Overview

Sellers uploading product listings in bulk may encounter Amazon’s feed processing error 99073 when the same SKU or external product identifier appears more than once in a single upload file. The error stops the affected rows from being processed, forcing a manual clean‑up before the feed can be accepted. Resolving the issue quickly is essential to keep catalog updates on schedule, especially during high‑volume periods.

Key Points

• Automatic duplicate scan — Amazon’s feed engine reviews every row for repeated SKUs or external IDs, and a single duplicate blocks the entire batch of affected rows.
• Two identifier fields checked — Both the item_sku column and the external_product_id column (UPC, EAN, GTIN, etc.) are validated for uniqueness.
• All bulk formats covered — The rule applies equally to flat‑file spreadsheets and XML feeds submitted through Seller Central.
• Only within‑file repeats matter — The error is triggered by duplicates inside the uploaded file, not by conflicts with existing catalog entries.
• Immediate processing halt — Once a duplicate is found, Amazon rejects the offending rows and returns error 99073 in the feed processing report.

How Error 99073 Works

1. File ingestion — When a seller submits a bulk feed, Amazon parses each line (or XML node) sequentially. Example: Row 2 contains SKU “ABC123”, row 57 also contains “ABC123”.
2. Identifier validation — The system checks the item_sku and external_product_id values against a temporary list built from the current upload. Example: The same UPC “012345678905” appears in rows 10 and 45, triggering a duplicate flag.
3. Error flagging — Upon detecting a repeat, Amazon tags the corresponding rows with error 99073 and excludes them from further processing. Example: The feed report lists “Error 99073 – Duplicate SKU” for rows 2 and 57.
4. — After the entire file is scanned, Amazon returns a processing summary that includes the duplicate‑related error messages, allowing the seller to locate the problematic rows.