guide · fixing imports
Shopify CSV import errors, and how to fix each one
Shopify's product importer is strict: one wrong header, a curly quote or stock written as a word and the whole file fails. Here is what each common error means and the quickest fix, with the cases supplier price lists cause most often.
Starting from a supplier's Excel or CSV? The free tool writes Shopify's exact headers, plain numbers and unique variants, and flags duplicates before you import.
Open the free tool“Validation failed: options are not unique”
Cause: Two variants of one product have the same option values, or the same product appears twice.
Fix: Give every variant a unique combination (for example Color and Size), and remove duplicate product rows. Supplier files often repeat a SKU for a clearance line.
“Validation failed: price can't be blank”
Cause: A row has no price.
Fix: Fill the Price column. With supplier files this usually means the retail price column was empty for some rows; calculate those from cost and your markup.
“Inventory quantity is not a number”
Cause: Stock contains text such as "in stock", "5+" or ">10".
Fix: Turn every stock value into a whole number. Decide what "in stock" without a number should count as.
“Inventory quantity can't be blank”
Cause: Inventory tracking is on but the quantity cell is empty.
Fix: Enter a number, or leave the inventory tracker column blank for that variant.
“Inventory policy is not included in the list”
Cause: The "continue selling when out of stock" value is not recognised.
Fix: Use only deny or continue.
“Invalid CSV header: missing headers”
Cause: The header row does not match Shopify's template.
Fix: Use Shopify's exact column names. Supplier headers like "Art.-Nr." or "UVP" have to be renamed first.
“Illegal quoting on line / Missing or stray quote on line”
Cause: Curly quotes or a stray quote mark, often from Excel or product names with inch marks.
Fix: Replace curly quotes with straight ones, and save as CSV UTF-8.
“Random characters in product names”
Cause: The file was not saved as UTF-8, so accents like é or ü break.
Fix: Save as "CSV UTF-8" in Excel, or export from Google Sheets.
“Ignored line because it did not contain product data”
Cause: A row has a handle but no title.
Fix: Add the product title. On variant rows the title can stay empty, but the first row of each product needs it.
“Ignored line because handle already exists”
Cause: Two different products share one URL handle.
Fix: Make every product's handle unique, or tick "Overwrite products with matching handles" if you meant to update.
“Fulfillment service can't be blank”
Cause: The fulfillment service column is empty.
Fix: Use manual unless you work with a fulfillment service.
“Validation failed: An error occurred while trying to download the image”
Cause: An image URL points to a file that does not exist or is not public.
Fix: Check the link opens in a private browser window.
“Not a valid product category”
Cause: The category does not match Shopify's product taxonomy.
Fix: Use the exact category path or ID from Shopify's Standard Product Taxonomy, or leave it empty.
Avoiding these errors with supplier files
Most of these come from the same source: a supplier’s price list is not in Shopify’s format. Headers are named differently, prices use a comma for decimals (12,50), stock is written as text, sizes sit on separate rows and the same SKU appears twice. Fixing that before the import, rather than after an error, is what the converter on this site is for.
Starting from a supplier's Excel or CSV? The free tool writes Shopify's exact headers, plain numbers and unique variants, and flags duplicates before you import.
Open the free tool