Overview

Sellers encounter error 90004205 when Amazon’s system rejects a product attribute because the supplied value does not match the predefined options for that field. The issue can appear during a new listing creation or an update, and it stops the SKU from becoming searchable. Fixing the error quickly is essential to keep inventory flowing and avoid lost sales.

Key Points

• Pre‑approved attribute lists — Amazon stores a master list of acceptable entries for each attribute (size, material, color, etc.); entering “large” where the system only recognizes “XL” will trigger the error.
• Cross‑attribute conflicts — Even if each individual entry appears valid, a mismatch between related fields—such as selecting “100 % cotton” in the material field while also marking the fabric type as “polyester blend”—will cause validation to fail.
• Category‑specific rules — Every product category (e.g., Home & Kitchen, Apparel, Electronics) has its own style guide; a value permissible in Apparel may be rejected in Toys, so sellers must consult the correct guide for each SKU.
• Dropdown vs. manual entry — Values chosen from Amazon’s built‑in dropdown menus are automatically validated, whereas typing or pasting text often introduces hidden characters or spelling variations that the system treats as invalid.
• Feed‑file formatting — When uploading bulk files, the column header and cell content must exactly match Amazon’s expected format (including case sensitivity and no extra spaces); a stray space after “Red” can be enough to generate error 90004205.
• Impact on bulk operations — A single mis‑typed attribute in a large feed can halt the processing of thousands of SKUs, because Amazon stops the entire batch until the offending line is corrected.

How to Resolve Error 90004205

1. Consult the category style guide — Open the Amazon style guide for the product’s category and locate the section that lists valid values for the problematic attribute; for a men’s t‑shirt, the guide may show size options as “XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL” only.