Understanding the difference between an offer and a product

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

If a product already exists in the Amazon catalog but is not yet present in your seller account, you can create an offer linked to this existing product.

This process is called matching: your offer is then associated with an already listed Amazon product.

Synchronization on Amazon

If your offer is already present in your Amazon account, the module can synchronize it to automatically update your prices and stock levels.

Product creation

This feature allows you to create new product listings that do not yet exist in the Amazon catalog (without an ASIN).

It is optional and intended only for sellers offering products that are not yet listed.

It requires a solid understanding of your catalog and the specific marketplace rules.

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: 04/09/2025