Problem with "you need to add a GTIN or MPN"

[ukseller44]

Hi everyone,

I have listed all of my products and will promote them with google ads. However they don't get approved by google. It says "you need to add a GTIN or MPN"

I have listed them as "Custom item" so it shouldn't ask for GTIN or MPN however it keeps asking it.

Do you know why this is happening? Any recommendations? 

Thanks in advance

[Moira]

My pleasure @charmplug, don't hesitate to reach back out if you require any further assistance as you continue to work on your store. 

All the best,

[jessica0318]

Why does such a problem occur?

[Moira]

Hey @jessica0318,

I understand how this can be frustrating! Google has to review the product and determine whether they've seen the product before, or if it's a product that they haven't seen yet. This can take time and sometimes will require you to provide additional information. Are you having trouble with a particular product?  

[Ronald321]

I had this issue as we manufacture items that do not have a UPC code or anything, just our MPN. To fix this we marked the product as a custom product in the "edit Google fields" on the product page, and added our MPN. Also, in Google Merchant Center we added a feed rule to our Content API where the MPN would be entered for each product variant based on its id. This was the only way we could figure to get variants to have different MPNs.

[sampymishra]

Hi @ukseller44 

Google needs GTIN and MPN to understand and serve your product better. I can see that you sell custom products, so it is unlikely to have GTIN. You can use our app to automatically send a null value as GTIN to the Google merchant center that will not cause an error in the feed. It will show a warning of missing GTIN, but that would not cause disapproval of feed.

You can check the Easy Google Shopping Feed app by AdNAbu, which manages your merchant center feed and other advanced features such as Multilanguage, Multicurrency, and Metafields. 

You can also get in touch with our experts and request a demo. 

Hope this helps.

[donnamac]

@Ronald321 

Did you populate the MPN only if it's a Custom Product or do you always populate the MPN with the id? 

We are getting gtin errors on 'custom products' when it supposedly bypasses the gtin check.  But it is not consistent. 

I am hoping that if we put in this code, it will not get these errors.

Could you please let me know how the rule is set up? 

Is it just setting the MPN equal to the ID?

We have so many google feed errors that have valid gtin's but getting these errors.  It is keeping these products from our ads and is really hurting us.

Thx in advance!  

[Ronald321]

In order for our products to work we had to mark all as a custom product since we don't have a GTIN. We had to add the feed rule in Google Merchant Center for only those products which had variants.

Here is a picture of how product variant looked like in the feed.  The ID is the shopify product variant ID and the set to is what the MPN is.

Hopefully this will help you out a little bit.

[JHP_photo]

Hi @Moira ,

That's very useful information, thank you. I still have some tweaking to do to get everything properly accepted by Google and the Shopify Google App.

I have a question though. Google Shopping shows my product photo's weirdly cropped. In Shopify I add product photo's mostly without padding. So when a photo has a 3x4 ratio, I upload it without squaring it out.
Is there a way to make sure Google doesn't crop everything to a weird size? (photo)

[ComfySlippers]

Hi, I am having the same issue. how does this work with Dropshipping from aliexpress while using Dsers? Doesn't Aliexpress have GTIN/MPNs for the products already? wouldn't they automatically get pushed to my shopify store when I push the product through?

[Moira]

Hey @ComfySlippers,

If a product has an MPN or GTIN, it's best practice to enter their value as the relevancy will help campaign performance. However, if a product doesn't have either of these codes, then you can set the identifier_exists field to false, which will allow those fields to not exist, letting the products get approved.

[ComfySlippers]

Hi that really didn't answer my question. I am doing dropshipping with AliExpress.

Question:

- How do I know if the AliExpress product has GTIN or a MPN and how do I get it from the AliExpress product page?

Can I just make one up or does it have to match what AliExpress has?

[Moira]

@ComfySlippers 

GTINs need to be obtained by either the manufacturer directly or purchased by you. Although in my experience, this information cannot be collected from AliExpress. 

If you need them to sell on Amazon or Google Shopping that is something you will need to purchase separately. You can purchase those codes here.

Alternatively, to get an exception from the GTIN and MPN requirements for your products, set the identifier_exists field to false, as mentioned above.

[ComfySlippers]

oh ok I got ya. I will have to purchase then. so one GTIN will work for all variants of the same product correct?

[Moira]

@ComfySlippers Each product variant should have its own GTIN. For instance, if you are selling a shirt that comes in black and white, you must provide each variant with a unique GTIN.

You can read more via the Google GTIN help doc here.

[Soultreebeading]

Hello,

I had the same question , but everything on my store is handmade by me no one else. How do I get my products seen 

[Moira]

@Soultreebeading,

Google requires product identifiers such as Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs) or Manufacturer Part Numbers (MPNs) for all products that are advertised through their platform, including handmade products. This helps Google to identify and match your products with the appropriate product information in its database. If your products are truly unique and don't have a GTIN or MPN, you can try applying for an exception by filling out this form.

If your request is approved, you can then advertise your handmade products on Google without having to provide a GTIN or MPN.

[Soultreebeading]

Hello the link you sent me was invalid. Yes my products are truly unique I handmade everything. Waistbeads are everywhere ,but the waistbeads I make is unique and different. Should I use other waistbeads gtin. Where do I get that number. Please help I been going through this for a year.

[donnamac]

Hi Ukseller44

I'm sure you may have already, but Etsy is the perfect place for handmade, home based businesses. It gets tons of traffic and if your product is liked...it will take off. But if your taking it to the next step, then more power to you!.... I believe gtin's are pretty much just affordable for big businesses. You may want to wait until you make it big.
 

I suggest contacting Emmanuel Flossie (he creates many help videos on YouTube).  Not sure of his rate, but it would probably be something that he can address in minutes. 
He suggested watching this video (which I have done and it has helped a lot…not 100% but MUCH better).  It can be confusing if you aren’t technical, but it’s pretty easy
if you follow it exactly.  This is the video he points us to: 
 

       If your products are custom, you may try : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyvilyMb2Bo

 
You can listen to it or I would suggest just go to his FeedArmy site and schedule an appointment. I have not done this yet but when I do, it will be him I contact.  It will be worth it! 

I have no idea of his costs though. 

I know just how frustrating Shopify is and integrating them with another platform is a nightmare.  Save yourself…and talk to him. He explains things very clearly and seems to be
very knowledgeable. 

Keep us posted!

Good Luck!

[Soultreebeading]

Thank you for this info I had a etsy store but with all the fees I sold a product foe $65 and only got $25 back this is why I decided to make a shopify store.

[donnamac]

I get it.  It's a game of finding the lesser of all the evil fees out there and it's always changing.

Good luck!