We’ve been hearing from several sellers this morning who’ve received emails from Amazon that say,
“[We’ve identified] items in your inventory that were incorrectly listed in the “Everything Else” category.”
What does this mean and what do you need to do?
Keep reading to find out.
What is Everything Else?
Everything Else is a product category on Amazon that is meant to be a catch-all for items that don’t fit into any other categories. Over time, as the Amazon catalog has grown and more specific product categories have been added, Everything Else has become less useful and more of a junkyard for cast off and forgotten listings.
Until recently, however.
Why are items listed in Everything Else when they shouldn’t be?
The answer to this is fairly simple. Some sellers are using Everything Else as an opportunity to get around Amazon’s gated category requirements. For example, DVDs with an MSRP of over $25 are now gated and require permission to list. So we’ve seen some sellers create new listings in Everything Else to get around these requirements. We’ve noticed similar “workarounds” for other gated or restricted categories as well.
Amazon doesn’t like this. It just makes the catalog more of a mess than it already is and ends up creating a worse customer experience.
Why did I get a notice from Amazon?
When you list an item, the assumption is that you’re listing against an existing ASIN in the correct category. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case.
It’s not your fault that another seller has created a poor listing. However, it is your responsibility to make sure that you’re not breaking any Amazon rules. As Amazon tries to clean up its catalog, it sends notices to sellers about a variety of issues, including listing in Everything Else. According to the most recent messages being sent, these items are being delisted and sellers are encouraged to relist in the correct category.
This is one one of the many ways that Sellery can help. I like to create a smart list called “Everything Else.” Then I set Product Group to “Single Detail Page Misc.” I know that’s a little weird, but it’s the way Amazon shows the Everything Else category to Sellery.
Now periodically, you can check your inventory to see if any items are in that Smart List. If you find an item that’s listed incorrectly, delist the item and contact Amazon Seller Support and have them investigate.
It’s better to be proactive about identifying possible issues with your listings than to assume everything is fine and let Amazon find out on their own.