Using Inventory Control to Set a Product's Quantity on Hand

Do you have a limited quantity of a product available for sale? Do you sell one-of-a-kind creations or vintage finds? You can use the inventory control feature to set the number of each product that you have in stock, so that you never accidentally sell more than you have on hand.

Inventory control is completely optional. You don't need to specify the quantity of each product that you have in your store. However, if you don't enter a quantity for an item, then it will stay in your store and remain available for purchase, even if it's sold — and customers can order an unlimited quantity of that product.

To set the quantity of a product, log into your Dashboard and go to store > products. Click "Edit" for the product whose quantity you want to set.

edit product

Scroll down to the "Stock" section and check the "Track Stock for This Product" box. Type the quantity you have available in the "Quantity on Hand" field, and click "Save" at the bottom of the page.

track stock

When your item sells, the inventory control feature will subtract the number of items ordered from the total quantity that you set.

When Stock Falls to Zero

When your product's stock falls to zero, the product will show as Sold Out in your store, and customers won't be able to buy it. If you mark an order as returned or cancelled, the stock is returned to that product, so it will be available for sale again.

sold out

If you don't want your out-of-stock items to appear in your store, you have two options.

First, you can simply deactivate them. To make a product invisible to shoppers, go to store > products and click the green check mark next to the product in the "Visible" column at right. The green check mark will change to a red X, and the product won't show up in your store until you make it visible again by clicking the red X.

visible sold out product

Or, you can have the store automatically deactivate them for you. To do this, visit your store settings page at store > settings and select the Do not display product option under When Sold Out:

Comments

Inventory

autographaccents

April 15, 2014

How do you keep track of inventory of a item that has different sizes. for example if i set inventory for a white t shirt at 6 but i have 2 medium 2 small and 2 large and i sale one 1 small it shows that i have 5 white shirts left but not 1small.. how do i know which one sells.

Sizes + inventory

Melinda

May 18, 2014

Hi,

I'd love to know how to do that too! It seems like the quantity needs to be linked to the attribute's options rather than to the product at the top level. Is this possible? Or do I have to create a new product for each size (which would be a much less elegant way to manage this).

Thanks,

Mel

Sizes and Inventory

Teresa Jones

May 20, 2015

YES, I am just trying to figure this out as well. Melinda, that is the only way I can think of doing it as well if we are unable to manage inventory by size/color, etc. is to list them separately. Not optimal at all.

I hope there is a response soon.

Should be optional for both ways

Karling

June 24, 2015

It's good to have a way to link quantity to the attributes, but if a person is offering an option to "engrave, frame, or gift wrap" an item for example, then they don't want the stock being linked to the attribute.