Question: I have items in my catalog that are discontinued or seasonal. Can I completely delete an item from the system?
Answer: While it might seem convenient to completely delete an item you no longer sell, we do not support hard deletions. Deleting items directly is bad for database integrity. Permanently erasing a product can break historical sales records, disrupt order history, and create broken data links within your system.
Instead of deleting, we strongly encourage clients to use the UNLIST feature.
Why UNLIST instead of Delete?
The UNLIST function protects your data. It safely deactivates and removes the product from your connected marketplaces (like Amazon, Walmart, etc.) while keeping the item securely preserved in your catalog. This allows you to remove a product from public view without compromising your backend data and historical reporting.
How to UNLIST an Item
You can easily unlist items individually or in bulk.
⚠️ Important Prerequisite: Enable Item Retirement. Before unlisting, you must ensure that Enable Item Retirement is checked. This is a global safety setting to prevent accidental mass deletions.
Go to Organization > Integrations > [Your Channel] > Settings.
Ensure Enable Item Retirement is checked. (If this is not enabled, the system will ignore your UNLIST command).
Method 1: Unlist a Single Product
Navigate to Items in the left sidebar and select the product you wish to remove.
Click on the Channel Status tab (Note: depending on your view, this may be labeled Channel Mapping, Sales Channel Settings, or Syndication).
Select the subscription on the left-hand navigation to choose a channel, then click the Edit button (pencil icon).
Change the Listing Action to
UNLIST.Click Update to apply your changes.
Method 2: Unlist in Bulk (Using the Import Tool)
Navigate to Data Management > Import/Export. Under the Exports tab, generate and download a new Channel Item Mapping export.
Open the file and locate the products you wish to remove. Under the Listing Action column, type
UNLISTfor those specific rows.Go to the Imports tab, click + New Import, and select Channel Item Mapping.
Upload your file. Crucial: Make sure to check the box that says "Overwrite any records that have the same ID" before starting the import.
Things to Keep in Mind
Timing: Unlisting is not always immediate. It can take up to 24 hours for the updates to fully reflect on the sales channel.
Reversing an Unlist: If you ever need to sell the item again, you can change the status back to
FULL. However, please note that for certain channels, it can take up to 15 business days to fully restore a listing and its historical data.
For a comprehensive look at how Listing Actions work, check out our full guide on Channel Mapping & Listing Actions for Multi-Channel Syndication.