ASA Compliance Group • ASIN creation appeal • Since 2016

Amazon flagged ASIN creation activity? We identify the exact error first, then use the approval, matching or correction route it requires. We work out which error you actually hit, then take the route that error has.

Three different error codes, three different problems. Answering the wrong one is the usual reason nothing moves.

For cases we accept: the exact error, product identity against every close match, identifier and brand evidence, and a disposition for each affected record.

  • The problem A creation block and a policy violation feel identical from Seller Central, and they need completely different responses.
  • Why appeals fail A new seller SKU, price or packaging batch gets argued as a distinct product. None of those is product identity.
  • What we do Name the error, compare the product against every close match, and give each record a disposition rather than one general answer.
Get my case strategy See what the file needs

A real person reads your case and replies within about an hour.

Or Shamosh on stage at the European Seller Conference, Prague, March 2025, speaking about Amazon enforcement and reinstatement
I speak about enforcement; I run appeals in Seller Central every day.

ASA Compliance Group operates Amazon Sellers Appeal. On creation files we identify the exact error, reconcile the identifiers, and run the approval or correction route in Seller Central.

Start here

Paste the error and the product

Include the exact error code or notice, the identifiers you used, and photographs of the product and packaging. Four short steps. Or Shamosh reads every intake.

  • Every case is personally reviewed before we take it on.
  • Most first replies are sent within about an hour.
  • Eligible cases get a written Case Strategy tied to your Performance Notification.
Or Shamosh, Founder and CEO, ASA Compliance Group

Or Shamosh · Founder and lead strategist

5,500+ enforcement cases since 2016. Every intake is personally assessed before acceptance.

Send what you have, including prior DIY or agency appeals. We say what is viable in writing before you commit.

Questionnaire

If the questionnaire does not load, open intake on the account page.

What happens after you submit

  • You’ll receive a review email within about one hour.
  • If Amazon gave you a reply deadline, mention it in the form so we can time delivery to it.
  • If eligible, you receive a written Case Strategy: what is driving the enforcement, what we would argue, what evidence matters, and how we would run Seller Central.

Let's see what it will take to resolve this.

Why we ask: tell us what happened. A real person reviews what you send and replies in writing with your case strategy, including our assessment of the case and the approach we recommend. We also include the fee before you decide whether to proceed. No sales calls.

About 3 minutes. We save your progress as you go.

What happens when we take over
You submit intake; we run the ASIN creation file
YOU Submit intake with the exact error or notice, the identifiers used, and photographs of the product
WE Identify which error applies and compare the product against every close catalog match
WE Run the approval, correction or dispute route and verify the live result
GOAL A catalog record that matches the real product; Amazon decides the outcome
  • Since 2016 · Amazon reinstatement specialists
  • 5,500+ documented cases
  • 98% scoped historical rate
  • Full Seller Central handling for cases we accept

Across ASA’s accepted and fully managed enforcement cases (all notice types we take on), not ASIN creation matters alone. Details under Proof.

Knowledge

What Amazon usually means by an ASIN creation problem

First, the vocabulary, because these four are routinely used as if they meant the same thing. An ASIN is Amazon's catalog identifier for a product. A seller SKU is your own internal code for your inventory. A GTIN is the global product identifier, usually a UPC or an EAN, licensed through GS1. Only the first and third describe the product.

A creation-policy finding usually means Amazon believes a new record was created when the product already existed, an invalid or mismatched identifier was used, a record was created to avoid a restriction, or the supplied data did not describe a distinct product. Some of these are account-level findings and some are just creation blocks, which is a difference worth establishing before drafting anything.

Three error codes, three unrelated problems:

5461

Not approved to create a record for that brand. The route is Amazon's brand-approval evidence path, including real product and packaging photographs.

5469

Approval to create a Books record. It is specific to Books and is not the general brand or duplicate error, though it is often described as one.

8573

A close existing match was found. This is a product-identity question: compare yours with the match before creating anything.

The primary sources are worth reading rather than paraphrasing: the creation policy, error 5461, error 5469 and error 8573. Where the finding is really about two records for one product, the lane is duplicate ASIN violations.

Error 5665
A brand-related creation block: the brand on the submission cannot be used on that record without approval. The route is brand approval or a corrected brand value, not a resubmission of the same data.
Error 8572
The identifier submitted conflicts with the one already recorded for the product. Establish which identifier the manufacturer actually assigns before choosing between a correction and a match.
Error 8573
A potential duplicate: the record you are creating already exists. Explained in full on the duplicate ASIN page, which is where that error is worked through.
Triggers

How these cases usually start

Most creation files begin with a seller doing something reasonable for an inventory reason, in a system that is reasoning about products.

1. A new record for a product that already exists

The clearest example is worth stating plainly. You buy the same lamp from a second supplier and set it up under a new internal code, so your warehouse can tell the two consignments apart. You then create a new catalog record to match your new code.

Nothing about the lamp changed. Your code is an inventory fact about your business; the catalog record is a claim about the product. A second code for the same lamp is normal operations, and a second record for it is a duplicate. The same reasoning decides whether two items may share a parent: see variations abuse.

2. An identifier that does not match

The barcode, the brand and the product do not reconcile. Often the licensee on the GS1 record is a different entity from the brand on the box, because a prefix changed hands or a manufacturer supplied codes from its own range.

  • A GS1 record whose licensee does not match the brand being claimed
  • Codes supplied by a manufacturer against a brand the seller owns
  • An identifier reused across a product revision it no longer describes

3. Creating around a restriction

The original record is suppressed, gated or restricted, so a replacement is created to keep selling. This is the branch that changes the seriousness of the case: it reads as working around the enforcement rather than as a catalog mistake, and the creation becomes the smaller of two findings.

The route here is to stop creating and resolve the original restriction, or to obtain an explicit catalog route for a genuinely new product. Both are slower than creating a record, and both are recoverable.

4. Pack count and model identity

The genuine grey area, and where a dispute is most often correct. A two-pack and a six-pack are different commercial products. A revised model with different components is usually a different product. A new box design for the same item is usually not.

Usually supports a separate record
Quantity, formulation, dimensions, included components, compatibility, regulatory identity, edition, or anything that changes what the customer receives.
Usually does not
A cosmetic packaging refresh, a new seller code, a different price, a different supplier, or a wish for a clean review history.

5. Brand creation restrictions

Error 5461 blocks creation for a named brand until the relationship is evidenced. It is a permission question rather than a duplicate one, and it is answered with real-world proof: photographs showing the brand permanently affixed to the product and packaging, the GS1 record, and whatever the application asks for.

Where the underlying dispute is who may state the brand at all, that is brand misuse and it is answered differently.

Appeals

Why DIY creation appeals get rejected

Reviewers are deciding a product-identity question. Most rejected responses answer an inventory question instead.

SKU offered as identity

A different seller code, price, supplier or packaging batch argued as making the product distinct. None of those describes the product.

Creating again

Another record made after the first is restricted, which converts a catalog question into a circumvention one.

A certificate with no mapping

A GS1 record supplied without connecting the licensed prefix and the identifier to the exact brand and product.

The offer closed, nothing explained

The duplicate offer comes down with no account of how it was created or what happened to the catalog relationship underneath it.

The wrong error answered

A Books approval treated as a duplicate finding, or a close-match block answered with brand paperwork.

General prevention language

A promise to search the catalog in future, with no disposition for each affected record that exists now.

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The file

What a correct ASIN creation file usually contains

Identify the error first, because it decides which of these sections is the case and which is background.

Diagnosis

Record the exact notice or error code, the affected records, your seller codes, the UPC, EAN or GTIN used, the brand, model, pack count and marketplace. The error code is doing real work here: 5461 is a brand permission, 5469 is a Books permission, and 8573 is a close-match warning. They share nothing but the point in the workflow where they appear.

Then establish whether this is a creation block or an account-level finding. The evidence overlaps, the urgency does not, and a response written for the wrong one tends to read as either alarmed or complacent.

The identity comparison

Where the question is whether the product already exists, put yours beside every close match and record each field as identical or different, backed by photographs and manufacturer specifications:

  • Brand, model or manufacturer part number, and revision
  • The identifier on the package, against the current GS1 record
  • Pack count, size, weight and dimensions
  • Formulation, materials or ingredients
  • Included components and compatibility
  • Region, voltage, language and edition

The comparison ends one of two ways: this is the same product and belongs on the existing record, or it differs in a specific documented way that changes what the customer receives.

Identifier and brand evidence

For a GTIN question, the current GS1 record or database entry has to reconcile with the brand, the product description and the pack count, and a GTIN exemption is its own separate route where it applies. For a 5461 brand question, the evidence is the relationship plus real-world proof: photographs of the brand permanently affixed to the product and its packaging.

A GS1 certificate is useful and narrow. It supports identifier ownership and product mapping. It does not prove authorization, authenticity, or that a separate record is warranted, and it is often offered as though it did.

A disposition per record

The file has to say what should happen to each affected record rather than argue a general position: retain, merge, match to the existing record, correct the identifier, close the offer, or dispute the finding. One general answer across several records is the most common shape of a rejected response.

Then the states, which are four and not one: prepared, uploaded, processed and live-verified. A submitted file and an assigned record are different events, and only the last one is what a customer would see. Verifying that final state is the same discipline as any detail page correction.

Have ready when you submit intake

  • The exact error code or notice text
  • Every affected record and your own seller codes
  • The UPC, EAN or GTIN used, and the current GS1 record
  • Brand, model, pack count and marketplace
  • Photographs of the product and all sides of the packaging
  • Any close-match records Amazon surfaced at creation
  • Every prior appeal, case and Amazon reply

If the close-match records were not captured at the time, say so. They can usually be found again, and a reconstructed list is more useful than a confident description of what was on screen.

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Proof

Documented outcomes

Scoped historical outcomes on cases we accepted and fully managed. One seller voice below; deeper galleries live on account reinstatement.

Since 2016 Amazon reinstatement specialists
5,500+ Documented enforcement cases
98% Scoped historical reinstatement rate
Seller Central We run the appeal for cases we accept
What the 98% figure means (population, success, review)

Population: historical cases ASA accepted and fully managed (we prepared the compliance response and ran follow-ups in Seller Central). The figure combines reinstatement and restoration work across notice types in that managed population, not ASIN creation matters alone. Declined intakes and self-serve template buyers are not in the rate.

Success: reinstatement or restoration of the privileges Amazon had restricted for that file (account, listing, verification, funds, or related, depending on the case). Amazon decides every outcome; the rate is not a guarantee for future cases.

Review: the underlying records were independently reviewed. Verified as of .

More methodology context and galleries: account reinstatement proof.

“In less than 24 hours after the appeal, my account was reactivated with all products available for sale.”

Alex Huditan · Seller · Account reactivated

More outcomes and video proof: account reinstatement proof.

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FAQ

For sellers who already have the Performance Notification. Broader questions: full FAQ library.

What makes a product different enough for a new ASIN?
A new record is appropriate when the item is a genuinely distinct commercial product under Amazon's catalog rules: a different model, quantity, edition, formulation, size or another characteristic a customer would notice. Compare product identity, identifiers, packaging and the category rules before creating or defending a separate record.
Is a new package design a new product?
Usually not by itself. A cosmetic packaging update often belongs on the existing record, while changes to quantity, formulation, dimensions, included components, compatibility, regulatory identity or customer experience may need separate treatment. Document the old and new versions and apply the category rule before deciding.
What do errors 5461, 5469 and 8573 mean?
Error 5461 generally means you are not approved to create a new record for the named brand and must follow Amazon's brand-approval evidence route. Error 5469 concerns authorization to create new Books records. Potential duplicate matching is a separate issue, commonly associated with error 8573. Check Amazon's current help text for each, because the wording moves.
Can I keep both ASINs if they have different reviews?
Different review histories do not make identical products distinct. If both records represent the same product, establish which is authoritative and use the permitted merge or correction path. If the products are genuinely different, prove it through identifiers, specifications, packaging and customer-relevant attributes rather than review or ranking data.
How does GS1 evidence help?
A GS1 record can connect an identifier to the licensed company and the product identity, which supports brand, model and identifier reconciliation. Read it alongside the physical product, the packaging, the manufacturer records and the Amazon catalog. On its own it does not prove authorization, authenticity, or that a separate record is warranted.
What do you need to start?
The exact error code or notice, every affected record and seller code, the identifiers you used, photographs of the product and packaging, and every prior appeal or Amazon reply.
What is in the Case Strategy?
For eligible cases: which error you actually hit, the identity comparison against the close matches, a disposition for each affected record, and how we would verify the live catalog afterwards. Amazon’s decision is never guaranteed.

Send the error. Get the strategy.

If Amazon blocked a creation or flagged how a record was created, start with the questionnaire.

Get my case strategy Account reinstatement services

Listing removed rather than mis-described: listing reinstatement. Other notice names: all suspension types.