What are listing content alerts? What should I do if content changes?

Listing content alerts tell you if important details of your listing were changed, which might signal that a hijacker is trying to damage your listing.

Listing content alerts can tell you when:

  • The title, main image, or brand name on your listing were edited.
    • If the information is wrong, this can confuse buyers and cause a decrease in sales and/or an increase in negative reviews.
    • If the information is not compliant with Amazon's listing guidelines, the listing could get suppressed or deactivated.
  • The listing was flagged as an adult product by Amazon.
    • This removes the listing from search results and makes it ineligible for advertising, causing a decrease in sales.
  • Amazon changed an FBA SKU's dimensions.
    • Larger, inaccurate dimensions can cause an increase in FBA fees.

If you didn't make these changes, or if the updated listing is inaccurate, you may need to take action immediately to prevent dissatisfied customers or a loss of sales.

Who might change the listing and why?

A hijacker could change the listing details in order to:

  • Make the product harder to find in search results.
  • Make the product look less appealing.
  • Make the listing ineligible for advertising.
  • Make the listing non-compliant, so that Amazon suppresses or deactivates it.
  • Mislead buyers about the nature of the product, causing negative reviews.
  • Convert the listing into a listing for another product, while keeping the positive reviews from the original product.

An innocent reseller might also change the listing details by listing the same ASIN. Amazon typically allows several sellers to list the same item and submit listing details. Amazon's algorithm then attempts to choose the best-performing title, image, and other details in order to maximize sales. However, the seller might accidentally submit incorrect listing details.

Lastly, Amazon might change the listing, or attempt to correct the package dimensions of an FBA product. Because these changes are made by AI or other automated systems, they may not always be correct or ideal.

Recommended Actions

Whether the listing was changed by an innocent seller or a hijacker, immediate action is needed to correct any inaccurate information or non-compliant details.

There are several ways you can attempt to update or correct a product listing. Sometimes, you need to try more than one way to get Amazon to apply the changes. Try each one in the order below, allowing at least 24 hours in between for Amazon to make the changes:

  1. Update the listing via the Manage All Inventory page in Seller Central.
  2. Edit the listing by uploading a flat file.
  3. Use the "Fix a product page" tool. If it redirects you to make the change via Manage All Inventory, you can try selecting "Other product information" in the "Attribute to Update" menu and describing the change, which will initiate a support case.
  4. Log a case with Seller Support.
    • For dimension changes, ask Amazon to re-scan the SKUs and correct the dimensions.
    • For all other changes, explain the necessary changes in detail and provide evidence (e.g. images or a link to the manufacturer's website) that your requested changes are correct, noting that the first three ways did not work.

In addition, if you have Brand Registry, Liz Adamson of EMA Consulting recommends contacting the Brand Registry team and asking to get Page Detail control back.