Bundles won't work as it's telling me I have 700 variants when I do not.

[OrionLee]

I am looking to create a bundle of our hoodies and our t-shirts.

The hoodie listing has two styles, three colours and seven sizes.

The t-shirt has two colours and six sizes.

I've only just amalgamated these items into one listing for hoodie and one for tees after they were all separate.  
I really don't want to put them back into individual listings and lose even more sales data - as merging wasn't a possibility.  Any ideas?  

I am not a maths fan but I make it 96 variants (it's probably less as some of the styles don't come in all of the colours and sizes). What is going on?

[Bundler-Manuel]

Hey there @OrionLee  I’m not sure what exactly is causing that error for you but my recommendation would be to try out our app in my profile to try sort it out. You can start off on our free plan just to confirm and let me know what you think

[FastBundle-Ian]

Hi there 😃 Hope you are well. 

As I know Shopify cannot handle over 100 variants for a product that's why the error comes up. So I suggest using an app to fulfill your needs, we've got this covered in our bundles in Fast Bundle.

You can check out our demo store or ask any question about details from our 24/7 Support team. 

[Easify-Jolie]

Hi @OrionLee 

You can try creating those selections (like hoodie style, color, size, etc.) as custom options instead of using Shopify variants. This way, you won’t hit the 100-variant limit, and you can keep your existing product listings without splitting them again.

Apps like Easify Product Options can help with this setup. It lets you add all the choices customers need, without creating too many variants. This app is very beginner-friendly and requires no coding, so you can set up your custom options quickly without needing any technical skills. Here's how it works:

• This is the result:

• This is the app setting:

I hope this answer helps solve the problem. If you need further assistance, feel free to reach out to Easify anytime! 🤗

[Jaron_Smith]

Hi @OrionLee 👋

Shopify has a 100-variant limit per product, and with all your styles, colors, and sizes, you're likely getting close to that limit.

Instead of adding all combinations as variants, you can use an app like Wizio Bundle – Quantity Breaks.

It allows you to:

• Create a bundle of your hoodie and t-shirt (even if they’re separate products)

• Let customers choose different variants for each item (like size/color/style)

• Apply bundle discounts or quantity offers

• Keep your current listings without splitting them again or losing data

This helps you stay under the variant limit while offering a smooth shopping experience.

Let me know if you'd like help setting it up 😊

[Ellie-BOGOS · Accepted solution]

Hi @OrionLee 😊 To calculate the total number of combinations, you need to multiply the number of options for each variant dimension. So here's the breakdown:

Hoodie:

• 2 styles × 3 colours × 7 sizes = 42 variants

T-shirt:

• 3 colours × 6 sizes = 18 variants

If you were to bundle 1 hoodie + 1 tee as a single product, and allow customers to select any combination, that’s:

• 42 hoodie variants × 18 tee variants = 756 combinations

=> That’s well over Shopify’s 100-variant limit.

✔️  So what can you do?

Here are 2 ways to bundle without creating a massive variant mess:

1. Use a Draft Order / Line Item Script Approach (for Shopify Plus)

If you're on Shopify Plus:

• Create a bundle product page that captures style, color, and size using line item properties

• On submit, use line item scripts or cart logic to add both individual products to cart

• Keeps inventory and data separate

• No variant limit hit

Requires some custom dev help, though.

2. Use a Product Option App (no variant overload)

Apps like

• Ymq Product Options & Variants (free plan available)
• Live Product Options
• ....

…allow you to create custom dropdowns, checkboxes, swatches, or radio buttons on a product page without creating real Shopify variants.

So instead of creating 756 real variants, you could:

• Let the customer select their hoodie style, color, and size

• Then select their t-shirt color and size

• All from a single product page using custom fields

This keeps the product under 100 variants (or even at just 1), since these options are just visual selectors, not true Shopify variants.

⚠️But please notice that

1. Inventory management:
   These apps usually don’t track inventory for the selected options unless they’re linked to real products.

2. No automatic bundling:
   The selected t-shirt and hoodie options are treated as custom input, not real SKUs — so you won’t see them separately in orders unless:

   • You build a custom integration, or

   • Use a hybrid approach (see below)

3. Analytics & reporting:
   Since the selection isn’t tied to a real product variant, it’s harder to track sales data per hoodie/tee in Shopify reports.

[OrionLee]

Thanks for doing the maths!

Urgh.  We just wanted to create a couple of bundles to use and promote at an instore event in the summer, turns out it was not as simple as it should be.  Might have to think again. We can't pay someone for any custom dev right now and I really need an app to keep on top of inventory.  May have to just re-think what we're going to do at our event instead.  I hate that stuff like this isn't just native to Shopify, as a charity, having to keep chipping away at subscriptions just to do a thing is horrible.

Thanks for your input, I will go away and have a think about what we can do! 

[Ellie-BOGOS]

Hi @OrionLee 😊

Thanks for marking my reply as a solution — I’m glad I could help! Take your time to think things through, and if you need any more support or ideas down the line, feel free to reach out!

Best,
Ellie from BOGOS, #1 Shopify Promotion App 💝