In order to help properly manage product availability, reduce cancellation rates, improve customer satisfaction and improve marketplace seller ratings, we offer functionality to specify how to handle discontinued and backordered products based on current stock levels. This provides you with more control over how backordered and discontinued products are sold.
Regardless of the Product Availability status, any backordered or discontinued products can be available for purchase based on the configuration of the store-level settings. This gives you the flexibility to choose if you would like to sell backordered or discontinued products that you may have in stock. Specifically, you have the ability to:
- Easily maintain a list of backordered products given the large percentage of products that are temporarily unavailable at this time. The following rules are available for use:
- Sell all backordered products regardless of inventory
- Only sell backordered products when in stock
- Temporarily set backordered products as unavailable for sale
- Auto-apply master status across all 3rd party selling channels. This helps reduce the risk of cancellations which can negatively impact your seller ratings.
- Exclude backordered products from Google Shopping feeds until inventory stock levels have returned. This will ensure that no marketing ad spend is wasted on items that consumers are unable to purchase.
In order to take advantage of these benefits, the only action needed is to control how inventory is managed through one of the following options:
- Manually import inventory via bulk upload
- Manually update quantity on hand for a single product
- Utilizing a DMS integration to update inventory in real time
- Activating an automated OE inventory feed (if available)
- Automating inventory uploads via FTP
How to Configure your Product Settings by Selling Channel
Web Store and Plugin
In order to properly configure your web store or plugin store, you can determine which types of products you’d like to sell on your store through the ‘General’ settings page.
From here, you can choose to sell Backordered, Discontinued, and Hazmat products on your store. Please continue reading for more details on how each setting works:
- Set Sell Backordered Products to ‘Yes - When item is in stock only’ so that you can list backordered products as available for sale when they’re in stock.
- Set Sell Backordered Products to ‘Yes’ so that you can list backordered products as available for sale regardless of what inventory is available.
- Set Sell Backordered Products to ‘No’ so that these products will be temporarily unavailable for sale on your store until the Product Availability is reset to ‘Available for Sale’.
- Set Sell Discontinued Products to ‘Yes - When item is in stock only’ so that you can list discontinued products as available for sale when they’re in stock.
- Set Sell Discontinued Products to ‘No’ so that these products will be unavailable for sale on your store even if inventory is available.
Additionally, if Sell Backordered Products = ‘Yes’, then the Default Lead Time for Backordered Products field will be available for you to set an extended lead time if there isn’t an estimated date of availability for a backordered product.
Marketplaces: Amazon and eBay
In order to properly configure your Amazon or eBay store, you can determine which types of products you’d like to sell on your store through the ‘Listing Filters’ settings page.
From here, you can choose to sell Backordered, Discontinued, and Hazmat (Amazon only) products on your store. Please continue reading for more details on how each setting works:
- Set Sell Backordered Products to ‘Yes - When item is in stock only’ so that you can list backordered products as available for sale when they’re in stock.
- Set Sell Backordered Products to ‘No’ so that the listings for these products will be temporarily filtered from going live on your store.
- Set Sell Discontinued Products to ‘Yes - When item is in stock only’ so that you can list discontinued products as available for sale when they’re in stock.
- Set Sell Discontinued Products to ‘No’ so that the listings for these products will be filtered from going live on your store.
How to Manage ‘Product Availability’ via Products
In an effort to simplify how availability statuses can be managed on a per product level, we’ve consolidated all statuses into one new field, Product Availability. This attribute will make it clear what the current status is for a product.
The following values are supported in the Product Availability dropdown:
- Available for Sale
- Call for Availability
- Call for Price
- On Backorder
- Discontinued
- Not for Sale
If Product Availability is set to ‘On Backorder’, then the optional On Backorder Until date field will be visible. If you have an estimated date of availability for a backordered product, you can select the appropriate ETA for this attribute.
Please note that if you choose to sell backordered or discontinued products on your store, then the Product Availability in Control Panel will not be set to ‘Available for Sale'. If Sell Backordered Products = ‘Yes' or 'Yes - When item is in stock only’, then Product Availability = ‘On Backorder’ in Control Panel, however, the product will be listed as available for purchase on your store.
How to Manage ‘Product Availability’ via Products Bulk Import
Given that we’ve consolidated all product availability statuses into one attribute, there have been some changes to what fields are supported in the Products bulk import.
The major changes for the Products import are:
- DISCONTINUED, NOTFORSALE, CALLFORAVAILABILITY, and CALLFORPRICE are no longer supported
- All of the statuses that are no longer supported (above) have been added to a new PRODUCTAVAILABILITY column which accepts the following values:
- Available for Sale
- Call for Availability
- Call for Price
- On Backorder
- Discontinued
- Not for Sale
- ONBACKORDERUNTIL has been added as an optional field for any products with PRODUCTAVAILABILITY = ‘On Backorder’
Please note that the following rules are in place for PRODUCTAVAILABILITY and ONBACKORDERUNTIL:
- The PRODUCTAVAILABILITY status must exactly match the supported values.
- The ONBACKORDERUNTIL date must be in the future since a past date will not be accepted.
- The ONBACKORDERUNTIL date should be formatted using the US format (Examples: 2021-09-30 or 09/30/2021).
- The ONBACKORDERUNTIL date will only be accepted if the PRODUCTAVAILABILITY = On Backorder.
In an effort to ensure the Products bulk import and export files are consistent, we’ve also updated the export format and Products template. The Products template file also includes sample data to make it clear what values are accepted for all attributes.
The following fields have been included in both the import and export format for consistency:
- SHIPPINGPRICE
- NONRETURNABLE
- VINCHECKRECOMMENDED
- CATEGORY_LEVEL1
- CATEGORY_LEVEL2
- CATEGORY_LEVEL3
- CATEGORY_LEVEL4
- EXCLUDE_FROM_SHOPPING_FEEDS
- INDEX
Impact to Web Stores and Plugins
The impact to web store and plugins is determined by the Sell Backordered Products and Sell Discontinued Products configuration in the ‘General’ settings page. The following use cases will be available for these selling channels:
- If Sell Backordered Products = ‘Yes’, then any product where Product Availability = ‘On Backorder’ will be available for purchase on your store regardless of the QOH.
- If Sell Backordered Products = ‘Yes - When item is in stock only’, then any product where Product Availability = ‘On Backorder’ will be available for purchase on your store as long as QOH > 0. When the QOH = 0, then the product will be temporarily unavailable for purchase (see image below) on your store until the Product Availability is reset to ‘Available for Sale’ or new stock is available.
- If Sell Backordered Products = ‘No', then any product where Product Availability = ‘On Backorder’ will be temporarily unavailable for purchase on your store. The ‘On Backorder’ status will be in place until the Product Availability is reset to ‘Available for Sale’.
- If Sell Discontinued Products = ‘Yes - When item is in stock only’, then any product where Product Availability = ‘Discontinued’ will be available for purchase on your store as long as QOH > 0. When the QOH = 0, then the product will be unavailable for purchase on your store.
- If Sell Discontinued Products = ‘No', then any product where Product Availability = ‘Discontinued’ will be unavailable for purchase on your store.
Impact to Marketplaces
The impact to marketplaces is determined by the Sell Backordered Products and Sell Discontinued Products configuration in the ‘Listing Filters’ settings page. The following use cases will be available for Amazon and eBay:
- If Sell Backordered Products = ‘Yes - When item is in stock only’, then any product where Product Availability = ‘On Backorder’ will be available for purchase on your store as long as QOH > 0. When the QOH = 0, then any listing tied to a backordered product will be filtered from going ‘Live’ on your store until the Product Availability is reset to ‘Available for Sale’ or new stock is available.
- If Sell Backordered Products = ‘No', then any listing tied to a product where Product Availability = ‘On Backorder’ will be filtered from going ‘Live’ on your store. The product will be ‘Filtered’ until the Product Availability is reset to ‘Available for Sale’.
- If Sell Discontinued Products = ‘Yes - When item is in stock only’, then any listing tied to a product where Product Availability = ‘Discontinued’ will be available for purchase on your store as long as QOH > 0. When the QOH = 0, then the listing tied to a discontinued product will be filtered from going ‘Live’ on your store.
- If Sell Discontinued Products = ‘No', then any listing tied to a product where Product Availability = ‘Discontinued’ will be filtered from going ‘Live’ on your store.
Additional Changes to Orders and Shopping Feeds
Changes to Orders
In an effort to make order fulfillment more efficient, RevolutionParts will automatically set the Item Status and ETA fields found on the Order page in Control Panel. The following rules are in place for updating the items found in any new orders:
Web Stores and Plugins
- If Sell Backordered Products = ‘Yes’ and Product Availability = ‘On Backorder’, then the Item Status will be automatically set to ‘Backordered’ for an order item. If an On Backorder Until date is available for a backordered product, then the ETA will be automatically set.
- If Sell Backordered Products = ‘Yes - When item is in stock only’ and Product Availability = ‘On Backorder’, then the Item Status will be automatically set to ‘In Stock’ for an order item when QOH > 0. When QOH = 0, then the product will be temporarily unavailable for purchase on a web store or plugin.
- If Sell Discontinued Products = ‘Yes - When item is in stock only’ and Product Availability = ‘Discontinued’, then the Item Status will be automatically set to ‘In Stock’ for an order item when QOH > 0. When QOH = 0, the product will be unavailable for purchase on a web store or plugin.
Marketplaces
- If Sell Backordered Products = ‘Yes - When item is in stock only’ and Product Availability = ‘On Backorder’, then the Item Status will be automatically set to ‘In Stock’ for an order item when QOH > 0. When QOH = 0, then the product will be temporarily filtered from going ‘Live’ on Amazon or eBay.
- If Sell Discontinued Products = ‘Yes - When item is in stock only’ and Product Availability = ‘Discontinued’, then the Item Status will be automatically set to ‘In Stock’ for an order item when QOH > 0. When QOH = 0, then the listing tied to a discontinued product will be filtered from going ‘Live’ on Amazon or eBay.
Changes to Order Status
The Order Status page will be automatically updated for your customers using the same rules described above for the Order page:
Web Stores and Plugins
- If Sell Backordered Products = ‘Yes’ and Product Availability = ‘On Backorder’, then the Item Status will be automatically set to ‘Backordered’ for the order item. If an On Backorder Until date is available for a backordered product, then the ETA will be automatically set for the order item.
- If Sell Backordered Products = ‘Yes - When item is in stock only’ and Product Availability = ‘On Backorder’, then the Item Status will be automatically set to ‘In Stock’ as long as the backordered product had a QOH > 0 at the time of purchase.
- If Sell Discontinued Products = ‘Yes - When item is in stock only’ and Product Availability = ‘Discontinued’, then the Item Status will be automatically set to ‘In Stock’ as long as the discontinued product had a QOH > 0 at the time of purchase.
Marketplaces
- If Sell Backordered Products = ‘Yes - When item is in stock only’ and Product Availability = ‘On Backorder’, then the Item Status will be automatically set to ‘In Stock’ as long as the backordered product had a QOH > 0 at the time of purchase.
- If Sell Discontinued Products = ‘Yes - When item is in stock only’ and Product Availability = ‘Discontinued’, then the Item Status will be automatically set to ‘In Stock’ as long as the discontinued product had a QOH > 0 at the time of purchase.
Changes to Google Shopping Feeds
By default, any products with Product Availability set to ‘On Backorder’, ‘Discontinued’, or ‘Not for Sale’ will be excluded from Google Shopping Feeds.
For any questions, please contact your Account Manager for additional assistance.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I sell my backordered or discontinued products that are in stock on my selling channels?
Web Stores and Plugins: If you would like to sell backordered or discontinued products on your store, go to the ‘General’ settings page and update the ‘Product Settings’.
- Set Sell Backordered Products to ‘Yes’ so that you can list backordered products as available for sale even if they aren’t currently in stock.
- Set Sell Backordered Products to ‘Yes - When item is in stock only’ so that you can list backordered products as available for sale when they’re in stock.
- Set Sell Discontinued Products to ‘Yes - When item is in stock only’ so that you can list backordered products as available for sale when they’re in stock.
Marketplaces: If you would like to sell backordered or discontinued products on your store, go to the ‘Listing Filters’ settings page and update the Sell Backordered Products and Sell Discontinued Products fields.
- Set Sell Backordered Products to ‘Yes - When item is in stock only’ so that you can list backordered products as available for sale when they’re in stock.
- Set Sell Discontinued Products to ‘Yes - When item is in stock only’ so that you can list backordered products as available for sale when they’re in stock.
How do I exclude backordered and discontinued products from my selling channels?
Web Stores and Plugins: If you prefer to exclude backordered or discontinued products on your store, go to the ‘General’ settings page and update the ‘Product Settings’.
- Set Sell Backordered Products to ‘No’ so that these products will be temporarily unavailable for purchase until their Product Availability is reset to ‘Available for Sale’.
- Set Sell Discontinued Products to ‘No’ so that these products cannot be listed as available for sale on your store.
Marketplaces: If you prefer to exclude backordered or discontinued products from your store, go to the ‘Listing Filters’ settings page and update the Sell Backordered Products and Sell Discontinued Products fields.
- Set Sell Backordered Products to ‘No’ so that the listings for these products will be temporarily filtered from going ‘Live’ on your Amazon or eBay store until their Product Availability is reset to ‘Available for Sale’.
- Set Sell Discontinued Products to ‘No’ so that the listings for these products will be filtered from going ‘Live’ on your Amazon or eBay store.
Can I sell any backordered products on my store even if they’re not currently in stock?
Products that are on backorder can be sold on web stores and plugins regardless of whether they are currently in stock. However, these products can only be sold on marketplaces if inventory is available.
What happens when I choose not to sell backordered products on my store?
Web store and Plugin: If you configure the ‘General’ setting Sell Backordered Products = ‘No’, then your customers will see an ‘On Backorder’ status on product pages. Consumers will be unable to add any backordered products to their cart.
Marketplaces: If you configure the ‘Listing Filters’ setting Sell Backordered Products = ‘No’, then all listings tied to backordered products will be filtered from going ‘Live’ on Amazon or eBay.
How do I set ‘Product Availability’ for the products in my catalog?
RevolutionParts has consolidated all product availability statuses into one field, Product Availability. This status is available on the single Product page in Control Panel, as well as through the Products bulk import. You can set the following statuses for Product Availability:
- Available for Sale (Default)
- Call for Availability
- Call for Price
- On Backorder
- Discontinued
- Not for Sale
Please note that when you’re updating the Product Availability through a bulk import that the status has to match the above list of supported statuses.
How do I add an estimated date of availability for backordered products?
If you have an estimated date of availability for backordered products, you can optionally set an On Backorder Until date. The field for setting this ETA only appears if the Product Availability = ‘On Backorder’.
Once the On Backorder Until date has passed, the Product Availability will automatically revert to the default value: ‘Available for Sale’.
How does the new ‘Product Availability’ impact orders?
Depending on how you configure your store-level settings for backordered and discontinued products, we will automatically set the Item Status and ETA for the items included in all new orders.
- If Sell Backordered Products = 'Yes', then Item Status can be automatically set to 'In Stock' or 'Backordered' depending upon the Product Availability for each product. If an On Backorder Until date is available, then the ETA will automatically be set for the Backordered item status.
- If Sell Backordered Products = 'Yes - When item is in stock only', then Item Status will be automatically set to 'In Stock' when inventory is available for a product. Once a backordered product is out of stock, then the Item Status will no longer be automatically set and the product will temporarily be unavailable for purchase from your store until Product Availability is reset to ‘Available for Sale' or stock is available.
- If Sell Backordered Products = ‘No’, then your customers cannot purchase backordered products from your store.
- If Sell Discontinued Products = ‘Yes - When item is in stock only’, then Item Status will be automatically set to 'In Stock' when inventory is available for a product. Once a discontinued product is out of stock, then the Item Status will no longer be automatically set and the product will no longer be available for purchase from your store.
- If Sell Discontinued Products = ‘No’, then your customers cannot purchase discontinued products from your store.
How does the ‘Product Availability’ impact Google Shopping Feeds?
If Product Availability = 'On Backorder', Discontinued' or 'Not for Sale', then the product will be excluded from Google Shopping Feeds.
How does this new functionality impact the Products bulk import and export?
RevolutionParts has updated the format for the Products bulk import and export to ensure that they both include the same columns. The Products template has been updated to reflect these changes and includes sample data for the fields.
The major changes for the Products import are:
- DISCONTINUED, NOTFORSALE, CALLFORAVAILABILITY, and CALLFORPRICE are no longer supported
- All of the statuses that are no longer supported (above) have been added to a new PRODUCTAVAILABILITY column which accepts the following values:
- Available for Sale
- Call for Availability
- Call for Price
- On Backorder
- Discontinued
- Not for Sale
- ONBACKORDERUNTIL has been added as an optional field for any products with PRODUCTAVAILABILITY = ‘On Backorder’