Disabled Inventory Tracking for this product, so it shouldn't display "Sold Out."

Shopify Discussion
1

I have already disabled Inventory Tracking for this product, so it should not display “Sold Out.”

However, in Developer Mode, when I click “Add to Cart,” it still returns a “Sold Out” message.

Please investigate why this is happening and fix the issue so customers can successfully add the product to the cart when inventory tracking is disabled.

2

Hi @Digi3

Sure, I’ll investigate the issue. Please send me your store URL and collaborator code so I can access your store and check the problem.

First, I’ll verify why the “Sold Out” message is still appearing even though Inventory Tracking is disabled. Then I’ll identify the root cause and fix it so customers can successfully add the product to the cart when inventory tracking is disabled.

Once I’ve completed the investigation, I’ll update you on the progress.

3

Disabling inventory tracking should normally keep the variant available, so if Add to Cart still returns “Sold Out,” I would check the variant rather than only the product-level setting.

Make sure inventory tracking is disabled for every variant, the correct variant ID is being submitted, the product is active and published to the Online Store, and no app or custom theme code is overriding availability.

The most useful next step is to inspect the failed /cart/add.js request and test the same product in a clean Dawn theme. That will show whether the issue comes from the product configuration or the current theme/app setup.

4

A few things come to mind. Besides inventory tracking, I’d check whether the product variant is still marked as unavailable, whether the theme has custom availability logic, and whether any app is overriding Shopify’s default inventory behavior. If those all look correct, sharing the product URL and theme name could help narrow it down.

5

Make sure that:

  • product is properly assigned to location and
  • this location can fulfil online store orders and
  • there are delivery options (shipping profiles and zones) to perform this fulfilment.

One of these missing is the most probable reason for the behaviour you’re encountering.

Say, many US-based shops show “sold out” to me as I am in Australia, but available to US-located visitors.

6

Hi @Digi3

Here are some steps to diagnose and fix the “Sold Out” issue in that other store:

Step 1: Verify the product settings
Go to the product in question and confirm inventory tracking is truly disabled (set to “Don’t track inventory”).
Also check that “Continue selling when out of stock” is enabled on the variant level.

Step 2: Check the theme code
In the theme editor, go to Edit code and search for terms like sold_out, variant.available, or inventory_quantity.
Look in files like product-form.liquid, buy-buttons.liquid, or similar snippets.
If the theme hardcodes a sold-out check, it may need to be updated to respect the “don’t track” setting.

Step 3: Check for conflicting apps
Temporarily disable any back-in-stock or inventory-related app embeds in the theme editor (Online Store - Themes - Customize - App embeds).
Test the Add to Cart button again, if it works, the app was overriding the button.

Step 4: Test in a different browser / incognito
Rules out any browser caching issues showing stale “Sold Out” state.

Thanks

7

Hi @Digi3 ,
If Inventory Tracking is disabled but the product still shows “Sold Out” when adding it to the cart, the issue is usually theme or custom code rather than Shopify itself.

Check the following:

  • Ensure the variant has “Track quantity” disabled.
  • Verify the variant is Active and available on the Online Store sales channel.
  • Review the product form (product-form.js / AJAX cart) for custom validation that blocks unavailable variants.
  • Check if the theme is using variant.available or inventory quantity incorrectly to determine availability.
  • Disable any inventory or preorder apps temporarily to rule out app conflicts.

If the product is still blocked after disabling inventory tracking, it’s most likely a theme customization overriding Shopify’s default availability logic.

8

There is one useful test that has not been spelled out yet: separate Shopify’s own variant availability from the Sold Out message generated on the page.

Start with an empty cart, then:

  1. Open the storefront product page and go to DevTools > Network.
  2. Click Add to cart.
  3. Open the POST request to /cart/add.js and note the submitted variant ID, HTTP status, and JSON response.
  4. In another tab, add .js to the product URL, for example: /products/product-handle.js

Find the exact same variant ID and check its inventory_management and available values.

For a variant with inventory tracking disabled, Shopify’s storefront data should normally show:

inventory_management: null
available: true

Also, Continue selling when out of stock is not an additional setting to enable here. Shopify only makes that option available when inventory tracking is on.

The result should narrow this down:

  • If /cart/add.js returns 200 but the page still displays Sold Out, Shopify accepted the variant and the message is being generated by the theme or an app.
  • If it returns 404 Cannot find variant, check whether the wrong variant ID is being submitted or whether that exact variant is unpublished from the Online Store or the relevant catalog.
  • If it returns 422 Sold Out while the same variant shows inventory_management: null and available: true, save the request and response and send Shopify Support the variant ID, product URL, market, and exact UTC time. In that case, the storefront availability data and Shopify’s cart result appear to disagree.

Individual variants can now have their own publishing availability, so check the Publishing setting for the exact variant, not only the parent product.

9

Based on what you’ve described, disabling Inventory Tracking should normally allow the product to be purchased regardless of stock quantity if you’re still getting a "Sold out" message. The issue is likely coming from the theme or custom code rather than Shopify itself.

Here are a few things I’d check:

  • Verify the variant is Available and the Continue selling when out of stock isn’t being overridden by custom logic.
  • Check whether your theme has custom availability checks that rely on inventory quantity instead of the available property.
  • If the issue only occurs in Developer Mode, compare it with the live theme to determine whether a recent code change introduced the behavior.
  • Inspect any custom JavaScript or app code that handles the Add to Cart button, as it may be caching or overriding the product’s availability state.

If you can share your theme name and whether this is happening on the live theme or only in your development theme. it will be easier to narrow down the root cause.

10

Hello there @Digi3
Inventory tracking is not enabled, but unless there is another limitation on availability, the product will typically still be available. Make sure the product variant is active, available on the sales chanel online store and is not being blocked by any custom theme or app script validating the cart. Look for any cart drawer, inventory, or products availability customizations that could be forcing sold out. You can also use testing in a clean theme preview to see if the problem lies with your theme.