GMC how to remove GTIN from feed by using rules

[Kimsu]

I have tried to get my products to GMC, I think that the issue is now with the GTIN field.

1) We don't have GTIN codes. But we still have barcodes for POS, so we can't leave the field blank.

2) We have added brand name and MPN etc. for feed. Approx 10% of our products are accepted and shown in GMC. No feed errors

3) I think the issue is that the GTIN field is not blank. So I have added some rules to make GTIN blank (see the screenshot), but still, I'm not getting the products to GMC.

Any ideas on how to get this work? Or other ideas to fix the feed to work properly?

[EmmanuelFlossie]

In your google merchant center feed rules, do not use set to, instead use modification option clear.

Also makes sure you clear the brand value.

And mpn value.

The below is what I recommend and additional information:

When submitting product identifiers, the following should be applied.

If a manufacturer has assigned a bar code, then submit brand, MPN (if available), GTIN, and set identifier exists to yes.

If the manufacturer has not assigned a bar code, then remove the values brand, MPN, GTIN, and set identifier exists to no.

While the official documentation does mention, you can submit brand + MPN and ignore GTIN. However, in most cases, this will cause issues and generate warnings such as limited performance due to missing identifiers.

And as of June 2021, specific categories and or countries require barcodes to be submitted, regardless if you have any. So, in this case, you need to get official GS1 barcodes.

Reference: https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6098295

A secondary reason for issues is that most merchants tend to use SKU as the MPN values, which is incorrect.

SKU stands for “stock keeping unit” and — as the name suggests — it is a number (usually eight alphanumeric digits) that retailers assign to products to keep track of stock levels internally.

An MPN, or manufacturer part number, is a manufacturer-assigned, unique, alphanumeric value used to identify a product among other products from the same manufacturer.

More info:

• https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6324351
• https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6324461
• https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6324482
• https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6324478

[Kimsu]

Our manufacturers don't offer any kind of code or article numbers nor any other product information. Pretty much all of the products are handmade in small Chines factories and sometimes customized to our needs. So we have come up with our own coding so we can track the products. Because we sell everything on our own channels there is no point to pay for GTIN codes.

I have talked with Shopify and GMC support and both have emphasized that brand value and MPN are necessary for our product group. @EmmanuelFlossie as you told I change the "set to" to "modification" - no luck, I also added rules to brand and MPN modification clear - no luck either...

 

[EmmanuelFlossie]

Please note that as of 23rd of October, Google can not re-process data, they are fixing the issue.

So you will need to wait until this is resolved.

As for your rules, these are correct, simply wait until Google is resolving the issues.

[Kimsu]

That's nice. Thanks @EmmanuelFlossie  Any idea where to follow this issue? Just to know when it's fixed... 

[EmmanuelFlossie]

This is already resolved on the 27th 

If your rules still don't apply, then most likely there is an issue with your rules, or you did not apply it yet.

[Kimsu]

Thanks, I will keep working with this...

[Kimsu]

Just exported the products from GMC and there is no MPN, no brand nor GTIN columns at all and the idenfitier_exists attribute is set to value "no". So it seems that the rules are working...