The last time I created a parent listing for individual child ASINs, I was shocked to find out that the update caused not only the titles of the Child ASINs to change, but gave them all the same “model number” to match the parent model number.
I am about to connect 4 ASINs, and I don’t want their titles or model numbers fiddled with. Any way to prevent this sort of automation from happening when creating the parent ASIN?
Cheers!
Ryan
The last time I created a parent listing for individual child ASINs, I was shocked to find out that the update caused not only the titles of the Child ASINs to change, but gave them all the same “model number” to match the parent model number.
Can you explain a little more about what you’re trying to accomplish, because the above is a bit confusing, at least to me.
For instance, a title might be ‘Black Batman logo t-shirt’ and it varies on size, so you’d have children with these titles:
Black Batman logo t-shirt (Small)
Black Batman logo t-shirt (Medium)
Black Batman logo t-shirt (Large)
Black Batman logo t-shirt (X-Large)
The title stays the same, the only thing that changes is the variant attribute.
the weird part was that they had “model number” required, which surprised me.
Our titles have the variant size in the middle of the title, since it is visible still when titles are shortened (like on mobile).
instead, it does as you say. Takes the parent’s name, and renames them all, putting the size at the end.
Amazon won’t like that. LOL.
To make everything play nice, if you want to group existing standalone listings into a new parent/child relationship, you first have to change the title of your standalone listings to take the right format, with the variation name in parenthesis at the end. Once the titles match, then you can put them into a variation without (hopefully) any trouble.
I do a lot of variations, but I do mine manually and usually create them from scratch, rather than combining pre-existing standalone listings. I’ve never been able to figure out the file upload method of doing it. 
the weird part was that they had “model number” required, which surprised me.
Oh yes, now that you mention it, I do recall seeing something like that on a recent one. I used a made up number, something like TeeBatman for my example above. Not a model number assigned by the manufacturer, just a code that was meaningful to me.
Actually, the model number would be the same as only the size is changing.
Example:
The model number of a Seashell Bracelet is IDB-07SH and the variation would be the size. The size does not change the model number.
Actually, the model number would be the same as only the size is changing.
Good point. I suppose there are cases where there is a model number, like with that bracelet.
This seems to be a relatively new requirement, since about the time when they changed the way new products are added, I think? The model number doesn’t show up in the title that I’ve seen though, unless you decide to include it as part of the title you create.
We put it in the title as an example so it would make sense (and, in some cases, we do put it in our titles). Putting it in the title helps with recognizing the item when you have two similar items like IDB-07SH vs IDB-07LC. This could be a variation of clasp type but it is better to show two different items in this case to make sure the customer is getting the type of clasp they want and then have the variable of length of bracelet size.
The type of product you work with sometimes dictates how the variables are set up.
ahh, thanks for the clarification. We do have a binding parent sku we can use as model number, so guess that would work.
What would you say on the titles though? A big issue we see is you can’t see what makes it a variant on some displays, as the title “…” at the end. So we like the flow of having the variant in the middle so it can be clear to the consumer.
Looking at everyone else in our category, they all do the same. Not finding one on the first few pages of search results that are leaving their size – the most important part of the search – to remain off the result.
Is there a suspension-causing rule that says the variant size has to be in the parenthesis at the end?
Think of it like a road sign. Each road sign has a look that you can recognize.
Keeping the format for the title that Amazon is looking for means it will preform better (in theory) in the search functions because Amazon can see what it is looking for. When customers are conditioned to look for the same format, then the customer will respond better because of the consistency of the title formatting.
Two can be 2 or II (in Roman numerals). If I am programed to look for II, then I might not recognize 2 as being the same thing. If I am programed to see 2, then when I see II … I might mistake it for eleven.
Best not to try to out think things like formatting and generally follow the format the Amazon establishes. Just remember … what Amazon establishes today could change in a month or two and Amazon probably won’t tell you until 4 to 6 months later. So you will be “in the dark” until the new format is discovered (and usually reported in a forum like this first).
Is there a suspension-causing rule that says the variant size has to be in the parenthesis at the end?
@Lost_My_Marbles gave you a great explanation. On top of that, you simply can’t put your variants in the middle - when you create a variation on Amazon, they go on the end - it’s out of your control.
You can certainly list your different options as standalone listings, and format the title any way you like. But if you try to group them into an Amazon variation so they show up together on one page, you’re technically limited by the way Amazon has defined a variation, which is variant names on the end (inside parentheses).
If your titles are so long that the variant name isn’t displayed on mobile, you could try shortening them so it does. I don’t know what info you’re trying to include in the title, or how much of it is essential, but people often try and put too much in their titles.
A big issue we see is you can’t see what makes it a variant on some displays, as the title “…” at the end.
I’m not quite sure what you mean by this. 
When people are shopping for a product that contains variants, they don’t usually pick their variant by the title, they pick it by making a selection from the options provided.
From a search standpoint, people are only concerned with the product, not the individual variant. Is it possible your variant families aren’t set up correctly?
Here’s an NFL hat listing, for instance. The same style hat is available for each team, in that team’s respective colors.
The title doesn’t include any information about the variant, and the buyer doesn’t need to “read” the variant name. They see the different options displayed, and click on the color (team) they want.
But what they see in search is the main title “NFL 9FIFTY Adjustable Snapback Hat” (one size fits all doesn’t really belong in the title).
Ok, one size fits all is sort of tough comparison for importance of sizing. Here is searching “bamboo bedding”. Of the top sellers of listings, 78% have the variant size in the first sentence, before the first break…
Sorry for the massive image size. I just did a screenshot of page, and highlighted the variant declarations on each item.
Ok, one size fits all is sort of tough comparison for importance of sizing. Here is searching “bamboo bedding”. Of the top sellers of listings, 78% have the variant size in the first sentence, before the first break
Sorry, I didn’t realize who you were, or what you were selling yesterday, so now it’s easier to address your specific issue.
Amazon seems to have changed the way they handle variations recently, or maybe they’ve always done it differently for things like sheets? In either case, the “new” way builds a title dynamically depending on the values you set for your variations.
Take the parent B0BZ8T5BJ6, for example.
Side note: Do you know that you can find the parent ASIN of a variation listing, by entering any of the child ASIN’s into the ‘Add a Variation’ tool?
I took the ASIN for the gray, twin size sheets, B07YKD2ZCG, and plugged it into the Add a Variation tool to get the parent. It also shows you what the variation theme is -
Amazon builds the title dynamically, using the values the shopper selects under the variant choices:
This isn’t anything the sellers have control over, beyond specifying which values the listing varies on, it’s a fill-in-the-blanks sort of thing that Amazon does automatically, when you tell it your product varies on both color, and size.
What you should keep in mind when creating stand-alone listings, is whether you might want to put them into variation families later, and if so, create the standalone titles using a format that will be compatible with that. That should save you a bunch of headaches later on.
As you can see from the above listing, the seller created it using the “color-size” variation type, which led to this title, with the bold/italic values being dynamically pulled from the user’s selected options.
Bedsure Cooling Sheets Set, Rayon Made from Bamboo, Twin Sheets for Hot Sleeper, Deep Pocket Up to 16", Hotel Luxury Silky Soft Breathable Bedding Sheets & Pillowcases, Grey
I am about to connect 4 ASINs, and I don’t want their titles or model numbers fiddled with.
The best way to achieve this is make sure when you first create the listings, that they are ‘variation-compatible’ so when you try to group them together, Amazon’s BOTS don’t scratch their little bot heads and wonder - what am I supposed to do with this? Because you know they’ll make the wrong decision. 
