Every checkout ends up out of stock error

[nicolaserny]

I have a simple custom website that uses storefront APIs (to get products and create a checkout). Since yesterday, I’ve been experiencing a blocking issue. Suddenly, every checkout ends up out of stock (but I do not track inventory). More strange: it worked again for a short period of time and the same error ever since. The partner support says that everything looks ok on their side. They suggest asking the question directly here. Am I alone with this issue? Any ideas?

[mintcar]

I have been experiencing the same issue since since yesterday with a React site that uses Storefront API.

[nicolaserny]

I have an open ticket with partner support. I will let you know when I have an answer.

After more investigation, I discovered more weird behaviors. When I turn on my VPN, the checkout page works. When I turn off my VPN, the checkout page no longer works. Here's a short video to show it: https://www.loom.com/share/7625e03c10e84fcea1f7cadd973d2776 

[MaSchVam]

We are seeing similar issues, except all our customers are sent to the /password page on the Shopify domain... Unless you use a VPN. Very weird. I have had a conversation with support, and have supplied them with a way to reproduce it.

Looks like there might be some geo-related issue with the API at the moment. We are also seeing some queries returning all products out of stock, as the OP also says. Really weird.

[nicolaserny]

I agree with you. It looks like a geo-related issue with Shopify APIs. I'm still waiting for an answer from the support team. It is a blocking issue. In terms of business, it's not great because no customer (except if they use a VPN which is unlikely) can checkout. And there is no easy workaround.

[MaSchVam]

Yes, I outlined that is pretty critical to support, since storefronts that use the Buy SDK (In certain geographical areas, I guess?) are effectively down right now.

I found these issues in the Storefront part of the forums, which I suspect are related to this issue:
https://community.shopify.com/c/storefront-api-and-sdks/custom-storefront-checkout-goes-to-theme-web...

https://community.shopify.com/c/storefront-api-and-sdks/headless-shopify-buy-checkout-url-302-redire...

I also see a wealth of reports on 'downdetector' starting yesterday afternoon. I hope others will start to chime in, so we can have this resolved ASAP.

[nicolaserny]

It bothers me that the status site (https://www.shopifystatus.com/) does not show any outage.

Yesterday, I even tried to plug my store with a Github Buy SDK example. And I got the same weird behaviors.

For sure, something has changed in the Shopify backend/APIs.

[_JCC_]

@MaSchVam for the instances where you were seeing the password page what Shopify plan was that store on?

[MaSchVam]

Hello @_JCC_ ,
We saw this happen on Shopify Basic!

[bonttimo]

I’m experiencing the same issue! Talked to support today for 2-hours and first they said the problem is in my site but in the end they finally said that other people also are experiencing the same issue and said they are currently looking into the problem… asked for a timeline but they could not provide any.

[nicolaserny]

I shared with support the forum thread. They will update here once they have more information to share.

[Eaton]

We're having the same issue. Still no change.

[nicolaserny]

I found a workaround (so I can wait for a fix). Instead of using the standard checkout API, I create a draft order with admin API and redirect the user to the invoice Url. So the user can complete the order.

It's not perfect because I must clean up the draft orders if the user aborts the transaction.

There is no timeline, so it's an acceptable (temporary) solution.

I hope to have more news from Shopify soon.

[Eaton]

Do you have a separate backend (aside from Shopify)? We can't use the admin API because our sites (yes, we have multiple sites with this problem) are entirely frontend only.

[nicolaserny]

I use Remix for my website, so it's React with server-side rendering + some serverless functions (in Netlify). So, that's why I can use admin APIs (on the server). But for your use case, you can only rely on storefront APIs. 😞 

It looks like this bug impacts more and more stores 😞

[Eaton]

I see, we use SSG so we can't have sensitive info like admin key on the website.

[MaSchVam]

I am just chiming back in:

For the people here with the same issues that I describe - It turns out, disabling password protection fixes the ‘inaccessible checkout’ issue (but then opens a whole different suite of issues).

I recommend reading this post here: https://community.shopify.com/c/storefront-api-and-sdks/headless-shopify-buy-checkout-url-302-redire...

There is a link to a repo with a headless Shopify theme that can take care of some of the issues removing password protection brings. 

[Eaton]

Our sites are not password protected (we have separate storefronts that are different from Shopify stores), but I can confirm all the checkouts redirect to https://{store-page}/checkouts/co/{checkout id}/stock-problems.

We are based in Vietnam, but if we use a VPN and change to another country like Singapore, it will work just fine and there is no redirect.

[nicolaserny]

I do not use password protection (and theme). I use Shopify as a headless e-commerce solution with storefront APIs. My only sales channel is my private app.

[john-lennie]

Also suddenly experiences this problem with a Shopify powered Next.js site... Looking for solutions

[tjacob]

I'm having the exact same problem as most replies describe. The checkout always goes to the same checkout page with the Sold Out disclaimer being presented. I'm using the Storefront API as well. This is a pretty huge blocking issue, that is preventing the stores from making any sale. It's appalling how there isn't a single reply from support to this issue.

[Eaton]

I can't believe this issue hasn't been solved still. Customer support isn't helpful. Does anyone know where else to contact Shopify?

[nicolaserny]

Currently, I have an open ticket with the support team (ticket ID: 33256733). I received a follow-up yesterday evening. They are still investigating the bug internally. But no timeline so far.

[MaSchVam]

I still haven't received any communication regarding this, even though I was promised a follow-up on my ticket. Going by how many views this thread is getting, I assume that this has to be a broader problem? Funny how the status page is still all green.

[Pix]

Hi!

I am still facing this issue!

Customers cannot order from my site.

- The site uses the Storefront API and other APIs

- The inventory is in a good state according to the Shopify Admin site

- Customers get redirected to /checkouts/co/:id/stock-problems

Please help, nothing has changed in our side.

[Pix]

Some technical details:

My frontend app npm packages:
"shopify-buy": "^2.15.1",
"gatsby-source-shopify": "^6.9.1"

The URL that is redirected to the stock-problems page:
https://{shop}/{shopId}/checkouts/{checkoutId}

Response headers (that is interesting)
x-shopify-checkout-version: checkout-classic
x-shopify-stage: production

-------------------------------------------

Shopify JS Buy SDK changelog:
https://github.com/Shopify/js-buy-sdk/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md

It uses the 2022-07 version of the Storefront API.

Private app in Shopify:
Allow this app to access your storefront data using the Storefront API (CHECKED)

[_JCC_]

Thanks @Pix for the context on tech stack.  If anyone is experiencing this issue and is not using the Buy Button channel, or the Shopify JS Buy SDK. Please let me know. If you could also share the Shopify plan you're on that would be appreciated.

[tjacob]

In my case I'm using Nuxt with the nuxt-shopify module, which uses the shopify-buy SDK under the hood. It's a SSG store and it was using the 2021-07 Storefront API, but the problem persists using the 2022-10 release.

[nicolaserny]

I directly use the storefront API (2022-07).

I tested with the JS Buy SDK and other versions of the storefront APIs (2022-04 and even 2022-10). In every case, I got the checkout issue.

My plan is Shopify Lite.

[_JCC_]

@nicolaserny @tjacob what Shopify plan are you on?

[nicolaserny]

My plan is Shopify Lite

[tjacob]

Shopify Lite as well, the website is custom made and uses the Storefront to send the user for the checkout page, this is where the problem lies. It has been working well for the last year, up to now.

[Pix]

I am on the Shopify Lite plan as well.
It's the same tech stack for me basically:
- Custom made frontend with custom cart page (not owned by Shopify store)
- No Online Store
- Shopify JS Buy SDK generates the final Checkout URL, after Cart page, customer can go to that URL
- Worked flawlessy before this month.

[Pix]

Hi!

Any news?
Still does not work on my site.

[nicolaserny]

No news. It's been a week since I started experiencing this critical bug. 😣

[Eaton]

Any update? It's been 4 days (possibly more) and a 4-day outage is serious for any business.

[Rayshuggs]

Firstly, you are not alone in this issue as I have a few friends who have experienced this before. How they got theirs solved was by during a complete run through of the background codes and developer procedures in the store so I’ll suggest you find a hired professional who can do the same.

[Eaton]

@Rayshuggs I don't think you understand the problem here.

First of all, we are professionals here who use Shopify's JS Buy SDK and Storefront API to develop our sites and we are saying that the issue is on Shopify's side.

Second, nothing on our sites changed and the checkout stopped working. The redirect happens from Shopify's domain (myshopify.com) which we have no control over. And using a VPN to access the checkout links (on Shopify's domain) can prevent the wrong redirect from happening (i.e. people can checkout normally).

Most likely there is something wrong with Shopify's redirect rules.

[shopari]

I’m also experiencing the same issue.

When I click checkout I (and my customers) get redirected to /checkouts/co/:id/stock-problems

If I have a VPN on, the checkout works normally.

I’m on Shopify Lite plan, myself and my store is based in Sydney and when I use my Private Internet Access VPN, my location is also set to Sydney

[kbrozek]

I have exactly the same problem:

Shopify Light, no store from Shopify
Own website that allows shopping via Shopify JavaScript Buy SDK: https://github.com/Shopify/js-buy-sdk
No matter what product always ends up in this error:
https://xxxxx/checkouts/co/xxxxxxx/stock-problems

I will also open a ticket.

[Eaton]

We initially chose Shopify because of its reputation and scale, but now we're not sure anymore. A bug that freezes multiple stores across the world for over a week and Shopify still hasn't acknowledged it, let alone fixed it.

[Pix]

Yes, very frustrating.

We should be eligible for a refund by now.

Is this happening with Shopify Basic plan also? Or only with the Shopify Lite plan?

Anyway, I opened a GitHub issue in the Shopify JS Buy SDK also, just in case.

https://github.com/Shopify/js-buy-sdk/issues/916

[tjacob]

@_JCC_ is there any update on this? At least acknowledging the problem or some estimate for its resolution. You mentioned you were going to be with the Checkout Team for the last morning, but it has now been more than 24 hours since your last communication. This problem has now been going on for a week, completely blocking stores from making any sales, and no new information has been given to any of the developers here. I would expect this to be an absolute top priority for the team and the devs.

This has been a completely disappointing experience with Shopify. Since it is only Shopify Lite plans it probably doesn't make a dent in the company (also probably why this thread is being ignored) but since there hasn't been any updates on the issue and poor communication, I have started to migrate the stores I have under my responsibility to other platforms.

[_JCC_]

It is a top priority, and a fix is being tested right now. Hoping to see something pushed to production this afternoon. I apologize for not providing an update sooner. There was a fix deployed yesterday but it only fixed the issue for the buy button channel. The fix being tested now is for all app channels that leverage the Storefront API with a custom or private app created in the admin. I will follow up the moment it hits production.

[_JCC_ · Accepted solution]

Fix is live. Please let me know if you continue seeing any issues.

[Eaton]

It is working for our stores.

[bonttimo]

Now the checkout is working how it should. What was the problem that was causing this bug? And why didn’t Shopify change the status in their status page?

[tjacob]

It's working for me as well. Thank you @_JCC_ for your effort on this.

[nicolaserny]

It's working for me as well. Thanks for your help @_JCC_ 

[Pix]

Thank you, it's working now.

What was the issue ?