and now we cannot even talk to support:
" Live chats and Phone callback support is temporarily unavailable"
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.