Overview

Error 90173 is a feed processing error that Amazon sellers encounter when attempting to update a listing with a date value that precedes a previously submitted date. This validation rule prevents sellers from backdating certain date-based attributes on their product listings, and understanding how to resolve it can save significant time when managing catalog updates.

Key Points / What Sellers Need to Know

• Date attributes cannot be backdated — Once a date-based attribute has been set on a listing, Amazon does not allow you to change it to an earlier date. The system enforces forward-only date progression.
• The error is attribute-specific — The error message will identify exactly which attribute triggered the issue, shown as the {attribute_name} placeholder in the error output.
• Common affected attributes — Date fields such as launch date, release date, item package quantity date, and other time-sensitive listing attributes are subject to this validation rule.
• Feed submissions are rejected at the item level — When this error occurs, only the specific item with the offending date change is rejected. Other items in the same feed submission should process normally.
• The rule applies across all submission methods — Whether you update listings through flat files, XML feeds, Seller Central's interface, or the SP-API, the same date validation logic applies.

How This Error Occurs

Sellers typically encounter Error 90173 when they attempt to modify a date-based attribute on an existing listing and provide a date that falls before the value currently stored in Amazon's catalog. For example, if a product's release date is currently set to March 15, 2025, and a seller submits an update changing that date to January 10, 2025, Amazon's system will reject the change and return Error 90173. This is a deliberate safeguard designed to maintain data integrity and prevent manipulation of time-sensitive listing attributes. The error can also surface when sellers are working with bulk uploads and inadvertently include outdated date values from older spreadsheet versions.

How to Resolve Error 90173