Reconcile product CSVs: two variants, field mapping and draft checks

01Start with two complete source records and distinguish price from cost

Download supplier.csv or copy the complete block. Each row is a SKU/color combination, not an order. price is the selling price; cost is supplier unit cost. A shared monetary unit does not make them interchangeable. material illustrates an unmapped field. All products and values are fictional.

1. 1
   Keep the original and confirm currency/field meanings without substituting cost for price.
2. 2
   Review the two-row sample for options, prices, omissions and recovery before expanding the task.
3. 3
   Open the actual download and reconcile it before reviewing current target-platform requirements; passing a file check does not execute a store change.

sku,handle,title,brand,price,currency,option1Name,option1Value,cost,material
CUP-B,cup-01,Demo travel cup,Demo,19.90,USD,Color,Blue,8.00,Steel
CUP-W,cup-01,Demo travel cup,Demo,21.90,USD,Color,White,9.00,Steel

02Prepare the product draft, then map fields when needed

This worked example uses Shopify product preparation and cross-platform field mapping. The other entries below address reports, assumptions and actions; the same two product rows are not advertising, settlement or inventory records.

• Map an Amazon product file: Use the selected platform template and verify required headers, parent-child rows and units before exporting a file for review.
• Prepare a Shopify product import: Check handles, variant combinations and image fields, then compare the exported CSV with the current Shopify specification before importing.
• Map cross-platform fields: Maintain an explicit source-to-target field map and inspect unsupported fields rather than silently discarding them.
• Review profit and settlement assumptions: Enter verified costs, fees and currencies, inspect settlement differences and compare scenarios; results depend on supplied assumptions and are not financial advice.
• Review an advertising export: Confirm the attribution period and metric mapping, inspect candidate exclusions and budget pacing, and treat bid previews as scenarios that need account-side review.
• Compare research samples: Keep competitor sample dates, supplier quote assumptions and review evidence; a small imported sample is not a complete market census.
• Review inventory scenarios: State demand and lead-time assumptions, then inspect stock age, packing and exception lists before approving a replenishment action.
• Prepare support evidence: Check return records, document expiry and case references using verified facts; a prepared request list is not a sent message or platform approval.
• Plan operating actions: Link traffic or conversion anomalies to evidence, assign review owners and preserve approval status before acting outside the workspace.

03Complete path: load, map, confirm and export two draft rows

Open Shopify product preparation. Upload supplier.csv, or paste it and select Read data. Verify two original rows. Review sku, handle, title, brand, price, currency, option1Name and option1Value, especially that price maps to price rather than cost.

1. 1
   Both handles must be cup-01, with the same title and option name Color. Blue/White must map to CUP-B/CUP-W.
2. 2
   Choose store currency USD and confirm currency/import-preview review. With no reported issue, download CSV. Also select Download source data to save source-products.json.
3. 3
   Parse the CSV or import its columns as text. Reconcile both SKUs, Price text 19.90/21.90 and Option1 value Blue/White. Status must be draft and Published on online store false.
4. 4
   The draft excludes cost/material, while source JSON retains 8.00/9.00 and Steel. Exclusion is not completed migration; handle required target fields separately under the current specification.

Shopify’s product CSV documentation describes field dependencies and import options. Review the current format, variants and overwrite choices before a real import. This exercise neither connects to nor imports into a store.

04Duplicate Blue deliberately: why a different SKU is insufficient

duplicate-option.csv changes only CUP-W’s White to Blue. Reload it in Shopify preparation: row 3, counting the header, must identify a repeated option combination. Different SKUs do not distinguish two Color/Blue rows under one handle.

The exercise’s confirmed source says White. Reload supplier.csv, review mappings/currency and export again. In real work, confirm the product fact rather than inventing a handle or color to suppress an issue. A previous download is not the changed input’s current result.

For a three-column target, open cross-platform mapping and load the same source. Read the target header below and map it to sku, title and price. Confirm and download mapped-products.csv. This is a field-mapping exercise, not an official Amazon submission template.

item_sku,item_name,standard_price

For a multirow workbook, follow field-code row and template mapping; check family relationships separately with the variation guide. The following profit/period sections are separate arithmetic examples, not calculations from these two products.

05Unpack the assumptions behind a margin

This invented arithmetic scenario uses one currency and per-unit amounts; none is an actual Amazon fee rate. Selling price is 100, product cost 35, platform-related fees 15, fulfillment/shipping 8, allocated advertising 12 and return reserve 5. Under that definition, remaining contribution is 100 − 35 − 15 − 8 − 12 − 5 = 25, or 25% of selling price. Other unlisted expenses are excluded, so this is not an audited net-profit figure.

If allocated advertising rises to 20 with everything else unchanged, the contribution is 17, or 17%. If an omitted per-unit expense of 6 is then included, it becomes 11, or 11%. Keep each cost’s source file, period and allocation unit beside the result. A missing cost is unresolved, not automatically zero. These scenarios explain the calculation rather than recommend a commercial decision.

06Pause recommendations when reporting periods differ

Suppose invented advertising spend is 120 and attributed sales under the same reporting definition are 600: spend divided by attributed sales is 20%. Using sales of 1000 from a longer period would produce 12%, an apparent improvement caused solely by incompatible periods. Establish marketplace, currency, date range and attribution definition before reviewing candidate exclusions or budget changes. This example explains the denominator; it is not an advertising recommendation.

Likewise, a file showing 40 stock units and assumed demand of 10 per week supports a simple four-week coverage scenario, not confirmed future demand or arrival dates. An exported operating task should state the source period and pending account-side verification, with approval and execution evidence preserved. File analysis must not be described as an already synchronized account change.

07Hand over the source, draft and unresolved work together

Retain supplier.csv, source-products.json, the Shopify draft or mapped-products.csv and this review record. Trace original fields to target fields and outstanding manual work. A draft download is not publication or approval evidence.