How to Add a Variation to an Existing Amazon Listing

Many sellers have questions about adding variations on Amazon for good reason — it can be very confusing! The biggest thing to remember is not all related products are valid parent-child variations, but if a valid variation theme does exist, Amazon requires that you use it.

But what happens when you need to add a new child variation to an existing parent product that wasn't created by you?

Sounds intimidating, right? It doesn't have to be! Keep reading to learn how to add a variation to an existing Amazon listing and where you can read more about parent-child relationships.

1) Find the Parent ASIN

To get started, you need to know the ASIN for the existing parent item. You can find this identifier in the Product Details section of its Amazon listing.

Note that parent ASINs are generally shown in this area on the detail pages of child ASINs.

2) Add the Child ASIN and Parent to Your Inventory File Template

Next, you'll need to add the new child ASIN information to your inventory file template. Add the parent item and fill in the necessary fields to create the parent-child relationship for the new child ASIN. You must match the variation theme to the existing parent product.

Make sure you don’t duplicate any of your other SKUs in the SKU field for the parent row. You can leave the field blank to let the system automatically generate a SKU number, or you can choose any alphanumeric string of <40 characters. The SKU must be unique to your listings.

Specify the parent ASIN in the Product ID field and type "ASIN" into the Product ID Type field to associate your new child product with the ASIN of the existing parent item.

In the Update/Delete column enter “Update” for the parent SKU and “PartialUpdate” for the child SKU, assuming that the child SKU is already in your inventory. If the child SKU is not present in your inventory, use “Update.”

3) Validate and Upload the Inventory Template

Lastly, you’ll need to validate and upload the completed inventory template. All mandatory information must be entered.

You can learn more on the Variation relationship FAQ page in Seller Central and even watch a video tutorial on the topic.

What About the Amazon Variation Wizard?

Knowing how to add a variation to an existing Amazon listing for only a few products is pretty simple - just follow the steps above. However, if you need to create parent-child relationships in bulk, the Variation Wizard can save you a ton of time. This Seller Central tool quickly and easily allows you to search for the ASIN you want to add a variation to.

It is only available for Professional sellers and does not support ASINs for Amazon Handmade. You can access it directly or by going to the Inventory dropdown > Add a Product > Add a Variation using Variation Wizard.

Here are a few key things of note about adding a variation with Variation Wizard:

• The parent listing will be marked as Parent under the “Parentage” column.
• If child variations exist, they will be noted as such in the same column.
• If you created any of the existing child variations, use "Edit" to edit offer details.
• If you looked up an ASIN that was created by a different seller, click "Sell Yours" if the child is already listed under the parent SKU.

To add a new child variation to the family, click "Add" and enter all of the required information. You can repeat this step to add more child variations if needed. Click "Generate Template" to get your completed inventory file template.

You’ll need to upload the template to officially add the new variations. Be sure to delete quantity amounts for any FBA SKUs in your inventory in the Excel template before uploading. If you fail to do so, FBA inventory will be converted to Merchant Fulfilled. The Update/Delete column should also be set to Partial Update.

Learn More About Variations on Amazon

Misuse of ASIN variations is one of the most common listing issues for sellers and a key reason why many get suspended. Simply put, you have to do it right.

We hope you learned how to add a variation to an existing Amazon listing. If you have any additional questions, just let us know. In the meantime, here are a few more resources that can help.