ShipStation automatically creates product records when orders import from your selling channels and contain a product that does not yet have a record in ShipStation.
All automatically created products will include the name and SKU as sent from the selling channel. By default, ShipStation uses the product SKU as the unique identifier for each product record, unless you change this in your store settings.
There are two other ways to add products to ShipStation:
Before importing your products, determine if you need them to be uniquely identified by SKU or by Name (we recommend by SKU, which is the ShipStation default setting).
If you wish to identify products by Name instead, do the following:
Go to
Settings > Selling Channels > Store Setup.Click Edit for the store whose products you are working with.
Go to the Products tab.
-
Select Product / Listing Name under Products for this store are uniquely identified by this.
Click Save Changes.
This setting affects how ShipStation recognizes new products and applies product defaults to orders. When changing this option, the change will affect products importing in the future, and will not retroactively affect already imported products.
Add products individually to ShipStation with the following steps:
-
Click New Product.
-
Enter the Product Name and SKU.
SKU Cannot Be Edited!
The SKU cannot be edited after saving. However, all other options in the product record can be adjusted after saving.
-
Fill in any other details necessary for this product.
Review the Product Details in the Products Overview article for more information on each option.
Click Save New Product.
Add Products in bulk using ShipStation's CSV import option.
-
Click the Import button on the Products tab.
-
Click the link Download a Sample CSV File.
This downloads the pre-formatted product CSV to add your product information.
-
Open the CSV using a spreadsheet-editing program like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets, then delete the sample data.
-
Enter your product information into the appropriate fields on the CSV.
Name and SKU are required fields. The file will not import without something included in the Name and SKU fields. All other information is optional.
Save the CSV file with a new name. Return to the Product Import pop-up in ShipStation.
Click Select File and choose the file from your computer.
-
Select the options for the import.
-
Identify your products:
by SKU (recommended) - or -
by Name.
-
Update product information if the products already exist
- or -
Ignore any products that already exist (only new products will be imported)-.
(If you have not imported any products yet, use the default setting.)
-
Click Start Import.
Once the import process begins, it may take some time to complete, depending on the number of products in the CSV. You can close the window and continue working within ShipStation while the import works in the background. An alert will pop up when the process is finished.
Products for Jet.com
Trying to import inventory from Jet.com? Product lists from Jet require a different CSV file. See Importing Jet Product Listings in Bulk for the CSV template and instructions.
Notes about Product Records
ShipStation creates product records with only the Name and SKU sent by the selling channel.
All new products are Standalone products by default. If you wish to create relationships between products for reporting purposes, review the Product Types article.
ShipStation will only receive product information from the selling channel. ShipStaton does not send product information back to the selling channel (with the exception of Jet.com).
Product records cannot be deleted. If you no longer need a product record in ShipStation, select it and click the Deactivate button.
In the product CSV, if the Active column is left blank ShipStation will ignore it and leave the product in its current state.
If your import fails, you will receive an import failure message that indicates the potential reason. Review the CSV Import Troubleshooting article for more details.