How to Troubleshoot Stock Inconsistencies in Your Store

If you notice that the stock displayed on your store does not match your product feed or updates behave unexpectedly, several factors may cause these inconsistencies. Below are the most common reasons and how to resolve them.

1. Verify Product Identifiers Match

Stock Sync updates products only when the identifiers in your feed match the identifiers in your store. If there is no match, items will show “0 match” or fail to update.

Common causes:

• SKU or barcode formats differ between feed and store
• Extra characters, different formatting, or missing values
• Identifiers placed in the wrong column

What to do:

• Compare a few SKUs or barcodes from Shopify with the feed file
• Confirm mapping is correct (e.g. Vendor SKU, SKU, Barcode)

2. Check Filters That May Exclude Products

Incorrect filter settings can unintentionally block products from updating.

Examples from real cases:

• Vendor filters missing the correct vendor
• “Only include variants where Available Quantity > 0” enabled, which hides out‑of‑stock items
• Incoming feed filter range excluding valid values (e.g. Between 1–1000 when value is 1)

What to do:

• Review all filters in the feed
• Ensure values in the feed fall within the filter range
• Remove or adjust filters that exclude your intended items

3. Review Field Mapping for Variants and Options

Incorrect mapping of variant options or attributes can cause mismatched variant titles, sizes, or colors.

What to do:

• Verify that Option Name fields (e.g. Color, Size) are mapped correctly
• Update Smart Settings to match your feed structure

4. Check Feed Structure or Formatting Issues

Some feeds use special structures or unusual formatting that prevent proper parsing.

Examples:

• XML files with unique keys (item_0, item_1, etc.)
• Misaligned CSV columns
• Incorrect file encoding

What to do:

• Ensure the feed uses consistent column names
• Adjust parsing method (e.g. column index mode)
• Ask support to help apply custom parsing if the structure cannot be changed

5. Image URLs or Other Fields Causing Errors

Invalid characters in image URLs or mismatched prefix + filename fields can prevent products from being updated correctly.

What to do:

• Check if image URLs contain characters that may be cleaned automatically
• Map the correct image field (e.g. map to Product Images instead of Product Images Location)
• Adjust image settings such as url_unescape

6. Check Shopify Location Settings

If only certain locations should be updated (e.g. a specific warehouse), verify that Stock Sync is updating the correct inventory location.

What to do:

• Confirm which Shopify location is selected in the feed settings
• Ensure products exist in that location

7. Only Test Products Have Been Updated

Sometimes inconsistencies arise because only a limited test run was performed.

What to do:

• Confirm whether the feed was run with test products only
• Check if additional credits are required to perform full syncs

8. Stock Returning to Store After Being Out of Stock

If restocked items do not reappear:

• Filters may exclude items with quantity 0
• Vendor or category filters may block them

What to do:

• Disable filters requiring quantity > 0
• Ensure vendor/category identifiers are included

If the issue persists

Provide support with:

• Feed name
• Sample SKUs with expected stock levels
• Screenshot of mapping and filters

This information allows quick identification of mismatches or settings that prevent updates.

Updated on: 28/05/2026