When it comes to uploading product CSV files to your Shopify plan, there can sometimes be a number of problems that appear. Here is a list of the most common problems and the solutions to fix them. If you’re still having some issues, you should contact Shopify support or a Shopify developer.

Key Takeaways
1
Ensure the first line of your CSV file is correctly formatted for successful Shopify imports.
2
Avoid common mistakes like extra white spaces at the end of the first line in CSV.
3
Regularly check and update your CSV file format to align with Shopify’s import requirements.

 

Error Messages

This is a list of error messages you might get.

Fulfillment service can’t be blank

The fulfillment service you’re using should be entered in the right area. If you’ve not selected a fulfillment services, then you set this option to ‘Manual’.

Ignored line #-## because handle example already exists

This error will display when there is a product (or more than one) that has a handle but does not have a product title. You need to find that product and give it a title.

Illegal quoting on line

This will display when an illegal character has been used within the CSV file that you’re importing. To remedy this, encode your CSV file within UTF-8 encoded format. This error can sometimes be caused by a missing or stray quote.

Incorrect header check

This can happen when an image has an error. To solve this, try removing the image from the line and then try uploading again. If this has resolved the image, you might need to try hosting the image on another platform.

Invalid CSV header: missing headers

This is caused by the line of the CSV file being incorrect. To solve this, the first line of your CSV should be:

Handle,Title,Body (HTML),Vendor,Type,Tags,Published,Option1 Name,Option1 Value,Option2 Name,Option2 Value,Option3 Name,Option3 Value,Variant SKU,Variant Grams,Variant Inventory Tracker,Variant Inventory Qty,Variant Inventory Policy,Variant Fulfillment Service,Variant Price,Variant Compare At Price,Variant Requires Shipping,Variant Taxable,Variant Barcode,Image Src,Image Alt Text

Be sure that there are no extra white spaces at the end of the first line. This is a common mistake.

Inventory policy is not included in the list

This happens when the inventory policy is not set to either ‘deny’ or ‘continue’. Ensure the correct settings are in place.

Inventory quantity can’t be blank

Within the numbers, you need to set an inventory quantity. If you’ve not been tracking inventory, then you need to check that Variant Inventory Tracker is also left blank.

Inventory quantity is not a number

When the inventory quantity has a letter or special character in it, you need to remove them otherwise you will get this error.

Missing or stray quote on line

This is the result when Excel or another spreadsheet program adds a curly quote or more than one. These need to be replaced within the document with straight quotes.

Another possible problem is when there is an extra quote that has been added to the file. Find the error and remove this.

Validation failed: An error occurred while trying to download the image

This means that there is an image file missing.

Validation failed: getaddrinfo: nodename nor servname provided, or not known

This is what happens when there’s a mistake in the image’s URL. The uploaded image would require to have the http:// at the beginning. You should also ensure that the image is publicly accessible.

Validation failed: options are not unique

When a product has numerous options, they should all be unique. If there are any duplications within the variants, you will see this. If there are only unique variants, then there could be a duplicate CSV.

Validation failed: price can’t be blank

A product doesn’t have a price within the CSV.

Validation failed: The uploaded image exceeds the 20 megapixel limit

The image file size is too large. It needs to be reduced to 5760 x 5760 pixels or be less than 20 megapixels.