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How to Bulk Update Products Catalog with a CSV File

Bulk updating your Products Catalog with a CSV file allows you to export product data, update it in a spreadsheet (Excel or Google Sheets), and import it back to apply changes across many products at once—saving time and ensuring consistency.

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Written by AI Support Bot
Updated over a week ago

Overview

Bulk updating your Products Catalog with CSV files in 3Dsellers allows you to efficiently manage large numbers of products by exporting product data to a spreadsheet, making changes in bulk, and importing the updated data back into your catalog.
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This feature is ideal for updating product titles, descriptions, prices, categories, other Product Properties and Custom Attributes across hundreds or thousands of products simultaneously.
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CSV bulk updates save significant time compared to editing products individually and ensure consistency across your catalog.

Benefits of CSV Bulk Updates

Using CSV files for bulk updates offers several advantages:

  • Efficiency: Update hundreds or thousands of products at once instead of editing them individually

  • Familiar tools: Use spreadsheet applications like Excel or Google Sheets

  • Data validation: Review and validate all changes before importing

  • Backup and version control: Keep CSV files as backups and track changes over time

  • Bulk operations: Perform price adjustments, category changes, inventory updates, etc.

  • Data import: Import new products from external sources using CSV format

  • Consistency: Keep formatting and data consistent across your catalog

Exporting Products to CSV

Step 1: Select Products

  1. Navigate to Products Catalog in the left sidebar.

  2. Use filters or segments to find the products you want to export (or select all products).

  3. Select products by checking the boxes next to product names, or use Select all to export all visible products.

  4. You’ll see a message like “X products are selected” at the top of the product list.

Step 2: Export to CSV

  1. In the top action bar, click the Export dropdown button.

  2. Select Export to CSV.

  3. The Create Export File pop-up will open and you can select the Fields you want to include in the Export

  4. If you want to include All Fields, just slide to the bottom of the page and click on the "Add All Fields" button.

  5. Click on the Export Now and the system generates a CSV file containing all selected products and fields.

  6. You will be redirected to the Export Files tab where you can download the report.


✅ Note: The exported CSV file includes Product Properties as columns, allowing you to edit product data in bulk.

What Gets Exported

The CSV file includes Product Properties for the selected products, such as:


Product identification

  • SKU

  • Product Title

  • Product ID

  • ASIN

Pricing

  • Price

  • MSRP

  • Wholesale Price

Product information

  • Description

  • Short Description

  • Category

  • Brand

  • Condition

SEO and marketing

  • SEO Keywords

  • Meta Description

  • Tags

Inventory

  • Quantity

  • Available Quantity

Product identifiers

  • UPC

  • EAN

  • MPN

  • ISBN

  • GTIN

Additional properties (examples)

  • Bullet Points

  • Weight

  • Dimensions

  • Color

  • Size

  • And more

Understanding CSV File Format

CSV (Comma-Separated Values) files are standard text files that can be opened in spreadsheet applications like Excel, Google Sheets, or Numbers.


File Structure

CSV files use the following structure:

  • First row: column headers (field names like sku, title, price)

  • Each row after: one product

  • Encoding: must be UTF-8 to support special characters

  • Delimiter: comma-separated values

👉 Click here to download the 3Dsellers Excel Template + Instructions

Column Headers

The CSV file uses column headers that correspond to Product Properties (examples):

  • sku (required for updates)

  • title

  • price

  • description

  • msrp

  • wholesale_price

  • category

  • brand

  • condition

  • quantity

  • upc

  • ean

  • mpn

  • isbn

  • tags

CSV File Example

Example format:

sku,title,price,description,msrp,brand,category,quantity PROD-001,Blue Cotton T-Shirt,19.99,Comfortable cotton t-shirt in blue,29.99,BrandName,Clothing,50 PROD-002,Red Cotton T-Shirt,19.99,Comfortable cotton t-shirt in red,29.99,BrandName,Clothing,30 PROD-003,Black Jeans,49.99,Classic fit black jeans,69.99,BrandName,Clothing,25

Preparing Your CSV File for Import

Before importing a CSV file, confirm it is properly formatted and contains valid data.


File Format Requirements

  • File type: .csv only (not .xlsx)

  • Encoding: UTF-8

  • Delimiter: commas (,)

  • Text qualifiers: double quotes (" ") for values containing commas

  • Line breaks: one product per row

Required Columns

For updating existing products

Your CSV must include:

  • sku (required)

  • Any fields you want to update (title, price, description, etc.)

For creating new products

Your CSV should include:

  • sku (required, unique)

  • title (recommended)

  • price (recommended)

  • Additional properties as needed

Data Validation Checklist

Before importing, verify:

  • ✅ SKUs match existing products (updates) OR are unique (new products)

  • ✅ Numeric fields contain valid numbers (price, quantity)

  • ✅ No unwanted empty rows

  • ✅ Text fields do not exceed limits (title, description)

  • ✅ Special characters display correctly (UTF-8 encoding)

Updating Products from CSV

Step 1: Prepare Your CSV File with the Updates

Make sure the CSV is valid and includes the required columns (especially sku).

Step 2: Access the Import Function

  1. Navigate to Products Catalog.

  2. Click the Import Files tab.

  3. Select Update Products.

Step 3: Upload the CSV File

  1. Click Choose File / Browse / Upload.

  2. Select your CSV file from your computer.

  3. The system starts processing the file.

Step 4: Map CSV Columns to Product Fields

After uploading your CSV file, you’ll be taken to the Mapping screen.

Here you can control how each column in your CSV is applied to your Products Catalog by matching:

  • 3Dsellers Product fields (left side)
    to

  • Matching fields from your uploaded CSV (middle dropdowns)

What to do in the Mapping screen

  1. Review the field list and make sure SKU is mapped correctly (this is required to update existing products).

  2. For each field you want to update (such as Product Title, Price, Quantity, etc.), select the matching CSV column from the dropdown.

  3. Leave fields as “Don’t import” if you do not want to update them.

  4. (Optional) Use the Fallback column to define default values when a CSV cell is empty.

  5. (Optional) Save your setup using Save Mapping Preset so you can reuse it for future imports.

Step 5: Execute Import

  1. Click Start Import to start.

  2. Wait for completion (large imports may take longer).

Step 6: Verify Results

After importing, verify:

  • If the system returned any error - you can see the details clicking in the 'View Details' under the Status column.

  • A few random products have the expected updates

  • Any errors are reviewed and corrected

  • Linked listings reflect changes if sync is enabled

CSV Column Mapping

Automatic Mapping

3Dsellers automatically maps CSV headers if they are the same as in the 3Dsellers CSV template:

  • sku → SKU

  • product title → Product Title

  • price → Price

  • description → Description

  • category → Category

  • etc.

Column Name Matching

  • Mapping is case-insensitive

  • Column headers should match property names (example: title, not product_title)

  • If a column doesn’t match, it may be ignored or require manual mapping

Updating Existing Products vs Creating New Products

Updating Existing Products

To update existing products:

  • The CSV must include sku

  • SKUs must match exactly

  • Only filled columns are updated (depending on import settings)

Creating New Products

To create new products:

  • SKUs must not exist in your catalog

  • Required fields must be included (typically SKU + Title + Price)

Mixed Operations

You can update and create products in a single file:

  • Existing SKUs → updated

  • New SKUs → created

Best Practices for CSV Bulk Updates

Before Exporting

  • Export your catalog first as a backup

  • Export only what you need using filters

  • Test on 5–10 products first

When Preparing CSV Files

  • Keep the original export as reference

  • Work on a copy

  • Validate SKUs carefully

  • Confirm numeric formats and text formatting

  • Avoid clearing data unintentionally

During Import

  • Review preview and mapping carefully

  • Start small before importing a large file

  • Watch for errors

After Import

  • Verify updates on a sample of products

  • Review errors and re-import if needed

  • Check linked listings if syncing is enabled

  • Keep a record of imports for tracking

Troubleshooting

CSV Import Fails or Shows Errors

Check:

  • .csv or .xlsx format

  • UTF-8 encoding

  • column headers

  • file size

  • special characters

  • error messages shown in the import summary

Products Not Updating

Check:

  • SKU values match existing products exactly

  • empty cells are not unintentionally overwriting values

New Products Not Creating

Check:

  • SKU uniqueness

  • required fields are filled

  • you selected “Import new products”

Data Not Mapping Correctly

Check:

  • CSV headers match Product Property names

  • manual mapping (if available)

  • formatting and data types

Import Takes Too Long or Times Out

Try:

  • splitting CSV into smaller batches (500–1000 products)

  • removing unnecessary columns

Special Characters Display Incorrectly

Confirm the file was saved using UTF-8 encoding.

Linked Listings Not Updating

Check:

  • product listing linkage

  • sync settings

  • refresh listing view and allow time for sync

Related Articles

Related Articles
eBay CSV - Import Products | Bulk Upload CSV/Excel files
How to Import Listings into the Catalog
Creating New Products with CSV Files in 3Dsellers
How to Update Product Catalog Inventory: Bulk Updates and CSV Imports
Exporting Products from Catalog to a CSV file
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