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FAQ: Can I delete an item?

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Written by Sam E.

Acenda doesn't support permanently deleting an item from your catalog, and there's no delete or archive action for an item on CATALOG > Items. If you need to stop selling something — discontinued, seasonal, or gone for good — the right move is to UNLIST it from the channel(s) where it shouldn't show up anymore. The underlying product record stays intact.

Why not just delete it? An item is tied to its order history, sales records, and channel data. Deleting it outright would break those links — unlisting keeps everything intact while taking the item out of circulation.

UNLIST is one of three Listing Actions — FULL, ZERO, and UNLIST. For the full breakdown of what each one does, see Channel Mapping & Listing Actions for Multi-Channel Syndication.

Before you unlist, make sure item retirement is turned on for that channel. UNLIST only reaches a channel when its item retirement setting is on, and nothing in the item view warns you if it's off. On Target+, it's Enable Item Retirement under CHANNELS > Integrations > [your Target+ integration] > Edit > Settings > Configuration. DSCO calls it Push Item Retirements on its Configuration tab. Other channels may label it differently or may not support item retirement at all. If you don't see it for your channel, contact Acenda Support before relying on UNLIST.

Unlist a single item

  1. Go to CATALOG > Items.

  2. Find the item and open it using the eye icon.

  3. Open the Channel Status tab.

  4. Click the tab for the channel you want to unlist from (tabs are labeled with your own name for that channel).

  5. Click Edit, change the Listing Action to UNLIST, and save.

Unlist items in bulk

  1. Go to DATA TRANSFERS > Exports and export your Channel Item Mapping data.

  2. In the exported file, set the Listing Action column to UNLIST for the items you want to unlist.

  3. Go to DATA TRANSFERS > Imports > New Import, choose Channel Item Mapping, and upload the file.

  4. Check "Overwrite any current records that have the same ID. Existing values will be used for any missing columns." — without it, your changes won't apply to the existing rows.

The overwrite option updates any existing record with a matching ID, not just the rows you meant to change. Double-check your file only contains the items you actually want to touch before you import.

Good to know

Unlisting isn't instant. It goes out the next time that channel's retirement send runs (on Target+, that's once a day overnight), so expect it to take up to a day, and timing can vary by channel.

Switching an item back to FULL doesn't always finish the job right away, either. Some channels need to notice the change and re-approve the listing before it goes live again, which can take noticeably longer than the original unlist — sometimes several business days.

Troubleshooting

  • Item still shows live on the channel after I unlisted it. Check that item retirement is turned on for that channel (see the callout above) — if it's off, UNLIST doesn't send anything to the channel, and nothing in the UI flags that for you.

  • Bulk unlist via import didn't apply. Make sure you checked "Overwrite any current records that have the same ID. Existing values will be used for any missing columns." during import — without it, existing mapping rows aren't updated.

  • Item won't come back after I switched it to FULL. Some channels need to re-approve a relisted item on their side, which can take longer than you'd expect. If it's been several business days, contact Acenda Support with the item and channel so we can check its status on the channel side.


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Still stuck? Contact Acenda Support and we'll help you sort it out.

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