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Shopify oversold but ShipBob has none: what to check first

Updated 16 October 2026 · 5 min read · ShelfTrue team

When Shopify shows more for sale than ShipBob can ship, customers can buy units that will never leave the warehouse. If your stock doesn't seem to sync between Shopify and ShipBob and you've started overselling, do these checks in this order: stop it getting worse, find the cause, then deal with the orders already taken.

First, stop it getting worse

Open the product in Shopify admin. In the Inventory section, check Continue selling when out of stock. Unless you meant it (for example for preorders), turn it off.
Compare Shopify Available with ShipBob Fulfillable for the product. (Why these two numbers.)
If Shopify is higher, lower it to what ShipBob can ship, on the product page or with an inventory CSV import for many products at once.

Then find out why it happened

Shopify keeps selling past zero

With Continue selling when out of stock on, customers can buy at zero and below. It's useful for preorders, and easy to leave on by mistake.

A sale at the till

Shopify POS doesn't follow that setting: staff can sell an item at zero or below, after a warning. If you sell in person from the same stock, a till sale can take the last units.

More than one location

Shopify assigns each online order to a location. When no single location can fill the whole order, Shopify either splits it across locations or lets the highest-priority location oversell. If you have a shop or a second warehouse as well as ShipBob, check your order routing settings.

ShipBob's count went down

A recount, damaged units, or stock moving between ShipBob warehouses can lower what ShipBob can ship before Shopify catches up. Stock that's moving comes back when it arrives; a recount or damage doesn't.

Something raised Shopify's number

Another app, a second sales channel or a hand edit can set Shopify's number higher than ShipBob's. Open the product, click View adjustment history in the Inventory section, and read the Created by column to see which staff member, app or channel made each change.

Orders you've already oversold

Find the unfulfilled orders for the product, oldest first. Those are the ones that will get the stock you have.
For the orders that can't be filled, decide: wait for new stock, or cancel and refund.
If you wait, tell the customer now. You can put the order's fulfillment on hold in Shopify so it doesn't go out half-filled; release the hold when the stock arrives.

Example

Product	Shopify Available	ShipBob Fulfillable	What it means
White Mug	12	9	3 more mugs can be sold than ShipBob can ship.
Green Tote	−4	0	4 orders already taken with no stock. Continue selling is probably on.

Related guides

ShelfTrue does this check for you. Upload your warehouse's stock file and ShelfTrue compares it with Shopify at least once an hour on paid plans. It tells you which products are at risk of overselling, by how many units and how much money. Coming soon: connect ShipBob directly, and ShelfTrue will read its stock for you, allow for orders on the way and on hold, and list paid orders ShipBob never received. We can look, but never change anything at the warehouse.

Your first check is free.

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