Anyone else frustrated with new "update" re: Inventory vs. On Hand Quantity?

Shopify Discussion

Topic summary

Shopify merchants are frustrated by an inventory management update that replaced the “Available” column with “On Hand” in bulk editing views. The “On Hand” quantity represents total physical inventory (Committed + Available + Unavailable), making it difficult for merchants to see at-a-glance what’s actually available for sale.

Key Issues:

  • Bulk editing now only shows “On Hand,” requiring merchants to click into individual products to see “Available” inventory
  • Products with variants display “On Hand” first, cutting off variant names when scrolling to view “Available” quantities
  • Merchants without physical inventory (dropshippers, made-to-order businesses) find “On Hand” meaningless for their workflows
  • The change has caused overselling, incorrect stock displays, and significant time waste
  • Mobile app only shows “On Hand” with no way to view “Available”
  • Technical bugs include: page jumping to top after saving, negative inventory amounts appearing incorrectly, and save buttons disappearing

Shopify’s Response:

  • Initially defended the change, suggesting merchants use “continue selling when out of stock” settings
  • Later re-enabled editing of “Available” quantities and allowed negative inventory
  • Fixed CSV import/export workflows
  • Acknowledged bugs are being investigated but provided no timeline for fixes
  • Stated “On Hand” feature will not be removed despite widespread complaints

Merchant Reactions:
Many are considering switching platforms (WooCommerce, BigCommerce mentioned). Merchants report lost sales, angry customers, staff stress, and hours of additional work managing inventory. The update appears inadequately tested and poorly suited for diverse business models.

Summarized with AI on November 2. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
103

Frustrated is an understatement. This is atrocious. I have 10 girls working for me, I have had problems with ALL TEN OF THEM managing this new inventory system. That tells me everything I need to know, Shopify needs to change this STAT.

I’ve had employees telling customers to drive all the way out to our brick and mortar store because products are in stock when they are not (employees are getting mixed up between on hand and available) This has caused 2 poor reviews online (the only 2 negative we’ve ever had)

I’ve had staff delete items from inventory not understanding that the app is showing them “on hand” not “available” This has caused us to spend money unnecessarily on inventory

I’ve had items not re-ordered on time because there has been confusion between what has actually sold and what has not. This alone has cost me thousands.

Ive had my store for 23 years and I’ve been through 5 different POS systems with inventory management and this is hands down, no question, the absolute worst update I’ve ever seen. It’s just bizarre to me why Shopify would have done this… I’ve really thought long and hard about it and as mentioned above, I have a ton of retail and wholesale experience and there, in my opinion, is absolutely no advantage to this new system. It causes confusion, causes dire issues both in store and online and for every other retailer I’ve discussed this with, it has been a recipe for disaster.

@Shopify_77

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