks your sponsored ad.
CR – Conversion rate – the conversion rate is the number of conversions divided by the total number of visitors. To find your conversion rate you need to go to Reports and then Business Reports. You then need to look at sales and traffic.
CTR – Click Through Rate – The CTR is the metric that will tell you how often your ads are clicked on. This is a great indicator of how attractive your product is at first glance.
EAN code – European Article Number – This is the most common GTIN used for most products sold in Amazon’s European marketplaces. EAN is a 12- or 13-digit identification code usually printed on a product’s label or packaging and gives information with regards to the product’s identity, manufacturer, and attributes.
EBC – Enhanced Brand Content – This causes the most confusion on social media. Using this tool, you can describe your product features in a different way by including a unique brand story, enhanced images, and text placements. Adding EBC to your product detail pages can result in higher conversion rates, increased traffic, and increased sales when used effectively. (Only available if you are a registered brand)
FBA – Fulfilled by Amazon – (Please tell me you knew this one already) With Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) you store your products in Amazon’s fulfillment centers. Then they pick, pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products.
FBM – Fulfilled by Merchant – Pretty straightforward, you the seller ship orders out yourself, which is known as seller-fulfilled or Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM)
FDA – Food and Drug Administration – This is the federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Service. Many medical related items or food-related items will need FDA approval before you can sell on Amazon.
FF – Freight Forwarder – Also known as a forwarder or forwarding agent. They are responsible for the shipment or carriage of your products to your assigned Amazon fulfillment center. Most people will use either air or sea freight.
FNSKU – Fulfillment Network Stock Keeping Unit. The FNSKU is the way that Amazon identifies a product as unique to the seller that has sent it to the Amazon fulfillment center.
FTL – Full-truckload – Full-truckload is the “full” equivalent of LTL. That means that you’re opting for a full (or almost full)-truck freight shipping method to deliver your stock to Amazon warehouses. There is no freight weight limit for FTL shipments. While, in general, FTL may be a costlier method, it simplifies transport for larger shipments seeing as it delivers all stock using a single vehicle.
GS1 – FBA uses barcodes to identify and track inventory throughout the fulfillment process. Each item you send to an Amazon fulfillment center requires a barcode. If you are the manufacturer or the brand owner and want to print barcodes directly onto the product packaging, apply for a GS1 standard UPC barcode. For more information, see GS1. (Source Amazon)
GTIN – Global Trade Item Number – GTIN is a unique industry-standard product identifier that is required in order to create new listings in most Amazon categories. The GTINs that are most frequently used in the Amazon catalog include UPC, ISBN, EAN and JAN.
HSA – Headline Search Ads – Are now known as Sponsored Brands. These are banner ads that promote products right on top of search results. Headline Search Ads will be shown to shoppers regardless of who is winning the Buy Box, gaining you more impressions with
IP – Intellectual property – Intellectual property refers to intangible assets that are the result of the human intellect. There are four types of Intellectual Property for business: Copyright, Patents, Trademarks, and Trade Secrets. Amazon requires that all sellers comply with all pertinent Intellectual Property laws on a federal, state, and local level, as well as its own Intellectual Property policies.
IPI Score – Inventory Performance Index – Simply put, the IPI score is an index that measures your “inventory health.” IPI is a number between 0-1000 calculated by Amazon taking into consideration three factors: excess, in-stock, and stranded inventory. While Amazon won’t disclose the formula that calculates IPI, if your IPI falls under 350, the company limits your ability to stock more inventory in its warehouses, while it further imposes a fine for any excess inventory it already stores for you.
JS – Jungle Scout – Where would we be without them. Their software can help you find your first product, stay ahead of competitors and scale to an enterprise level. (Their words not mine)
KW – Key Word – The #1 most important thing you need in your Amazon listings is Keywords and lots of em. Long Tail, Short Tail, LSI, and synonyms.
LLC – Limited Liability Company- This is a US-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of a corporation. Wikipedia.
LTL – Less than truckload – Less than truckload is a method of shipping freight to Amazon warehouses by paying only for a small portion of the truck space used for transport rather than the whole truck. It’s a cost-effective and eco-friendly shipping option which is, however, limited to freight weighing from 150 to 15,000 pounds.
ManyChat – ManyChat is a communication tool that allows users to create Facebook Messenger bots that help them promote their brand. Among other things, it can help you request Amazon reviews more efficiently, run giveaways and promotions, give out discount codes, and more.
MYCE – Manage your Customer Engagement (MYCE) lets you market directly to Amazon customers, who follow your brand. MYCE helps your brand build loyal relationships with Amazon customers and helps increase visibility of your new products. The Manage Your Customer Engagement is available to registered brands that have an Amazon Stores page with followers
MWS – Amazon Marketplace Web Services – Amazon MWS allows sellers to automate their Amazon-related tasks and grow and scale their business. Among other things, Amazon MWS can help you with inventory, order, shipment, and report management. You have to have an Amazon MWS-eligible professional selling account to be able to use Amazon MWS.
OA – Online Arbitrage – This means sourcing products online with the aim of exploiting a price mismatch between two marketplaces, so you can resell them at a profit.
Parent ASIN – A Parent ASIN does not correspond to a single product but rather to multiple variations of the same product grouped under it. So, a Parent ASIN is essentially a non-buyable entity and serves to establish relationships between child products. For example, a pair of kids’ shorts may come in different sizes and colors. Each variation in size and color is considered a child ASIN, while all child ASINs are listed under one listing, which is the parent ASIN, and corresponds to the product “kids’ shorts” alone.
PD/ PDA – Product Display Ads – These types of ads allow you to target your ad based on shopper interest or a specific product. Product Display Ads can only be created by vendors in AMS.
PPC – Pay Per Click – This is an advertising platform available to Amazon sellers to sponsor products. Sponsored Product Listings are image ads that appear in several different places on Amazon. They look similar to regular image results when someone searches for a product, appearing at the top of the results page. If properly created and managed, a PPC campaign on Amazon can help you sell more inventory faster, while increasing your organic rankings as well.
Q4 – Fourth and Most Important Quarter of the Year! – See post on Q4. Amazon will see a MAJOR spike in traffic during these next few months, so make sure everything is fully optimized! From your PPC campaigns to your photos, everything should be spot on!
RA – Retail Arbitrage – Good for total newbies. You buy a cheap/ discounted product from a retail store (such as Walmart, Target, etc.) Then you sell the product (either on Amazon or another platform) and pocket the profit.
SB – Sponsored Brands – Sponsored Brands are keyword-targeted pay-per-click ads that showcase your brand and product portfolio. Featuring your brand logo, a custom headline, and up to 3 of your products listings, these ads appear in highly visible placements above and within search results. (For registered brand owners only.) (Source Amazon)
SC – Seller Central – If you decide to become a third-party vendor, you’ll use Seller Central to manage all your inventory and advertising etc.
SERP – Search Engine Results Pages – are the pages displayed by any search engine in response to a search. The results that are returned by the search engine in this case the Amazon Search Engine – are a response to a keyword query.
SFB – Search Find Buy ranking strategy – As its name suggests, this strategy aims to create click-throughs by having customers search your products themselves and going through with purchasing them. By sending your customers to the search result page, you’re helping boost your rankings organically since Amazon will register these hits as non-Amazon-ad-related. To follow a successful SFB strategy, you need to build a well-optimized funnel that includes copy, SEO-optimized URLs, and social media ad campaigns.
SKU – Stock Keeping Unit – is an identification, usually alphanumeric, of a particular product that allows it to be tracked for inventory purposes.
SP – Sponsored Products – Sponsored Products is a pay-per-click advertising solution that enables you to promote the products you sell with keyword-targeted ads that appear in highly visible placements on Amazon.com. You select your products to advertise and choose your keywords or let Amazon target your ads with automatic targeting. (Source Amazon)
SPDs – Small parcel deliveries – Small parcel deliveries are a small-scale version of LTL. This shipping method consists of sending product units to Amazon warehouses in individual boxes that are separately labeled for delivery. These boxes can only be shipped using major courier carriers or local postal services only.
TM – Trademark – A symbol, word, or words legally registered or established by use as representing a company or product. To get approval for the Amazon Brand Registry you must have a registered trademark.
TOS – Terms of Service – Follow these and you shall come to no harm! If you take the risk of violating Amazon’s Terms of Service you risk having your listings suppressed, payments may be withheld, and your account can be shut down altogether. (Don’t say you weren’t warned)
VAT – Value Added Tax – VAT is charged on orders sold by Amazon within the European Union. The simplest way to handle VAT on Amazon is to hire an accountant/ fiscal representative and let them take care of it.
VC – Vendor Central – If you sell via Vendor Central, you’re called a first-party seller. You are basically a supplier, selling in bulk to Amazon. Registration on Vendor Central is by invitation only.
Vine program – Amazon Vine is an invitation-only program that recruits the most trusted reviewers across Amazon to become “Vine Voices” and give their opinions about pre-release and new items on the platform. Vendors meeting certain criteria set forth by Amazon can petition to enroll in the Vine program. You can find more information about the Vine program here.
VTR – Valid Tracking Rate (VTR) – VTR is a performance metric measuring the frequency with which you use valid tracking information for the packages you ship out to your customers. A seller’s VTR is calculated using the following formula: VTR = number of packages they shipped with a valid tracking number ÷ the total number of packages they shipped and confirmed over a 30-day period. You should maintain a VTR of ≥ 95% at a product category level, otherwise Amazon imposes a set of restrictions that affect your eligibility for Amazon delivery-related services.
