Amazon error 8016

Error 8016 means the variation data in your file is incomplete. A variation family has one parent row and a set of child rows. The parent row states the variation theme, the attribute the children differ by, such as color or size. Each child row has to name its parent, carry the same theme, and carry its own value for the theme attribute. A row where one of those pieces is missing or disagrees with the rest of the family returns error 8016.

What the processing report tells you

The processing report gives five entries for each failed row: the record number, the SKU, the error code, the type, and a message. Record 1 is row 3 of your file, so the row for a record sits at the record number plus two. For error 8016, the message names the SKU of the failed row. It does not name the column that is wrong. The report therefore tells you which row failed, and the check of the family around that row is left to you. The error is reported per row, so a family with several incomplete children returns several 8016 errors.

What this error means

A family is held together by values repeated across its rows. The variation theme column states the theme on the parent row and repeats it on every child row. The parentage column marks which row is the parent and which rows are children. Each child row names the parent SKU in the parent SKU column, and the theme attribute columns, such as color and size, carry each child's own value. Amazon reads the family as a set. A child row with an empty theme cell, an empty parent SKU cell, or an empty color cell while its siblings carry a color does not join the set, and that row returns 8016.

Causes, in the order to check them

1. The parent row has no variation theme.
2. A child row has no variation theme, or its theme differs from the theme on the parent row.
3. A child row does not name its parent SKU.
4. A theme attribute, such as the color or the size, is missing on some child rows while the rest of the family carries it.

How to fix it yourself

1. Find the SKU from the report in the SKU column of your file. The record number gives the row: add two to the record number.
2. Collect every row of that family: the parent row and each child row that names it as the parent.
3. Read the variation theme on the parent row. If the cell is empty, enter the theme that matches the attribute your children differ by.
4. Copy the theme from the parent row into the theme cell of every child row, exactly as it stands on the parent row.
5. Read the parent SKU cell on each child row. Enter the parent SKU in every child row where the cell is empty.
6. Compare the theme attribute columns across the child rows. Where a child's own color or size is missing, fill it from your product records. Each child carries its own value for these columns, so a sibling row cannot supply it.
7. Save the file in the same tab-delimited form as the original and upload it again.

When the file cannot fix it

A submission can carry errors that sit outside the file. A missing brand registration or approval returns error 5665. A missing permission to list in the category returns error 8026. Editing the file does not repair either one. The diagnosis lists those errors separately, with the reason and the step to take in Seller Central, and we do not call them fixed.

Check your file

The free diagnosis reads your failed file and the processing report Amazon returned. It shows every error by SKU, states which errors we fix automatically, which ones need your answer, and which ones the file cannot fix. You see the full breakdown before you pay anything. You can start from the FixFlatFile home page.

Requirements differ by category, and Amazon decides whether a file is accepted.