Amazon Flat File Import Errors: Causes and Fixes

How Amazon Flat File Validation Works

Amazon flat files are tab-delimited or comma-delimited CSV files that follow strict column schemas defined per product category. When you upload a flat file, Amazon runs it through a validation pipeline:

1. Template match — checks that your column headers match the expected template for the file type
2. Required field validation — verifies all required columns have values
3. Data type validation — checks numbers, booleans, and enum values
4. Business rules — verifies ASINs, validates SKUs, checks condition codes and price ranges
5. Catalog check — matches product IDs to Amazon's catalog

After processing, Amazon generates a Processing Report (accessible in Seller Central under Inventory → Add Products via Upload). Always review the Processing Report — it lists every row that failed and the specific error.

Error: Invalid or Missing seller_sku

Cause: seller_sku is blank, exceeds 40 characters, contains invalid characters, or duplicates an existing SKU in your catalog.

Rules for seller_sku:

• Maximum 40 characters
• No spaces (use hyphens or underscores)
• Alphanumeric plus -, _, .
• Must be unique across your entire Amazon seller account

Fix: Ensure every row has a unique SKU. Use a formula like =COUNTIF($A:$A, A2) to find duplicates. Trim any SKUs over 40 characters.

Error: Missing item_name / Title Too Long

Cause: item_name is blank, or exceeds Amazon's title length limit (varies by category, but 200-500 characters is typical).

Fix:

• Fill in item_name for every product row
• Use =LEN(B2) in Excel to find titles that exceed the limit for your category
• Check your specific template for the exact character limit

Error: Invalid condition_type

Cause: The condition_type column contains a value not in Amazon's allowed list.

Accepted values:

| Value | Description | |---|---| | New | Brand new, factory sealed | | UsedLikeNew | Used — Like New | | UsedVeryGood | Used — Very Good | | UsedGood | Used — Good | | UsedAcceptable | Used — Acceptable | | CollectibleLikeNew | Collectible — Like New | | CollectibleVeryGood | Collectible — Very Good | | CollectibleGood | Collectible — Good | | CollectibleAcceptable | Collectible — Acceptable | | Refurbished | Seller refurbished | | Club | Club (media category) |

Fix: Replace any non-standard condition values with one from the list above. New must be capitalized; new (lowercase) is rejected.

Error: Invalid Price

Cause: The price column contains a currency symbol ($), uses comma decimal notation, is zero, is negative, or is blank.

Amazon pricing rules:

• Plain decimal number: 19.99
• No currency symbols
• Must be positive (greater than 0)
• Period as decimal separator

Fix: Remove currency symbols and replace comma decimal separators with periods. Format the price column as Number in Excel before saving.

Error: Invalid fulfillment_center_id / Fulfillment Channel

Cause: The fulfillment channel column contains an unrecognized value.

Accepted values:

| Value | Description | |---|---| | DEFAULT | Fulfilled by merchant (FBM) | | AMAZON_NA (or AMAZON) | Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) |

The exact column name and accepted values vary slightly by flat file template. Check your specific template.

Fix: Use DEFAULT for FBM and AMAZON_NA or AMAZON for FBA. Do not use FBA, FBM, or other shorthand values.

Error: product_id / ASIN Not Found

Cause: The product_id (ASIN, UPC, EAN, or ISBN) doesn't match any product in Amazon's catalog, or product_id_type doesn't match the type of ID provided.

product_id_type values:

| Value | ID type | |---|---| | 1 | ASIN | | 2 | ISBN | | 3 | UPC | | 4 | EAN |

Fix:

• Verify the product ID is correct and active in Amazon's catalog
• Match product_id_type to the type of ID in product_id
• For new products that don't have an ASIN yet, you may need to create a new listing rather than adding inventory to an existing listing

Error: Wrong Template for Product Category

Cause: You used a general Inventory Loader template for a category that requires a category-specific flat file (e.g., Clothing, Shoes, Jewelry).

Amazon has category-specific templates with additional required fields. Using the wrong template causes all category-specific required fields to be missing.

Fix:

• In Seller Central, go to Inventory → Add Products via Upload → Download an inventory file
• Select your product category to get the correct template
• Download the category-specific flat file and migrate your data into it

Common categories with their own templates: Clothing, Shoes, Jewelry, Electronics, Books, Music, Video, Sports & Outdoors.

Reading the Processing Report

After uploading, download the Processing Report from Seller Central (Inventory → Add Products via Upload → Monitor Upload Status → View Processing Report).

The report has three tabs:

• Summary — total rows, successes, and failures
• Results — one row per record in your file, with status and error message
• Original — your original uploaded data

To find failed rows: filter the Results tab by the status column. FAILURE rows include an error-code and error-message that explain exactly what went wrong.

Fix This Automatically with StriveFormats

Upload your Amazon flat file to StriveFormats. The validator checks SKUs, condition codes, prices, fulfillment channel values, and required fields — then flags exact rows and cells with issues.

Open Amazon CSV Fixer | View Amazon Template