Amazon Updated Product Bundling Policy

Amazon has updated their Product Bundling policy! Starting on October 14, 2024, the policy will be in effect. It pertains to “consumables” products in several categories, including health and beauty, baby products, grocery, and pet products. The reason behind the Amazon policy update? To make sure customers are granted the ability to purchase top quality bundle selections! 

How does the updated Amazon Product Bundling policy affect sellers? Going forward, Amazon sellers will only be able to list bundles that are “created and offered by the original manufacturer.” And, the original manufacturer has to be the “brand owner” for the products contained in the bundle itself. Does this mean you can’t mix different branded products in one bundle? Yes, that’s accurate! Furthermore, sellers are now not permitted to list a bundle under the heading of generic or under the seller’s brand either. 

What Does the Update to the Bundling Policy Mean?

Let’s put that in practical terms. To clarify, in the past Amazon sellers could bundle items from different brands together. As an example, previously you could bundle a product like Clorox cleaner with a private label item, like Ricky Sloan’s microfiber cloth (a fictitious item used here to illustrate the point). Prior to this latest policy update, these two products would’ve been allowed to be bundled together, in a way allowing sellers to offer Clorox on their own ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number). Post the Amazon Product Bundling policy update, sellers who wish to sell a product like Clorox will have to join Clorox’s original listing. Two or more products manufactured by different brands can’t be offered as a bundle. 

In order to adhere to the rules of the updated Product Bundling policy, sellers must only create bundle listings using products made by one manufacturer. Now, the updated policy won’t be enforced by Amazon on any existing bundles until the end of this year. Also, Amazon will notify sellers via email and their Account Health dashboard with 30 days’ notice after they determine any “non-compliant bundles that are scheduled to be suppressed.” So you’ll have a reasonable amount of time to ensure your account and bundles are in compliance with the updated policy.

The Outcome of the Bundling Policy Update is Uncertain

Amazon’s update to the bundling policy will make selling products on the platform more strict. Based on this information, the long term outcome of the update is somewhat uncertain. As of right now, the big question for sellers is, “What will happen to the many bundling ASINs that sellers have already invested countless hours and money into?” 

The new Product Bundling policy will bring a few changes to how sellers can offer bundles. 

• Manufacturer Ownership
  • The original manufacturer is the only entity that has the right to create and list a given bundle.
    
• Brand Ownership
  • That same original manufacturer has to be the brand owner for every item contained in the bundle.
    
• Mixing Products
  • Goods manufactured by different brands aren’t permitted to be mixed into a bundle.
    
• Generic branding
  • You simply can’t list a bundle under your own brand or a generic brand.
    
• Non-compliant bundles
  • As mentioned, Amazon will give sellers 30 days’ notice prior to the enforcement of the updated policy on their existing bundles. 

Following Updated Bundling Policy Guidelines

There are several other guidelines that sellers will need to follow since the updated Product Bundling policy has gone into effect. A bundle needs to have its own manufacturer part number or standard product identifier. The branding of the bundle will be based on the most expensive item within the bundle. If you’re selling a multi-pack of anything, that should be listed as one single product, rather than a bundle. For pricing, the price of the bundle is required to be the same or less than the total cost of all the items in the bundle. And, if you have “variations of a parent product” in the bundle, they ought to be listed “as a variation within the parent product’s family.” 

Amazon’s Product Bundling Policy Isn’t Crystal Clear

The update to the Amazon Product Bundling policy is perhaps not as clear as we would all like it to be. Several aspects of the updated policy are riddle-like, apparently contradictory, outright confusing, or even murky. Due to the newness of the update, there’s likely going to be some unknowns and a whole lot of frustration. You can see on this Amazon Discussion page that many sellers are already flustered or outraged by this policy update. And in many instances, for good reason! Apparently, there are a substantial number of sellers who were deactivated on Amazon. For what? Violations related to product bundling before the update. Those who’ve experienced this pre Oct 14, 2024 claim that they didn’t receive any sort of grace period. Such as the 30-day warning now promised for non-compliance. Overall, and needless to say, there’s going to be a period of adjustment for Amazon sellers. 

If you’re experiencing issues selling on Amazon due to the Bundling Policy as it existed or since the update, our attorneys want to hear from you! Contact our team today for a free initial consultation.