Glossary of Amazon Terms

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3PLThird-party Logistics – A provider of outsourced logistics services which can include shipments, storage and fulfillment.

A
A/B TestingSometimes called “split testing”, this is a method of trying out two different website/product listings to compare and contrast sales metrics, typically conversion rates.
A9 Search EngineA subsidiary of Amazon that develops search engine and search advertising technology. A9 powers Amazon's product search pages in addition to other eCommerce retailers.
Account HealthPerformance targets and policies which all sellers must adhere to in order to continue selling on Amazon. Account health metrics include customer service performance, product policy compliance, and shipping performance.
ACoSAdvertising Cost of Sales – The percentage of attributed sales spent on advertising. This is calculated by dividing your total ad spend by your total sales.
Ad ClicksThe number of times ads in a selected group are clicked using Amazon advertising
Ad Daily BudgetThe average daily amount you are willing to spend on a selected ad group with Amazon advertising
Ad ImpressionsThe number of shoppers who see your product's ad on Amazon
Ad OrdersThe number of individual orders made by shoppers who clicked on your product's sponsored ad.
Ad SalesThe total product sales generated within one week of clicking on your product's sponsored ad.
Ad SpendThe total click charges for an Amazon sponsored campaign in the selected time period.
Ad StatusThe current status of your ad group on Amazon. The status may be running, paused, ended, archived, scheduled, incomplete, out of budget, or payment failure.
Ad TargetingThis option determines whether you select the keywords for an ad campaign or Amazon automatically selects keywords for an ad campaign.
Affiliate MarketingA marketing arrangement by which an online retailer pays a commission to an external website for traffic or sales generated from its referrals.
AlibabaA Chinese eCommerce, retail, and technology conglomerate. For Amazon FBA selling purposes, this is a website which acts as a third party platform between private label businesses and global suppliers, wholesalers, and manufacturers. Alibaba is the largest internet retailer in the world measured by total sales.
Alibaba Assessed SupplierA manufacturer, supplier, or wholesaler on Alibaba which has been qualified by an accredited third party inspection company
Alibaba Gold SupplierA manufacturer, supplier, or wholesaler that has been pre-qualified by Alibaba.
Alibaba Trade AssuranceA free service provided by Alibaba that protects buyers and sellers on their orders from the moment of payment to delivery
Amazon Condition GuidelinesA grading system regulated by Amazon to ensure uniform quality between new, used, and collectible products.
Amazon PrimeA paid membership for Amazon customers that enables them to have faster, cheaper delivery options, while having access to to Prime video, music and more. The are many other perks to being a Prime member.
Amazon ChoiceThis is a badge awarded to listings based on product ratings, price, and availability to ship. Receiving this badge will definitely increase sales.
AMSAmazon Marketing Services, which was also called Advertising Console, and  is a way for vendors to stand out and drive traffic to their listings.
AMZ or AZAbbreviations for Amazon.
APIApplication Programming Interface – It is essentially how two different programs or systems talk to each other, allowing them to share data.
ASINAmazon Standard Identification Number – The unique identification code Amazon assigns to a listing.  It”s similar to a UPC product code, but is exclusive to Amazon.
ASPAverage Selling Price – Refers to the average price that a seller on Amazon sells their items for.  It is calculated by taking the total sales for a time period divided by the number of items for the time period. You will find this in your business reports.
ATOPAt Time of Posting – This is often used when information is subject to change and may be accurate at the time it is posted.  It could be related to a sale or a new piece of information that comes out.
A-to-Z GuaranteeAn Amazon program which guarantees the condition and timely delivery of third party products. Amazon customers may make claims against sellers under the a-to-z guarantee umbrella.
Automatic Targeted AdsAdvertisements which are targeted to relevant search terms by Amazon and do not require you to input specific keywords.

B
B2BBusiness-to-Business (B2B) – Business that is conducted between companies. As an Amazon seller, you may qualify to sell products directly to businesses in addition to consumers.
BarcodeIt is the umbrella term for UPCs and EANs and is usually a numerical code between 12 and 14 digits that differentiates products. Think of it as a part number.
BBBuy Box is the top right section on a product page where customers can directly add items to their shopping carts. Winning the Amazon Buy Box simply means that you were the chosen seller at that particular time. The Buy Box rotates through the sellers for that item and there are many variables to being the chosen seller.
Bid+For manually targeted Amazon advertising campaigns, the Bid+ button allows you to raise bids in a campaign up to 50% more than your default bid when ads are eligible to show at the top of search results.
BISSBusiness, Industrial, and Scientific Supplies.  This is one of the many categories on Amazon, but not a very popular one.
BMBrick and Mortar – This refers to having a physical store with retail products for sale.
BOGOBuy One Get One – As the name implies, buy one item and get one free.  It is also an Amazon promotion template which allows you to offer two products for the price of one to spotlight a new product or to get your current customers to buy differently.
BOLOBe On the Lookout – Typically this is used for an item that is profitable that you might be able to find in stores near you.
BrandA type of product manufactured by a particular company under a particular name, such as Nike.
Brand RegistryAn Amazon program that helps you protect your brand from other sellers jumping on your listing. You need a trademark to get Brand Registered. You will also be able to use Enhanced Brand Content.
BSRBest-Seller Ranking – An Amazon calculation based on sales and updated hourly to reflect recent and historical sales of every item sold on Amazon . Sellers use this to gauge how well an item sells over time, but the BSR can be deceiving.
BTSBack to School – This is usually in July, August and September and is a good time to be selling notebooks and pencils.
BumpA sales and marketing funnel tactic to increase the total of a sale, typically during the check out stage, by offering something extra for a reduced price.
Buy BoxBuy Box is the top right section on a product page where customers can directly add items to their shopping carts. Winning the Amazon Buy Box simply means that you were chosen seller at that particular time. The Buy Box rotates through the sellers for that item and there are many variables to being the chosen seller.
Buy Box PercentageThe percentage of page views where the Buy Box featured you as the primary seller.

C
CategoryAmazon's product division based on shared characteristics and uses. Products may have both a broad category placement (also called departments) and one or more sub-category placements.
CBCashback – You can shop through portals like Ebates and receive a percent of what you spend at a store back in cash. This is very helpful for sellers who get their products through arbitrage.
CCCredit Card – sometimes you will see this term as a means of payment.
CCCcamelcamelcamel.com – this is a website that tracks price and sales rank history of products on Amazon.
COGSCost of Goods Sold – The accumulated total of all costs used to create a product or service, which has been sold. For an Amazon private label product, this may include the cost of materials, packaging, shipping, duty taxes, etc.
Conversion RateThe percentage of page visitors who actually make a purchase. A high rate tells Amazon you have a great product, which will place you higher in the searches and ranks. Calculated by dividing the total number of page visitors by the number of transactions.
CouponsA discount/saving program for Amazon shoppers. As an Amazon seller, you may use the coupon program to offer discounts on your products.
CPCCost-Per-Click – An advertising method that refers to the actual price you pay each time a customer clicks on your ad.
CPM/CPICost-Per-Mil(Thousand)/Impression – An advertising method that refers to the price you pay each time 1,000 people view your ad.
CTRClick Through-Rate – The percent of shoppers who see your ad and click on it. This is calculated by dividing total clicks by total impressions.
Customs ClearanceThe act of passing goods through the official department that administers and collects the duties levied by a government on imported goods.

D
DSDrop Shipping – The act of shipping a product direct from a supplier to the end customer.
DSPAmazon DSP is a demand-side platform that enables advertisers to programmatically buy display, video, and audio ads both on and off Amazon.
Duty TaxA tax levied by a government on imported and exported goods and services.

E
EANEuropean Article Number – This is a unique bar code that identifies a product and is the European version of the UPC. It is like a part number.
Early Reviewer ProgramAn Amazon program which encourages shoppers who have already purchased a product to leave authentic feedback of their experience regardless of whether it's a 1 or 5-star review.
EBCEnhanced Brand Content – Allows sellers to create more detailed product descriptions with additional images, videos and text. This is for brand owners only.
EINEmployer Identification Number – This is a unique number given to you by the IRS to for your business entity so it can be easily identified.  It can be used for reporting taxes and may also be asked for if you look to open wholesale or trade accounts.
Enhanced Brand ContentAllows sellers to create more detailed product descriptions with additional images, videos and text. This is for brand owners.
ExportThe process of sending goods or services to another country for sale.

F
FBAFulfillment By Amazon – This is when you send your products in bulk to Amazon warehouses and Amazon then fulfills the orders and deals with the customers.
FBA Small and LightThe Small and Light program is a cost-cutting program that reduces fulfillment costs for sellers and allows you to pass the savings onto your customers. It’s basically the best way to be profitable if you’re selling small, cheap, and fast-moving products.
FBMFulfilled by Merchant – Also known as MF (Merchant fulfilled), this refers to shipping products directly to the end customer yourself once they are sold on Amazon.
FCFulfillment Center – Refers to one of Amazon's many fulfillment warehouses or centers.
FeedbackFeedback – This pertains to customer feedback on your Amazon storefront and you as a seller.  If it is on a product, like a private label item, it is called a review.
FNSKUFulfillment Network Stock Keeping Unit – This is Amazon unique code assigned to each seller on a product. It remains the same for you and the asin combination so you can print and label your products in advance.
FOBFreight On Board – This is the last location that the Seller of an item will cover shipping costs. For Sellers, if they see a term sheet with the term “FOB Port of Los Angeles”, this means that the factory will cover the shipping costs up until the Port of Los Angeles, after that point, it is the Amazon Seller who assumes control over the goods.
Free Shipping PromoAn Amazon promotion template which allows you to offer a limited-time, free shipping offer for a subset of your catalog.
FSFinancial Statement – This is a document that showcases the business activities and financial performance of a company.
Fulfillment FeeThe cost Amazon charges to pick, pack, and ship your product through its FBA service.

G
Gated BrandIndividual brands are sometimes restricted and you need to apply to sell. This normally involves getting invoices and written permission from the brand.
Gated CategoryA division of restricted products unavailable to sellers without prior approval from Amazon to sell products in that category.
GCGift Card(s) – Gift cards are often used by those in the arbitrage community to increase the ROI (return on investment) and leverage their purchasing power by buying gift cards at a discount.
Giveaway PromoAn Amazon promotion template which allows you to offer your products for free to generate buzz or build a social media following.
Gross ProfitGross profit is the profit a company makes after deducting the costs associated with making and selling its products, or the costs associated with providing its services.
GTINGlobal Trade Identification Number – Includes UPC, ISBN and EAN. It is always 14 digits, so zeroes are added to UPC codes and others to make them equal 14.

H
Headline Search AdHeadline Search Ads are located at the very top of the search result page, stretching across the entire page, with only one Headline Search Ad per search result page. To qualify for a headline search ad, you must have a registered brand a minimum of three products available for that brand. These are now called Sponsored Brands.
IMO or IMHOIn My Opinion and In My Humble Opinion –  These aren't so much seller acronyms but you might see them in the comments on the site.

I
ImportThe process of bringing goods or services into a country for sale.
InventoryThese are the products which you have listed and available for sale on Amazon.
IPIntellectual Property – Usually when referred to in relation to an Amazon seller, it is due to a complaint that a brand owner has made to Amazon that a seller is infringing their intellectual property.
IPIThe Inventory Performance Index, or IPI, is a metric to gauge your inventory performance over time. IPI score measures how efficient and productive you are in managing your FBA inventory.
ISBNInternational Standard Book Number – An ISBN is a 13-digit number assigned by standard book numbering agencies to identify individual books. ISBNs used to be 10 digits until the end of 2006. Amazon sometimes uses them instead of an ASIN.

L
Large OversizeAny packaged unit that is 150 lb. or less with its longest side 108″ or less, and its longest side plus girth 165″ or less.
Lightning DealsA promotional offer where a product is featured for several hours on the Amazon Deals page.
ListingThe Amazon product page that includes images, product descriptions, item condition, price, shipping methods, customer reviews, part numbers and other product information
Long Tail KeywordA longer and more specific keyword phrase that visitors are more likely to use when they're closer to a point-of-purchase or when they're using voice search.
LTHLong Term Hold – Storing inventory to be sold at a later date.  For example, buying Christmas lights on December 28th and waiting to sell them until the following December.
LTLLess Than Truckload – This refers to shipping inventory on pallets that do not take up an entire trucks trailer.  You must have at least 150 pounds of inventory and you can choose to use Amazon Partnered Carriers or your own carrier.

M
Manually Targeted AdsAdvertisement campaigns where you are able to select the individual keywords you wish to target.
MAPMinimum Advertised Price –  This is the minimum price a brand will allow sellers to list their product. It's generally a good thing for sellers as everyone has to sell for the same price.
MarginTo find the margin, divide gross profit by the revenue. To make the margin a percentage, multiply the result by 100.
MCFMulti-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) fulfills orders for any of your sales channels at the same delivery speeds as Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA).
Medium OversizeAny packaged unit that is 150 lb. or less with its longest side 108″ or less, and its longest side plus girth 130″ or less.
MFMerchant Fulfilled is when the seller is in control of his entire handling and shipping process. Instead of paying a service fee and shipping inventory to Amazon to handle, the seller uses his or her own resources and sends the items directly to the buyer.
MGPMinimum Gross Proceed  – This is the agreed upon minimum price a seller will receive for their product under the Sold By Amazon program.
MOQMinimum Order Quantity – The lowest possible order volume allowed by a manufacturer for a particular product. This is usually negotiable.
MSKUMSKU stands for Merchant Stock Keeping Unit.  It is the part number an Amazon seller assigns to their product.  Each product must have an MSKU, so Amazon knows who the seller is.
MSRPManufacturer's Suggested Retail Price – the standard price the manufacturer recommends for their products. Also known in the UK as RRP – Recommended Retail Price.
MTDMonth to Date – Often seen when sharing sales or a certain metric since the beginning of the month.
MWSMarketplace Web Service – This is the integrated web service API that allows software programs to “talk” to Amazon and gather data both about products and even your account. You may often see discussions regarding MWS keys or credentials.

N
Negative KeywordsSearch terms that you don’t want your listing or ad to appear on when running a pay-per-click advertising campaign
Net ProfitNet profit is your business's revenue after subtracting all operating, interest, and tax expenses, in addition to deducting your COGS.  

O
OAOnline Arbitrage – The process of sourcing products cheaply on one ecommerce platform for sale on another ecommerce platform at a higher price.
ODROrder Defect Rate –  The percentage of orders that customers report a significant issue on.  Per Amazon, ODR is the percentage of orders that have received a negative feedback, an A-to-Z Guarantee claim or a service credit card charge back. It allows them to measure overall performance with a single metric.
OEMOriginal Equipment Manufacturer – An organization that makes devices from component parts bought from other organizations.
Online ArbitrageThe process of sourcing products cheaply on one eCommerce platform for sale on another eCommerce platform at a higher price.
OOSOut of Stock – Refers to an item being out of stock in a retail store or Amazon themselves being out of stock on an item.

P
P and LProfit & Loss – Specifically a profit & loss statement.  This is a financial statement that summarizes the revenues, costs and expenses incurred during a specified period, usually a fiscal quarter or year. Also referred to as a financial statement.
Page ViewsVisits to your offer pages over a given time period or session
Percentage Off PromoAn Amazon product promotion template which allows you to discount a product in one or more tiered offerings to encourage Amazon shoppers to buy more.
Performance NotificationsA page in Amazon Seller Central that offers up information on how you are doing with respect to Amazon customer satisfaction.
PiggybackingThis is an informal term for multiple sellers selling on the same Amazon listing.
PKPack – Pack refers to how many items come in a multi-pack of a product on Amazon.  Here is an example of a pack (PK) of 3.
PLPrivate Label –  Branding a generic product with your own brand to sell on Amazon that is usually imported from China.
POAPlan of Action – You will need a plan of action if your account gets suspended or you are in other serious trouble with Amazon.
PPCPay Per Click – Advertising model where an advertiser pays for the ad placement only when the ad is clicked.
Private LabelBranding a generic product with your own brand to sell on Amazon that is usually imported from China.

Q
Q1Quarter 1 –  January – March
Q2Quarter 2 – April – June
Q3Quarter 3 – July – September
Q4Quarter 4 – October – December. Also, the busiest season of the year with huge sums of product selling on Amazon and online in general.

R
RARetail Arbitrage –  Buying from physical stores to resell on Amazon.
Recovery RateThe percentage of units damaged compared to units returned
Referral FeeA percentage based cost for selling products on Amazon, usually, 7-15% based on final selling price.
Related AccountRelated accounts are when an Amazon seller either has or is falsely accused of having more than one Amazon account without Amazon's blessing. It is not recommended that anyone have more than one Amazon account.
Retail ArbitrageBuying from physical stores to resell on Amazon.
Return RateThe percentage of units returned compared to units shipped
RevenueIncome derived from the sale of goods or services.
RFQRequest For Quote – An order placed, usually to a wholesaler or manufacturer, to solicit a request for price estimates on wholesale goods.
ROIReturn on Investment – It is the measure of the amount of return on a particular investment, relative to the investment's cost. The return on investment formula: ROI = (Net Profit / Cost of Investment) x 100.

S
SCSeller Central – Seller Central is the main website on  the backend of Amazon where you will manage inventory, reconcile shipments, create PPC campaigns, find business reports, and all things related to your Amazon business.
Search VolumeThe number of times a keyword is searched on Amazon by all visitors to the site in one month.
Seller CentralThe main website on the back end of Amazon where you will manage inventory, reconcile shipments, create PPC campaigns, find business reports, and all things related to your Amazon business.
Seller FeedbackA rating awarded to Amazon's third-party sellers from customers who have purchased from the seller which ranges from 1 to 5 stars. This is different from a Product Review which is only linked to the actual product and not the individual seller. Negative feedback can be very damaging to your account.
SEOSearch Engine Optimization – Optimizing your listings allows both customers and Amazon's search engine to more easily find your products and gets your listing higher in the search results.
SessionsVisits to your Amazon.com product detail pages by a customer within a 24-hour period
SFPSeller Fulfilled Prime –  This is where you store the products in your warehouse but offer express Prime shipping using Amazons approved carriers.
SKUStock Keeping Unit – This is a product identification code that is displayed as a machine-readable bar code that helps you keep track of inventory.
Small OversizeAny packaged unit that is 70 lb. or less with its longest side 60″ or less, its median side 30″ or less, and its longest side plus girth 130 inches or less.
Small Standard SizeAny packaged item that is 12 oz. or less with its longest side 15″ or less, its shortest side 0.75″ or less, and its median side 12″ or less.
Special OversizeAny packaged unit that exceeds one or more of the following: Over 150 lb. (dimensional weight or unit weight), over 108″ on its longest side, or over 165″ when longest side is added to girth.
SPN Amazon's Solution Provider Network for companies offering software and services to Amazon sellers.
Sponsored AdA pay-per-click advertising solution that enables you to promote the products you sell with keyword-targeted ads (manual or automatic) that appear in highly visible placements on Amazon.com.
Sponsored BrandsFormerly known as Headline Search Ads, this Amazon Advertising option is currently only available to sellers enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry. This campaign option allows sellers to promote their brand and products through banner ads at the top, side, and bottom of the search results page.
SSSeller Support – Amazon's support team for resolving issues and questions for sellers.
Storefront A service from Amazon that allows vendors and sellers to create their own brand stores on Amazon and provide their customers with an immersive virtual shopping experience.
Subscribe and SaveAmazon program that allows customers to sign up for regular deliveries of products they use frequently

T
TIAThanks in Advance – You might see this in the comment section on posts.
Todays DealsA tab on Amazon's home page that takes customers to see ongoing deals and discounts on one dashboard.

U
Unverified ReviewsWhen an Amazon.com user leaves a product review without first purchasing the respective product, it is considered an “unverified review”. Unverified reviews carry less weight when Amazon averages a given product's reviews.
UPCUniversal Product Code – A unique 12-digit number assigned to retail merchandise that identifies both the product and the vendor that sells the product.

V
VAVirtual Assistant – This is when you hire someone, usually offshore in the Philippines or similar, to do work for you such as sourcing product.
Variable Closing FeeFixed charges from Amazon on certain products, usually media.
VariationsProduct variations allow customers to see different colors, sizes and styles of the same product.
VCVendor Central –  The central portal for managing your Amazon Vendor account.
Vendor CentralThe central portal for managing your Amazon Vendor account.
Vendor ExpressThose who sell their products directly to Amazon, as opposed to consumers, will be a vendor and will use Vendor Express and function as Amazon's wholesale distributor of that product.
Verified ReviewsWhen an Amazon customer leaves a product review after purchasing the product.

W
WSWholesale – Buying from wholesale distributors or manufacturers and selling for a profit on Amazon. This usually requires volume purchases.

Y
YMMV Your mileage may vary –  You might see this in the comments when someone is saying you might have a different outcome than they did, even though you are doing the same thing.
YTDYear to Date – Often used when sharing sales numbers or a certain metric since the beginning of the calendar year.