Retail Contributions – Listings That Seem Impossible To Change

Woman Frustrated Getting Amazon Listing to Change

Are Retail Contributions Stopping Your Listing Changes?

Does it seem like no matter what you do, you cannot get that listing change to take?

In a recent podcast, we shared some tips on getting your listing change to take on Amazon. After the episode aired, we got some questions about retail contributions that we wanted to address further. 

You have tried using a flat file, you have access to Brand Registry, you have escalated to the catalog team, and still, you are unable to get those listing changes to take.

Retail Contributions happen when a listing was created or edited on Vendor Central. When this happens, it becomes incredibly challenging to make listing changes on Seller Central.  

While Amazon looks like one unified platform, it is made up of multiple separate platforms on the backend. Listings created or edited on Vendor Central are very difficult to change from the Seller Central platform

Even if the brand owner didn’t sell themselves on Vendor Central, it is still possible to have retail contributions. 

How Can I Tell If I Have Retail Contributions?

You can use tools like Keepa.com to see if Amazon ever carried this item directly, and sometimes the Catalogue team can tell you if there are retail contributions on this product detail page.  

How Can I Make Changes If A Listing Has Retail Contributions?

If you still have access to Vendor Central, our recommendation is to make the changes on the Vendor Central side. This is true even if you plan to sell the item through Seller Central as a 3P seller. 

If you don’t have access to Vendor Central, you should prepare yourself for a lot of back and forth with Seller Support to get the listings changed. For the listing to changes to be made, someone will have to override the listing from the retail team manually.  

Here are some tips for getting putting together your tickets to Seller Support to override listing changes:

  1. Gather as much proof that supports your listing changes as possible. This includes photos, the manufacturer’s website, etc. 
  2. Site your proof in each ticket and be persistent.
  3. Focus on how this change is essential to maintaining a positive customer experience.
  4. Make sure the changes you are requesting do not violate Amazon’s style guidelines. 

It is likely you will have to escalate the ticket to get these changes made several times in order for your listing changes to be completed.  

As with all Seller Support tickets, be sure to be professional and respectful. Focus on your commitment to great customer experience and the evidence you have gathered to support the listing change request. 

If you are working with a stakeholder to get changes made to make sure that they know it can take weeks to months to get retail contributions changed unless you have someone very experienced working the cases.

Help Selling on Amazon

Still have questions or need help selling on Amazon or Amazon Listing assistance? Contact Marketplace Blueprint today!

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