Shopify Facebook App error "another item with the same retailer id was already uploaded...

[donnamac]

We are getting products erring out with this message

   "another item with the same retailer id was already uploaded to this catalog"

We are getting it on products from retailers we have carried for a long time.  
I have tried to report it via the 'report a problem' function with no results.

Can anyone shed any light on what causes this error and how to address it?
The product still gets sent to Facebook, so I am not sure how to 'clear' it in Shopify Facebook app?  The product is not flagged with an error in Facebook.

Thanks

[Priyadarshini_T]

Same here we are getting same error

Did you figure out a wayy to fix it?

[donnamac]

Good Morning @Priyadarshini_T 

No, I have not heard anything back from Shopify Facebook support on this. 
I submitted a request mid-month. 

I did check the products in the Facebook catalog, and the products are going over anyway and can have ads run against them,
and we are able sell thru them.

That's what we care about.  So I'm just ignoring them, but don't appreciate having to wade through them to
get to the category errors.  Which is a whole other thorn in the side 🙂  (sorry, I'm venting a bit)

So, I wouldn't waste any more time than we already do on these things. 
Have a great day

[PCLW]

I'm having the same issue with this, it's not allowing the items to be make it the Instagram shop for product tagging. Did anyone get an answer from Shopify? 

[ebburtner]

I am also having this same issue and can't find a fix for it. 

[arussman]

Same problem here. How is this solved if there was no solution presented?

[Mcglynnfarm1]

Exactly!

[InventifDesigns]

I'm having the same problem!

[donnamac]

@PCLW  Hello,

We used to have over 40 of our products flagged with this error and I see that number doing down without us making any changes to the products. I never got an explanation of the error or resolution.
So, maybe they are doing something on it. I have just let them sit there and now I see they are dwindling in numbers.

We did go into our Facebook catalog via Business Suite / Commerce Manager / Assets and searched on the products that were flagged with this error in Shopify, and the products were there and
marked eligible for Ads both in Facebook and Instagram (meaning they have a green dot next to them).  That is all I really do to double check things in FB.  Not sure how right it is, though.  We only
cared if we could advertise it.  Since we could...we just let it alone

Double check everything on the Facebook side and make sure everything looks good. Maybe there is something else 'off' on that side?

Good Luck

[Mcglynnfarm1]

Same problem here. It’s horrible entering into the holidays!!! No good response from Shopify or Facebook 

[Priyadarshini_T]

The problem is when we are trying to add them in our product category for "Facebook live shopping" , they are showing an error

Also, when a product is sold out on shopify, and we delete it on shopify, it still shows on Facebook catalog. I have to manually go and delete those products. Shouldn't they get deleted "automatically"?

[arussman]

I have these same issues with no resolve. 😞

[ebburtner]

@arussman @donnamac @Priyadarshini_T @PCLW 

I did notice on my Facebook Commerce Manager that I have 3 different "Business Assets" in the drop down below my business name. 

Just below where it says Facebook Commerce Manager is your business name with a drop down and then below that is another drop down and that's where I have 3 different Business Assets. I am wondering if that's the problem. Each one has a different amount of product. 2 of the 3 have the same items that are giving me the error.

[PCLW]

@ebburtner  I did get a message from shopify saying there should only be ONE data source. If there's multiple that could be causing the issues. 

[ebburtner]

@PCLW Do you happen to know how to remove those other sales channels?

[PCLW]

@ebburtner Mine shows two and one doesn't have any products listed. I sent some screen shots to the shopify help center to see if they can help me resolve this issue. 

[donnamac]

@ebburtner 

You may be able to go into Data Sources under Catalog in Commerce Manager and see what data feeds are there. 
you may be able to get rid of extra ones there or go into the catalog and delete the products from them.

I'm not familiar with all that. However, we created a dynamic ad today and see that it created a new 'feed' on that screen.  I wouldn't be surprised if
that creates an issue with some products.  Such a struggle...nothing is really explained in detail about how it all 'works'. 

We also have many products in Facebook, that we have either deleted or unchecked Facebook in the Sales Channel block, but it remains in Facebook.
We have many of old product that are no longer in stock and we have set back to draft or archive and they are still there.  It is really a mess.

Let's keep all informed as we find things out. 

[donnamac]

@ebburtner 

Are these business assets for the same business?  Try to get rid of all but the one you want to be your main asset.
Then you have to make sure its the right one that is 'connected' to Shopify.  That might help.

Just a thought

I feel it's really easy to get multiple assets out there because nothing is clearly explained from either the Shopify side AND the Facebook side.
And wading through dozens of help pages is futile.  We are all trying whatever we can to get things to 'work' and actually sell product. 
So, I'm not surprised you may have multiple.

Also, there are two separate support groups we have to deal with...Shopify Facebook and Facebook.  They often point the finger at the other.
Sorry....venting on that one. I was really tempted to link Facebook to Shopify directly from Facebook and get rid of the Shopify Facebook app because it seems neither side
owns up to being responsible for much.  However... there is no time to learn all this.  I would never sell anything. 

[ebburtner]

@donnamac 

Yes, they are for the same business. I did delete one of them. I now have the Shopify Commerce Account and the Shopify Product Catalog. 

I did what I believe you suggested and I pulled up the items that are saying "another item with the same retailer id was already uploaded to this catalog" and put a google category on them. That didn't help the error. I am so frustrated at this point that I don't even know what to do next. 

I still have items that show available on the Facebook Sales Channel on Shopify and on Facebook Commerce Manager but I can't tag them on Facebook or Instagram. Seems as though I can't get help on this matter. 

[donnamac]

@ebburtner 

I'm afraid when it comes to the tagging products for Instagram I'm not up to speed on that. I concentrate on making sure the products get to FB with no issues.
My partner does all the advertising.  She was having the same issue with not being able to 'tag' products.  She tried whatever she could change on both the
Shopify and the Facebook sides.  She basically was just changing any kind of setup she could to see if anything could work.  Eventually, something did and now
she can tag for now.  As long as she can tag...she doesn't mess with anything. 

It is a ridiculous was to do business.  I do know when we make changes, they can sometimes take a while for us to see them or notice the effect of the changes.
Sometimes maybe even a few days.  Patience is a virtue here.  She got to the point of just making one change at a time, then trying an hour or so later to see
if it made a diff.

She finally got to create a Dynamic ad with their help, but can only do it successfully from the Facebook side.  Not in Shopify.  However, the latest one she did created yet
another feed!!  I don't understand it and am in the throws of trying to see if that is going to shoot us in the foot for now having another feed. 

We try submitting help requests from both Facebook and Shopify.   When I click on the 'Report a Problem' in facebook however, I have only had success actually
submitting a problem using the 'Ask a Question or Get Help' section.  The submit button on the 'Report a Problem' section was never 'active' for me.
Also, if you can, provide screen shots of the issue.  I think that really helps then SEE what the problem is and helps them get it to the right people.

Sorry I can't be of much assistance in that area.

[yatti]

I fixed the issue of this for my shop. If you go to the product that is having the issue. On the right hand side, I believe the 3rd block down "Organization" (my shop is 3rd block down). You will have the following:

• Vendor
• Product Type
• Customs
• Collections
• Tags

I removed "customs" where it automated the id for it which I never chose it to do so. I saved and searched for publishing error in the Products>More Filters and it is not showing up that my product are having any issues. 

Hopefully this will fix your issue because that is what caused my product to not be able to get tagged on Instagram. 

[brixkalleyco]

how did u remove customs?

[NoW_17]

Yes!!

[BigThrift]

We are trying to figure that out now.

[Mcglynnfarm1]

Having same issue. Can’t get help either 

[BigThrift]

I found a solution to this problem Monday, Oct 18. When you go to archive your product when it is sold or you are removing it from your store, go the sales channel section and deselect all channels. It will remove them from your sales channel. Just an additional step taken prevents this.

[donnamac]

@BigThrift 

This sounds like a good practice regardless of whether you have issues or not. 
thx!

[rchigges]

I had the same error on a few products and I couldn't tag them on Instagram. Here are the steps I took and it resolved the error. Could be a fluke but it worked!

1. Under Sales Channels, click Facebook

2. Under Product Status, click View all products

3. Go to the product with the error message, select a Google Product Category

4. Click Save

[ebburtner]

@rchigges 

I noticed the items that I can't tag on Facebook or Instagram aren't in the "dynamic ads" on "Ads Channel" when I go to the item on FB business manager. I have no idea how to ad them to the dynamic ads. 

I also had to go to Shopify and take all of my products off the Facebook sales channel and the save them and then go back and add them back to the Facebook sales channel. That pushed them back over to Facebook. I then had to go back to the Facebook business manager and make over 700 items "active". This has been a nightmare and I'm wondering if it all goes back to when Facebook & Instagram was down a few days ago. 

[donnamac]

@rchigges 

Could you clarify something?

The items that you listed, you did that in Shopify, is that right?
The errors you were fixing...where did you see those errors?  In Shopify?  In Facebook?

[arussman]

I tried this and it didn't work for me. 😞

[NoW_17]

I am having the same issue! I reached out to Facebook support, but have not heard back yet. All 84 of my new products were rejected due to this error, and I can not tag on instagram. I did recieve one email back from Shopify support and they thought that the error message "may have to do with the fact that you've had another product feed uploaded via the old de-listed Facebook Shop sales channel, or another source (such as uploading products yourself manually)." Unfortunately I do not know how to fix this. Hopefully someone will get back to me from FB and this will be solved soon!!

[Mcglynnfarm1]

Same issues here-no responses are helpful! 

[Mcglynnfarm1]

This is an old workaround. The new issue is something else entirely and no one seems to know 

[Maysin23]

Why is this marked as solved? It isn't actually solved. Although you can tag products in Facebook, this error continues to cause problems on Instagram, making it impossible to tag the effected products there. 

[MSM_Jewelers]

Same

[donnamac]

This is marked solved just because several people have tried some work-arounds and they seem to work.
You'll have to read through some responses to see.
Also, it looks like the products that have this error flagged, still go to Facebook and can still be used in ads & Instagram.

I jut let them sit there.  I can still do what I need to in FB, so I don't waste any more time on them. 

We can take it off if you want...

[Maysin23]

This being marked as solved just tells Shopify that there is no problem. It shouldn't be marked solved so they're aware of the on going issue. 

The problem persists through Instagram for me. I can tag on Facebook, but I cannot on Instagram. 

[yatti]

The easiest way I can tell everyone that is encountering this issue is to make a new product. 

This occurred to me when I used the duplicate option. I tried fixing it and it still reoccurred with the same issue. I decided to just make a new product page and I am now able to tag on instagram.  

[Threelabs]

Thank you!  That was exactly the problem for me...duplicating a product.

[chrisngrod]

I started off with a few new items getting this error but now old items are creeping up on my list. 😢

[hargy]

I think I figured out the solution, I duplicated the product that was giving me the error and then deleted the product that was giving me the error. I was then left with the duplicated product and now that product isn't giving me any errors 🙂

[donnamac]

The thing is…..we shouldn’t have to be doing that.  No?

[Mcglynnfarm1]

Exactly! It’s not solved people 

[Mcglynnfarm1]

Correct this is it solved. I’m still having the exact same issues. Shopify just keeps sending this same community forum saying it has the answers and we don’t!!!

[Mcglynnfarm1]

*is Not solved 

[gfannick]

I have a theory that there might be a 12-character limit and if the first 12 characters are the same on multiple items it throws an error. Just a theory.

[Mcglynnfarm1]

I just don’t see how that can be as I have multiple brand new products with different names. I did reword and am trying to push through to Facebook again. We’ll see. 

[gfannick]

I was referring to the SKU. Not sure if Facebook keys off of that. I
noticed when I edited a sku one of the ones that was stuck went through.

[Mcglynnfarm1]

Thanks. I’ll check it out 

[superuser]

Is there any update on this?

I have the same issue and i dont have any other items in my shop... its impossible for me to have duplicates because I literally just made the shop..