Best practices for dealing with products no longer available but still in stock

Shopify Discussion
1

Hello,

As part of the product validation process, there are many products that remain in stock but that are no longer available as the product has been discontinued by the manufacturer, or the manufacturer no longer exists at all.

These products should show in the store so the client can get rid of them by selling them off as clearance, but ensure that as soon as the inventory reaches zero that the products are no longer visible.

I understand that Active shows them and that Archive retains them but does not show them. I think I am looking for something in the middle. I did create a collection for clearance products and use that on the store page and have set that products out of stock cannot be ordered (client decision).

Can anyone share their best practices for this scenario?

Thank you kindly,

Ross

2

Hi @DRChevalier ,

I think the easiest way to go about this is just to disable selling of this product if it runs out of inventory and then checking the stock of these discontinued products on a daily basis and one their product has gone completely out of stock, then you can just remove them altogether.

Regards,

Marko

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3

Hi @DRChevalier and Ross,

Welcome to the Shopify community.

Managing discontinued products that need to be sold off as clearance while ensuring they disappear from the store once out of stock can be challenging. Here are some best practices to handle this scenario effectively:

1. Use Inventory Management Settings

Shopify allows you to manage inventory settings to ensure products are not available for purchase once they are out of stock. Here’s how you can set it up:

Go to the Product Page:
In your Shopify admin, go to Products.
Select the product you want to edit.

Set Inventory Settings:
Scroll down to the Inventory section.
Ensure the Track quantity option is enabled.
Check Continue selling when out of stock to ensure it is unchecked. This way, the product will automatically be marked as unavailable once the stock reaches zero.

2. Create and Manage Clearance Collection

You’ve already created a clearance collection, which is great. Here’s how to further optimize it:

Automate Collection Rules:
In your Shopify admin, go to Products > Collections.
Select your clearance collection.
Use automated collection conditions to include products based on tags like “clearance” or “discontinued.”

Tagging Products:
Tag products that you want to move to clearance with appropriate tags, e.g., clearance.
You can bulk edit tags from the Products page for easier management.

3. Use Shopify Apps

There are several apps available on the Shopify App Store that can help you manage out-of-stock products more efficiently.

4. Custom Liquid Code

If you have a developer or are comfortable with Liquid, you can customize your theme to hide products automatically once the inventory reaches zero.

If you need any further assistance, feel free to reach out.

Best regards,

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