Feed Validation & Error Resolution

Sometimes a marketplace rejects your feed or individual products. Don't panic—most rejections are fixable. This guide walks you through diagnosing and resolving common errors.

Where Errors Come From

Errors can originate from:

1. Pre-export validation in Merchkit — Catches format and required field issues before export
2. Marketplace feed validation — Happens when you upload; marketplace checks format, business rules, and completeness
3. Listing suppression — After marketplace accepts your feed, listings are suppressed (hidden) if they violate policies

Understanding Error Messages

When a marketplace rejects your feed, you receive:

• Error list — Specific products or attributes with issues
• Error codes — Marketplace-specific codes (e.g., "INVALID_PRICE_FORMAT")
• Error descriptions — Plain-English explanation of what's wrong
• Error locations — Which row/product/attribute has the issue

[SCREENSHOT: Example Wayfair feed rejection email with error list]

Common Error Message Formats

Wayfair:

"Row 42: Required attribute 'Carton_Width' is missing. Product SKU: SOFA-001"

Amazon:

"Error: Invalid value for 'List Price'. Expected numeric format, got 'Call for price'. Submission ID: B00001"

Google Merchant:

"Missing required attribute: 'gtin'. Product ID: 12345. Category: Furniture > Sofas"

Diagnosing Errors: The Process

When you receive a feed rejection:

1. Read the error message carefully — Identify which product(s) and which attribute(s)
2. Categorize the error type — Is it missing data? Wrong format? Business rule violation?
3. Fix the issue in Merchkit — Edit the data or regenerate
4. Re-validate — Check that the fix worked
5. Re-export and resubmit — Upload the corrected feed

Common Error Types by Category

Category 1: Missing Required Fields

Error: "Required field 'X' is missing for product SKU: [SKU]"

Cause: A marketplace-required attribute is blank.

How to fix:

1. Open the channel in Merchkit
2. Locate the affected SKU
3. Click the empty attribute cell
4. Either:
   • Manually enter a value, or
   • Edit the attribute's AI prompt and regenerate
5. Save and re-export

[SCREENSHOT: Filling in missing Carton Width in Wayfair channel]

Prevention: Before export, filter to show "Empty required attributes" and fill them all.

Category 2: Format Errors

Error: "Invalid format for 'Price'. Expected numeric, got 'USD 99.99'"

Cause: Data doesn't match the required format.

Common format issues:

How to fix:

1. Identify which format is expected (check marketplace docs)
2. Open the channel and edit the affected attribute
3. Reformat to match the expected format
4. If multiple products have the same format error, edit the AI prompt and regenerate

[SCREENSHOT: Fixing price format from $99.99 to 99.99]

Prevention: Use Merchkit's input helpers (date picker, number field) when available. Customize prompts to specify exact format.

Category 3: Business Rule Violations

Error: "Violation: Sale price must be lower than regular price"

Cause: Your data violates the marketplace's business logic.

Common business rule violations:

How to fix:

1. Understand the business rule (check marketplace documentation)
2. Identify which products violate it
3. Fix the data in Merchkit
4. Re-export and resubmit

[SCREENSHOT: Fixing sale price to be lower than regular price]

Category 4: Attribute Value Mismatch

Error: "Invalid value for 'Color'. Accepted values: [Blue, Red, Green]. Got: 'Light Blue'"

Cause: You entered a value that's not in the marketplace's allowed list.

How to fix:

1. Identify which values are allowed (check marketplace or Merchkit's dropdown)
2. Change the attribute to match allowed values exactly
3. For example, if "Light Blue" isn't allowed but "Blue" is, change to "Blue"

For dropdowns in Merchkit:

1. Click the attribute cell
2. A dropdown appears with allowed values
3. Select the correct value from the list

[SCREENSHOT: Dropdown showing allowed color values]

Prevention: When setting up attributes, always use select/dropdown fields when the marketplace provides a fixed list of values.

Category 5: Image or Media Errors

Error: "Image URL invalid or inaccessible. URL: https://mysite.com/images/sofa.jpg"

Cause: The image URL is broken or the image file is missing.

How to fix:

1. Check that the image URL is correct
2. Verify the image file exists at that location
3. Test the URL in a browser (should show the image)
4. If the URL is wrong, correct it
5. If the image is missing, upload a new image to your server and update the URL

[SCREENSHOT: Testing image URL in browser]

Prevention: Before exporting, spot-check that all image URLs are live and images load.

Category 6: Character Encoding Issues

Error: "Invalid character in description: 'ü'. Only ASCII characters allowed"

Cause: The marketplace doesn't support special characters (accents, non-English characters, etc.).

How to fix:

1. Identify the special character (usually flagged in the error)

2. Replace with ASCII equivalent:

   • "Café" → "Cafe"
   • "Sofa $299" → "Sofa 299"
   • "100% linen" → "100 percent linen"

3. Re-export and resubmit

[SCREENSHOT: Removing special characters from product description]

Prevention: When creating AI prompts, specify "Remove special characters and use only ASCII characters" to prevent this at generation.

Channel-Specific Error Patterns

Wayfair Error Patterns

Most common Wayfair rejections:

1. Missing packaging dimensions (Carton Width, Height, Depth, Weight)

   • Fix: Measure cartons accurately and fill these critical attributes

2. Assembly time missing (Assembly Required = Yes but Assembly Time missing)

   • Fix: Provide assembly time in minutes

3. Category-specific attributes missing

   • Fix: Ensure products are in the correct category view and all category-specific required fields are filled

4. Material composition incomplete

   • Fix: Break down materials clearly with percentages

Wayfair debugging tips:

• Use the category view selector to ensure you're in the right category
• Review Wayfair's attribute documentation for your specific product category
• Test with a small batch (5-10 products) before submitting 1,000+

Amazon Error Patterns

Most common Amazon rejections:

1. Missing primary image

   • Fix: Ensure the first image is a clean product shot with white/simple background

2. Bullet points too long or grammatically incorrect

   • Fix: Edit to be concise (1-2 sentences each) and grammatically correct

3. Duplicate SKU or ASIN conflict

   • Fix: Use unique SKUs; if updating existing listings, match exact ASIN

4. Price/availability inconsistency

   • Fix: Ensure listed price matches current website price

Amazon debugging tips:

• Use Amazon's listings report to see which products were successfully created vs. errors
• Check Manage Inventory for suppressed listings (shows why they're suppressed)
• Review Amazon's guidelines for your product category

Google Merchant Error Patterns

Most common Google Merchant rejections:

1. Missing GTIN (barcode)

   • Fix: Add valid UPC/EAN/GTIN

2. Link URL doesn't work or is wrong

   • Fix: Verify product URL leads to the exact product

3. Price mismatch between feed and website

   • Fix: Ensure feed price matches your website

4. Image URL broken

   • Fix: Verify image URLs are correct and images load

Google Merchant debugging tips:

• Google Merchant Center's Diagnostics tab shows all errors
• Issues are categorized by severity (Critical, Warning)
• Use Google's validation tool to test URLs before submitting

Resolution Workflow

Here's a step-by-step process for resolving rejected feeds:

Step 1: Receive Error

Marketplace sends you an email or you check the feed submission status.

[SCREENSHOT: Wayfair rejection email]

Step 2: Export Error Report

Most marketplaces provide an error report (CSV or PDF).

Save this locally for reference.

Step 3: Categorize Errors

Group errors by type:

• Missing fields
• Format errors
• Business rule violations
• Other

[SCREENSHOT: Error report with 23 errors, 15 missing fields, 8 format issues]

Step 4: Prioritize Fixes

Fix in this order:

1. Critical errors (feed-wide rejections first)
2. Missing required fields (affects many products)
3. Format errors (systematic fixes)
4. Business rule violations (product-specific)

Step 5: Fix in Merchkit

For each error:

1. Open the channel
2. Locate the affected product
3. Edit the problematic attribute
4. Verify the fix
5. If multiple products have the same issue, edit the prompt and regenerate

[SCREENSHOT: Opening Wayfair channel and fixing missing Carton Width]

Step 6: Re-Validate

Before re-exporting:

1. Filter to show only fixed products
2. Spot-check they look correct
3. Check Merchkit's validation dashboard — should show 0 errors for those products

Step 7: Re-Export

Click Export again with the fixed data.

Step 8: Resubmit

Upload the corrected feed to the marketplace.

Step 9: Monitor

Check the marketplace's feed status for acceptance or new errors.

[SCREENSHOT: Monitoring feed submission status in Wayfair]

Batch Fixes for Common Errors

If the same error affects many products, fix it systematically:

Example: Wrong format for "Assembly Time" (needs minutes, currently has "30 min")

1. Open the channel
2. Filter to show products with Assembly Time = "30 min" (or similar format)
3. Edit the AI prompt for the Assembly Time attribute
4. Regenerate for the filtered products
5. This applies the corrected prompt to all affected products at once

[SCREENSHOT: Regenerating Assembly Time attribute for multiple products]

This is much faster than manually editing each product.

Preventing Future Errors

After you've resolved a batch of errors, prevent them in the future:

1. Document the error — Note what caused it and how you fixed it
2. Update your process — Did you miss a validation step? Add it to your workflow
3. Refine your prompts — If an AI prompt caused the error, improve it
4. Educate your team — Share learnings with team members managing other channels

When to Contact Support

Some errors are unfixable in Merchkit:

• Marketplace policy violation — Your products don't meet marketplace requirements (e.g., counterfeit, restricted categories)
• Account issue — Your marketplace account has restrictions or is flagged
• Marketplace bug — Rare, but sometimes the marketplace has issues accepting valid data

In these cases:

1. Document the error carefully
2. Contact the marketplace's seller support — they can investigate
3. Contact Merchkit support — they can advise if the issue is with the format or the marketplace

Next Steps

Once your feed is accepted and products are live:

• Continuous Optimization: Refining Live Listings — Improve listing performance and sales