Importing products…

Shopify Discussion
1

I’ve recently been trying to import products to my website I have about 10,000 I am trying to do it via csv file but every time I click import I get a error: Invalid CSV value ‘fl-yellow’ for option1 and

  • 1 product failed to be imported due to invalid information

This is driving me crazy at this point I’ve been trying for 3 hours straight watching every YouTube video there is nothing missing or anything deleted on accident I have tried everything please help

2

Hi,

Hope this will help

Steps

  • Open CSV in Excel/Sheets
  • Find product row with “fl-yellow”
  • Fix Option1 Name (e.g., “Color”)
  • Replace “fl-yellow” with “Yellow”
  • Make sure other variants use same Option1
  • Save as CSV UTF-8
  • Test import with 2 rows
  • If it works, upload full file!
3

Hey @Diggi177,

Would it be possible for you to share the CSV? We’ll have a look and fix it ASAP.

Looking forward to it,
Shubham | Untechnickle

4

it wont let me attach a csv file can i send it to you some other way???

7

Hi @Diggi177,

I’m glad to hear that removing “fl-yellow” helped! I understand that unique product names can be challenging when importing. Here are a few additional tips to make the process smoother for your fishing gear:

Standardize Naming Conventions: Consider creating a consistent naming convention for your product options (e.g., using “Color,” “Size,” etc.). This can help with future imports and keep things organized.

Use Descriptive Alternatives: If certain names are causing issues, try to use more universally recognized terms. For example, instead of “fl-yellow,” you might use “Fluorescent Yellow” or simply “Yellow.”

CSV Preparation Tools: There are tools and apps that can help you format your CSV files correctly. Look for CSV editors that can validate and clean up your data before import.

Batch Uploads: If you have a lot of unique names, consider breaking your import into smaller batches. This way, you can identify and fix issues more easily without being overwhelmed.

Seek Help from the Community: If you have specific names that consistently cause issues, feel free to share them here. The community might have suggestions for alternatives that won’t trigger errors.

If you need further assistance with specific product names or anything else, just let me know! We’re here to help.

8

You can DM us! Click on the name “Untechnickle” above and you’ll find an option to drop message. You can attach the file there.

9

That error usually means Shopify is not seeing the variant option structure it expects for the row that contains fl-yellow. I would debug it in this order:

  1. Find the exact row that contains fl-yellow, then check the columns beside it: Option1 name, Option1 value, Option2 name, and Option2 value. If fl-yellow is in Option1 value, Option1 name should be something stable like Color, not blank.

  2. Check every row with the same handle. For one product, the option names must stay consistent across all variant rows. For example, do not mix Color, colour, blank, and Title as Option1 name for the same handle.

  3. Look for duplicate variant combinations under that same handle. If two rows both end up as Color = fl-yellow with the same Option2/Option3 values, Shopify can treat them as the same variant.

  4. If the product only has one variant, use the default single-variant pattern instead: Option1 name = Title and Option1 value = Default Title, with only one row for that handle.

  5. Re-save the file as UTF-8 CSV and test with only that one product group first. For 10,000 products, do not re-upload the whole file until the failing handle imports cleanly by itself.

The important part is not whether fl-yellow is a nice display name; it is whether that value fits a consistent option structure for that product handle.

If you want to automate this locally, run a preflight pass that checks duplicate handles, missing option pairs, and duplicate option combinations before uploading the full file.