Shopify CSV repair without the guesswork

The problem this solves

Shopify’s CSV format is strict, and its import warnings are unforgiving: importing certain incomplete or incorrectly structured columns can overwrite existing product and variant data. A file that “mostly works” can quietly damage a live catalog. This service exists so the file is right before it goes anywhere near your store.

Common Shopify CSV errors I repair

• Incorrect or missing headers — supplier column names Shopify does not recognise.
• Duplicate or conflicting product options — variants that collapse, repeat or overwrite each other.
• Invalid prices and inventory quantities — prices written as words, decimal commas, currency symbols in numeric fields.
• Broken image URLs — links that fail, point at the wrong file, or sit on the wrong row.
• UTF-8 encoding errors — corrupted characters in titles and descriptions.
• Missing product titles — variant rows separated from the product they belong to.
• Incorrect product handles — handles that split one product into several, or merge several into one.
• Incorrect variant structures — option names and values that do not line up across rows.
• Overwrite risk — incomplete columns structured in a way that would replace live data on import.

What gets repaired

• Product and variant structure rebuilt so each product reads as one coherent unit.
• SKUs checked across the whole file for duplicates, blanks and near-matches.
• Prices and compare-at prices converted to clean numeric values in the correct columns.
• Supplier columns mapped to Shopify’s exact headers, in the right order.
• Handles, tags and option fields made consistent across every row of a product.
• Encoding fixed to UTF-8; image URLs validated; row structure checked before delivery.

What is never changed without your approval

The duplicate-SKU rule

SKUs are identifiers your inventory, fulfilment and reporting may depend on, so duplicates are handled by a fixed rule — never by improvisation:

• Exact duplicate rows are removed only when confirmed genuinely redundant, and the removal is recorded in the change log.
• A duplicate SKU on different products is flagged on both records. The identifier is never silently changed.
• No SKU is normalised or changed — no case fixes, no reformatting, no replacement values — without your approval.
• A missing SKU is left blank and reported in the exception list.
• Replacement SKUs are never generated automatically. If you want new identifiers, you approve them first.

What you receive

• Cleaned CSV — the prepared, import-ready product file.
• QC report — a summary of the checks performed on the file.
• Change log — what was changed, row by row where it matters.
• Exception list — every gap or ambiguity that needs your review.
• Your original file — preserved and returned unchanged, as the source reference.

How the work runs

You email the file (or a free 10-row sample first). I review it and confirm the scope, exact price and delivery time in writing. Work begins after the scope and payment arrangement are agreed. CSV packages within their row limits are delivered 24 hours from acceptance, counted in working hours (PKT); the clock pauses if source data is unclear or a decision from you is pending. Complex or unsupported files receive a separate estimate before any work begins.

File privacy

No Shopify password is required and no access to your live store is needed. Your files are used only for the agreed task, never shared or sold, and my working copies are deleted 30 days after delivery — earlier on request. The full policy, including how email attachments are handled, is on the Privacy page.

Questions about this service