ACES/PIES Compliance Checklist

Checklist for eBay, Amazon & Walmart (Aftermarket)

If you’re trying to scale an aftermarket catalog, ACES/PIES compliance isn’t “nice to have.”

It’s the difference between:

• a catalog that scales cleanly across channels, and

• a catalog that turns into weekly fire drills: rejected feeds, wrong fitment, missing item specifics, and “doesn’t fit” returns.

Most sellers don’t fail because they don’t have data.

They fail because they don’t have repeatable structure:

• a reliable source of truth

• validation rules that prevent bad data from publishing

• and a channel mapping layer that doesn’t corrupt the master catalog

This post is a practitioner checklist you can use internally-whether you’re a manufacturer, brand, or marketplace seller.

What are the best practices for ensuring ACES/PIES compliance in product listings?

Best practice is simple: ACES/PIES is your source-of-truth output, and every channel gets a mapped version of it-not a custom, one-off catalog.

Here’s what that looks like in real life:

1) Maintain one master source of truth

Pick one system to be the master (PIM, ERP, catalog database-whatever you run). That’s where you control:

• Part numbers / brand rules

• Attribute completeness

• Fitment logic and qualifiers

• Supersessions and interchange fields

• Image standards and naming conventions

If you let each channel become its own “truth,” you’ll never be compliant-or consistent.

2) Use part-family templates (not SKU-by-SKU rules)

Compliance scales by part type templates:

• Mirrors template

• Hub template

• Radiator template

• Sensor template

Each template defines:

• required PIES attributes

• acceptable values / formatting rules

• title logic

• position/side rules

• required imagery types (main, connector close-up, mounting points, etc.)

This is how you scale from 500 SKUs to 50,000 without losing control.

3) Enforce option control (ACES qualifiers) before publishing

Year/Make/Model is rarely the problem.

The problem is missing qualifiers:

• engine variant (turbo/hybrid/VIN code)

• drivetrain

• transmission

• trim/package dependencies

• body/cab/bed/wheelbase

• brake system variations

If you don’t enforce these checks, you can be “technically compatible” and still be practically wrong.

4) Validate the file-every time

Before anything goes out the door, run validation:

• required fields present

• allowed values only

• invalid combinations flagged

• position/side and kit quantity conflicts caught

• duplicates detected (same SKU + same vehicle + conflicting notes)

Compliance isn’t a one-time project. It’s a gate.

5) Keep channels separate from the master catalog

Your master catalog should not be polluted by:

• marketplace-specific naming quirks

• channel-required abbreviations

• one-off title hacks

• category-specific item specifics that don’t map cleanly

Keep ACES/PIES clean. Map cleanly. Publish cleanly.

Source of truth vs channel display (the mistake that causes endless rework)

Even with perfect ACES/PIES, marketplaces can:

• strip qualifiers

• hide fitment notes

• compress compatibility logic

• prioritize different item specifics

• or display the wrong thing in the wrong place

So you need two layers:

1. Source correctness (ACES/PIES)

2. Channel survivability (how the data shows up and converts)

If you only do #1, you still get returns.
If you only do #2, you patch forever.

How do I optimize my e-commerce marketplace listings to increase sales in the automotive sector?

In automotive, optimization is mostly about buyer confidence.

More confidence = higher conversion.
Less confidence = “I’ll buy elsewhere” or “I’ll buy and return.”

Here’s the practical playbook:

1) Fitment accuracy is conversion strategy

“Doesn’t fit” returns don’t just cost you shipping.

They destroy:

• conversion (buyers lose trust)

• ratings

• marketplace performance metrics

• visibility over time

Fixing fitment is a sales lever.

2) Fill item specifics like your traffic depends on it (because it does)

Marketplaces use item specifics for:

• filters

• relevance

• category eligibility

• sometimes even suppression

High-impact specifics:

• Brand

• Part Type

• Position / Side

• Quantity

• OE / interchange references (where appropriate)

• Key attributes by part family (material, finish, bulb type, rotor size, etc.)

3) Use images that remove doubt

Your first image gets the click.

Your supporting images close the sale:

• connector close-up

• mounting points

• dimensions or reference markers

• “match this to your vehicle” angle

In automotive, images aren’t aesthetic. They’re risk-reduction.

4) Titles should be search-friendly and unambiguous

Titles that win:

• Part name + position/side

• Make/Model coverage (don’t stuff)

• Years

• Key identifier (OE/PartsLink/MPN) when it helps

Avoid fluff. Buyers want certainty.

5) Don’t let variants confuse the buyer

If the buyer can accidentally buy:

• the wrong side

• the wrong connector

• the wrong brake size

• the wrong bed length

…you will get returns.

Variants should feel impossible to mess up.

What strategies can help aftermarket manufacturers scale their product catalogs efficiently?

Scaling efficiently is about building systems that prevent chaos.

Here are the strategies that actually work:

1) Scale by templates + rules

Templates per part family define:

• required fields

• naming rules

• attribute lists

• validation rules

• image standards

• fitment qualifiers to enforce

That’s how you scale without multiplying errors.

2) Automate fitment generation-with guardrails

You can generate fitment at scale, but you must protect against:

• split-year changes

• trim/package dependencies

• region variants

• OE supersession pitfalls

Automation without guardrails just scales your return rate.

3) Run a weekly 80/20 exception report

Don’t audit everything.

Audit the SKUs that actually hurt:

• high return cost

• high “doesn’t fit” volume

• high defect contribution

• high traffic visibility

Fix those first. Always.

4) Keep a clean mapping layer for channels

Manufacturers fail when they try to “be Amazon-ready” inside the master catalog.

Better approach:

• keep source data clean

• map outputs by channel requirements

• maintain channel differences without corrupting the core

The 10-point ACES/PIES compliance checklist (printable)

If you want a simple checklist to operationalize this, here it is:

1. One source of truth (not 3 versions by channel)

2. Part-family templates with required attributes

3. Required-field gates (nothing publishes incomplete)

4. Allowed-value lists (no messy free-text drift)

5. Option control enforced (engine/trim/drivetrain/trans/body/brakes)

6. Position/side rules standardized

7. Split-year handling flagged and validated

8. Region controls if you sell cross-border

9. Interchange/OE checks to catch hidden variants

10. Post-publish monitoring loop tied to returns/defects

Print that, assign owners, and make it a weekly discipline.

Source → Validate → Publish → Monitor (the workflow that scales)

If your process doesn’t follow this loop, scale will break you.

Source: clean master data (ACES/PIES outputs)
Validate: automated checks + high-risk manual review
Publish: mapped channel outputs (without contaminating source)
Monitor: returns/defects/messages → exception report → fixes

This loop is how you prevent “catalog drift.”

Mini case study (anonymized)

A seller had strong sales on a high-volume part family.

Returns were stable… until they scaled coverage.

Then the “doesn’t fit” reason spiked.

The exception report revealed the pattern:

• same make/model/year

• but returns concentrated on specific trim/package + brake system variants

Fix was simple:

• enforce brake package and trim qualifiers in ACES (source)

• ensure the channel output preserved the qualifier in item specifics/notes

• monitor the same SKUs for a few weeks

Once the incorrect applications were removed, returns normalized and conversion improved because compatibility became trustworthy again.

That’s the theme:
Scale doesn’t create new problems. It amplifies the ones you already had.

Want help making your ACES/PIES outputs marketplace-ready?

If you want, I can run an ACES/PIES + marketplace mapping audit that includes:

• part-family template requirements

• validation gates

• option control checks

• channel field mapping (Amazon/eBay/Walmart)

• an exception report tied to returns and defects

• and a monitoring loop so improvements stick

If that’s what you need, contact me and send:

• the channels you sell on

• your top part families

• and your top “doesn’t fit” SKUs

I’ll tell you exactly where the biggest wins are.