Overview

Starting September 12 2022, Amazon will accept only the ABIS_BOOK product type for every book‑related SKU. The seven older book categories—BOOKS_1973_AND_LATER, BOOK, BOOKS_PRE_1973, COMIC_BOOK, SPARK_BOOKS, BLANK_BOOK, and COLORING_BOOK—will be retired, and any listing that remains in a legacy type after the cut‑off will be automatically unpublished, directly affecting visibility and sales.

Key Points

• Only ABIS_BOOK allowed — From the September deadline onward, the marketplace will reject any new or existing listing that uses a legacy book type, forcing sellers to migrate every book SKU to ABIS_BOOK.
• Seven legacy types eliminated — The categories being removed include both broad and niche classifications such as COMIC_BOOK for graphic novels and COLORING_BOOK for activity books.
• Automatic unpublishing — Listings still tied to a deprecated type will be silently taken down once the system switches, removing the product from search results and detail pages.
• Attribute gaps to fill — ABIS_BOOK requires fields that were optional or nonexistent in the old templates, for example “Edition Number,” “Illustrator,” or “Language Code.”
• Grace period ends September 12 — Amazon gives sellers a window to edit their catalogs, but any changes made after the deadline will not prevent deactivation.
• Potential impact on promotions — Products that fail to meet the new attribute set will be ineligible for advertising tools, Lightning Deals, and other promotional programs that rely on complete metadata.

How the Transition Works

1. Run a legacy‑type report — Export an inventory report filtered for the seven retiring product types; a seller with 200 titles labeled COMIC_BOOK can download a CSV that lists each SKU, title, and current attribute values.
2. Replace the product type — Open the Seller Central bulk editor, select each affected SKU, change the product type field from its legacy value to ABIS_BOOK, and save; a paperback previously under BOOKS_1973_AND_LATER will now appear under ABIS_BOOK while retaining its ISBN‑13.