📌 What Are Product Categories?
Product categories are organizational structures that help you classify and group your products in your catalog.
They allow you to:
Organize inventory efficiently
Control how products are published to channels
Map products correctly to eBay, Amazon, Shopify, and other marketplaces
Improve internal search and reporting
A clean category structure reduces listing errors and simplifies channel management.
🛠️ Setting Up and Managing Categories
➕ How to Create a Category
You can create categories in two places:
1️⃣ From the Category Mapper
Go to Products → Categories Mapper
Click + Create New Categories
Enter the category name
Save
This is useful when building your structure while mapping to channels
2️⃣ Directly From the Products Table
Go to Products → All Products
Click inside the Category field of a product
Type a new category name
Select “Create new item”
Save the product
This is helpful when adding new products and realizing a category doesn’t yet exist.
🗂️ Organizing Categories
You can structure categories hierarchically:
Parent categories
Subcategories
Nested levels as needed
This allows your catalog to reflect your real business structure.
🚨 Missing Products Category
When products are imported without a catalog category, they automatically appear under:
Products → Missing Products Category
Products will stay in this tab until a category is assigned.
How to Fix
Go to Missing Products Category
Select one or multiple products
Click Set Products Category
Choose an existing category
– or type a new one and press EnterSave
Once assigned, the products automatically leave this tab and can be mapped and published normally.
ℹ️ Important Note About Imported Categories
If imported products already have a category on the sales channel, the system will automatically create a 3Dsellers Product Category with the same name.
In this case, you do not need to create categories manually — you only need to:
➡️ Map the newly created 3Dsellers category to the correct channel category.
🏷️ Assigning Categories to Products
🔹 Single Product Assignment
Open the Product Editor page
Locate the Category field under the General Details section
Choose the desired category
Save
You can also assign categories directly from the Products table view.
🔹 Bulk Category Assignment
To assign categories to multiple products:
Go to Products → All Products
Select products using checkboxes
Click Bulk Actions
Choose Edit Product Categories
Select the category
Confirm
Bulk assignment is ideal for large inventories.
🔄 Mapping Catalog Categories to Sales Channels
Each marketplace has its own category structure.
3Dsellers allows you to connect (map) your catalog categories to the correct marketplace categories.
⚙️ Mapping Methods
You can map categories in two ways:
🖱️ Manual Mapping
Go to Products → Categories Mapper
Select the sales channel (e.g., eBay, Amazon)
For each catalog category, manually select the corresponding channel category
Save
🤖 AI Mapping
Inside Categories Mapper → AI Actions, you can use:
AI Auto Map – Automatically maps selected categories
AI Store Category Auto Map – Automatically maps store collection categories
AI mapping saves time when dealing with large catalogs.
🤖 AI Mapping Important Note
AI Mapping Is highly accurate in most cases and can save significant time when mapping large catalogs.
However, it’s always recommended to review the results after AI mapping to ensure categories were matched correctly — especially for:
Similar category names
Niche products
Multi-level hierarchies
A quick verification helps prevent publishing errors and incorrect channel placement.
📦 Bulk Mapping & Filters
Inside Products → Categories Mapper, you can use:
🔹 Bulk Actions
Change Category
Remove Primary Categories
Remove Store Categories
These allow you to update multiple categories at once.
🔎 Mapping Filters
At the top of the Category Mapper, you can use:
✅ Show Missing Category Mapping – Displays only categories that are not mapped to the selected channel
✅ Show Missing Store Collection Mapping – Displays categories missing store collection mapping
These filters help you quickly identify incomplete mappings and resolve them efficiently.
🌍 Supported Sales Channels
Category mapping is supported for:
eBay
Amazon
Shopify
Facebook Store
Other integrated marketplaces
Once mapped, products assigned to your catalog category will automatically publish under the correct channel category.
🔁 Category Management Workflows
🚀 Initial Setup Workflow
Define your catalog category structure
Create categories
Assign products (use bulk actions when possible)
Map categories (manually or with AI)
Test with a few products
Monitor listings for correct placement
🔄 Ongoing Management Workflow
Assign categories immediately when adding new products
Audit categories periodically
Monitor channel category updates
Review listing errors related to category mapping
Adjust mappings when channels update their structures
➕ Adding a New Sales Channel
Review the new channel’s category structure
Map existing catalog categories
Use AI mapping if needed
Test with a small product batch
Expand gradually after verification
⚠️ Category & Category Mapping Errors
🚨 Most Common Errors
Missing category mapping – Category exists but is not mapped to the channel
Missing category – Product has no assigned category
Invalid category – Channel category no longer exists
Hierarchy mismatch – Incomplete parent/child mapping
Missing required item specifics – Channel requires fields that are empty
🛠️ How to Fix
Missing Category Mapping
Go to Categories Mapper → Select Channel → Map category → Save
Missing Category
Edit product → Assign category to product → Save → Check Category Mapping → Republish
Invalid Category
Check if channel category still exists → Update mapping → Test with one product
Hierarchy Mismatch
Map the full required structure:
Parent → Child → Subcategory
Category-Specific Requirements
Check required item specifics for that channel category
Add missing fields (Brand, Model, Color, etc.)
Republish
✅ Quick Checklist
All products have categories
All catalog categories are mapped
Channel categories are valid and active
Required item specifics are filled
Hierarchy structure matches channel requirements
🛡️ Prevention Tips
Set up mappings before bulk publishing
Use AI Auto Map for large updates
Use Bulk Actions for quick adjustments
Test mappings with a small batch first
Monitor the Listing Errors section regularly
Most category issues are resolved by ensuring categories are assigned and properly mapped (manually or with AI) before publishing.
If you need further assistance, please contact our support team.