Short answer. Merchant Center reports “Same GTIN but differing value [brand]” when products in your feed carry the same GTIN with different brand values; a barcode identifies one product from one manufacturer, so the pair cannot both be right. Correct the brand to the one the GTIN belongs to, or fix the GTIN on the row that is reusing it.
| Shown in Merchant Center as | Same GTIN but differing value [brand] |
|---|---|
| Attribute | brand |
| Effect | Product disapproved |
| Where to find it | Products → Needs attention, then filter by this issue |
| Free check | Not something a feed file shows; see below for what the check can tell you instead |
What Merchant Center means by “Same GTIN but differing value [brand]”
A GTIN identifies exactly one product from one manufacturer, so two rows with the same GTIN must agree on the brand. When they do not, the Content API’s product issues list reports item_group_by_gtin_with_conflicting_attributes, “Same GTIN but differing value [brand]”, with the fix “submit the same value for all products with the same GTIN or update the GTIN”. Google’s identifier overview explains why the pair matters: brand and GTIN together are how a product is matched to the catalogue.
One of the two rows is wrong, and Google cannot tell which. Until the conflict is resolved the affected products cannot be matched reliably and are reported as disapproved.
Why it happens
- A barcode copied down a column in a supplier sheet, so several products share one.
- A variant given its sibling’s GTIN because only one was to hand.
- Two spellings of one brand: “Nike” on one row, “NIKE” or “Nike Inc.” on another.
- A placeholder GTIN reused across unrelated products, each with its real brand.
- Bundles and packs sharing the single unit’s barcode.
How to fix it
In Shopify
Filter Needs attention to this issue and download the list; the ids come in pairs or groups. For each group, open the variants, read the barcode off the packaging and correct the wrong one in Barcode, and make Vendor identical on all rows that genuinely share a GTIN. A bulk edit with Barcode and Vendor columns handles a long list.
In WooCommerce
Same procedure in the GTIN, UPC, EAN or ISBN field per variation and the brand term per product. Where a brand exists under two spellings in Products → Brands, merge the terms so one spelling remains; our plugin sends the term name as written.
In a CSV or XML feed
Sort or pivot the file by gtin, find every GTIN that appears with more than one distinct brand, and for each decide whether the GTIN is wrong on one row (correct it or empty it) or the brand is spelt two ways (unify). Then re-fetch. A brand column with a controlled list of spellings prevents the second cause permanently.
How long until Merchant Center clears it
The conflict clears on the next fetch in which every row of a GTIN carries one brand; allow 24–72 hours for the Needs attention page. Rows whose GTIN you emptied fall back to the limited-performance warning for a missing identifier, which is the honest state until the right barcode is found.
What FeedRobin does about it
The free feed check validates each GTIN’s format but does not yet compare brands across rows sharing a GTIN, and the report does not claim to. It does report duplicate ids and invalid GTINs, which are the two defects most often found next to this one. We never rewrite a brand or a GTIN: which row is right is a fact about your catalogue, not about the file.
Questions merchants ask
The two products really are different. Why do they share a GTIN?
Because one of the barcodes is wrong: a supplier sheet copied down a column, a variant given its sibling’s code, or a placeholder reused. Each product and each variant has its own GTIN; find the one that was copied.
Does the brand have to be spelt exactly the same on both rows?
Yes. “Nike” and “NIKE” or “Nike Inc.” read as different values. Use one spelling for a brand across the catalogue, ideally the one on the packaging.
Can this come from a different merchant’s data?
The item-level issue is about rows in your own account. Conflicts with other merchants’ data show up differently, as Google matching your product to a catalogue entry you did not expect.
Sources
- Product issues (Content API for Shopping): the issue codes and the titles Merchant Center shows — Google Merchant Center Help
- GTIN [gtin] — Google Merchant Center Help
- Brand [brand] — Google Merchant Center Help
- About unique product identifiers — Google Merchant Center Help