Understanding the difference between an offer and a product

Difference Between Product and Offer on Marketplaces

To better understand how marketplaces like Amazon work, let’s take a simple example:

Imagine you're looking at a store window. A T-shirt catches your eye.

You enter the store, head to the relevant section, and find the T-shirt available in various sizes, colors, and prices.

These different options are what we call offers.

Product vs Offer

On marketplaces, the principle is similar:

• The product refers to the main listing: images, description, features.
• The offer refers to the selling terms: price, quantity, condition (new or used), reference.

Marketplaces handle these two elements separately:

• Products make up the general catalog.
• Offers are the commercial proposals made by sellers for those products.

Matching on Amazon

On Amazon, if a product already exists, you can create an offer linked to that product.

This process is called matching: your offer is connected to an existing product listing.

On PrestaShop

In PrestaShop, there is no technical distinction between a product and an offer.

We generally refer to everything as a product, which can be confusing when working with external marketplaces.

Understanding this difference is essential to correctly set up your synchronization.

Updated on: 18/06/2025