Amazon MWS SKU Addition in automotive failure

Question

When trying to add a skew in the Automotive category MWS responds with SKU not existant in the inventory and requires I provide a standard_product_id. I was under the impression that for Automotive related products this requirement was not necessary. Below is the data posted and returned:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<AmazonEnvelope xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="amzn-envelope.xsd">
    <Header>
        <DocumentVersion>1.01</DocumentVersion>
        <MerchantIdentifier>XXX</MerchantIdentifier>
    </Header>
    <MessageType>Product</MessageType>
    <PurgeAndReplace>false</PurgeAndReplace>
    <Message>
        <MessageID>1</MessageID>
        <OperationType>Update</OperationType>
        <Product>
            <SKU>0101-3451</SKU>
            <LaunchDate>2012-11-20T00:00:00+01:00</LaunchDate>
            <Condition>
                <ConditionType>New</ConditionType>
            </Condition>
            <NumberOfItems>1</NumberOfItems>
            <DescriptionData>
                <Title>HELMET GP-TECH 5-CONT XS</Title>
                <Description>2-piece dual-density carbon Kevlar construction Ventilated by the IVS (Integrated Ventilation System) which features channels hollowed directly into the shell of the helmet Features a fully removable and washable CoolMax liner Comes with an anti-fog and anti-scratch polycarbonate clear Racer-X visor with tear-off system Replace the shield within seconds without the use of tools Double D-ring chin strap DOT and ECE-2205 certified </Description>
                <MSRP currency="USD">624.95</MSRP>
                <Manufacturer>AVG</Manufacturer>
                <MfrPartNumber>XF0101-3451</MfrPartNumber>
                <ItemType>powersports-helmets</ItemType>
            </DescriptionData>
            <ProductData>
                <AutoAccessory>
                    <ProductType>
                        <Helmet>
                            <Department>unisex-adult</Department>
                            <StyleKeywords>all-weather</StyleKeywords>
                            <SafetyRating>DOT Certified</SafetyRating>
                            <ModelName>HELMET GP-TECH 5-CONT XS</ModelName>
                        </Helmet>
                    </ProductType>
                </AutoAccessory>
            </ProductData>
        </Product>
    </Message>
</AmazonEnvelope>

---

RESPONSE:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<AmazonEnvelope xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="amzn-envelope.xsd">
    <Header>
        <DocumentVersion>1.02</DocumentVersion>
        <MerchantIdentifier>XXX</MerchantIdentifier>
    </Header>
    <MessageType>ProcessingReport</MessageType>
    <Message>
        <MessageID>1</MessageID>
        <ProcessingReport>
            <DocumentTransactionID>6079239000</DocumentTransactionID>
            <StatusCode>Complete</StatusCode>
            <ProcessingSummary>
                <MessagesProcessed>1</MessagesProcessed>
                <MessagesSuccessful>0</MessagesSuccessful>
                <MessagesWithError>1</MessagesWithError>
                <MessagesWithWarning>0</MessagesWithWarning>
            </ProcessingSummary>
            <Result>
                <MessageID>0</MessageID>
                <ResultCode>Warning</ResultCode>
                <ResultMessageCode>90000</ResultMessageCode>
                <ResultDescription>http://sellercentral.amazon.com/myi/search/ErrorListingsSummary?batchId=6079239000</ResultDescription>
            </Result>
            <Result>
                <MessageID>1</MessageID>
                <ResultCode>Error</ResultCode>
                <ResultMessageCode>8560</ResultMessageCode>
                <ResultDescription>SKU 0101-3451, Missing Attributes standard_product_id. SKU 0101-3451 does not match any ASIN. Creation of a new ASIN requires the following missing attributes: standard_product_id. Feed ID: 0. For details, see http://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/errorcode/200692370</ResultDescription>
                <AdditionalInfo>
                    <SKU>0101-3451</SKU>
                </AdditionalInfo>
            </Result>
            <Result>
                <MessageID>1</MessageID>
                <ResultCode>Error</ResultCode>
                <ResultMessageCode>13013</ResultMessageCode>
                <ResultDescription>This SKU does not exist in your Amazon inventory so we could not process this record. To correct this error for future feeds, add the SKU to your Amazon account. For more information, see http://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/errorcode/13013.</ResultDescription>
                <AdditionalInfo>
                    <SKU>0101-3451</SKU>
                </AdditionalInfo>
            </Result>
            <Result>
                <MessageID>1</MessageID>
                <ResultCode>Error</ResultCode>
                <ResultMessageCode>13013</ResultMessageCode>
                <ResultDescription>This SKU does not exist in your Amazon inventory so we could not process this record. To correct this error for future feeds, add the SKU to your Amazon account. For more information, see http://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/errorcode/13013.</ResultDescription>
                <AdditionalInfo>
                    <SKU>0101-3451</SKU>
                </AdditionalInfo>
            </Result>
        </ProcessingReport>
    </Message>
</AmazonEnvelope>

Answer 1

From my experience, there are some situations where you can get around not specifying a standard-product-id. If the product exists already in the Amazon product catalog, and you can provide enough information: (Title, Brand, Manufacturer, MfrPartNumber, Department, etc), then Amazon will be able to match your product with the existing product in their catalog and give you the ASIN. But if they can't match your product, Amazon then attempts to create a new entry in their catalog with the information you give it. In that case, Amazon requires a standard-product-id in order to define the product completely and give you new ASIN.

Also, I believe Powersports, a subcategory of Automotive, requires the standard-product-id for all new entries (they don't carry the same upc exemption rules as Automotive).

Answer 2

It seems as though even the automotive category is shown as not needing a standard-product-id your account still needs to request a UPC exemption to bypass this request.