Ever wonder why the number of products you see in Kintsugi doesn't quite match what's in your Shopify store? This article explains the reasons behind these differences and what you can expect.
How Kintsugi Imports your Shopify Products
1) Initial product sync (Active only)
When you first connect Shopify to Kintsugi, we pull in only your Active products. This ensures your Kintsugi catalog stays clean and focused on what you're currently selling. Draft products are not included.
2) Order-driven product creation (Archived/Deleted Products)
Your past orders might include products that you've since archived or even deleted in Shopify. When Kintsugi processes these historical orders, we create a corresponding product in Kintsugi. This is crucial for correctly calculating and reporting taxes on those past sales.
Result: You might see more products in Kintsugi than in your current active Shopify list, or products that seem "non-existent" in Shopify Admin. This is normal and necessary for accurate tax reporting and auditing.
Why we can’t skip them: If a product appeared in a real transaction, it must exist in Kintsugi for accurate tax calculation and auditability.
Understanding Discrepancies in Product Descriptions
For products created via order sync, Shopify’s order APIs do not provide the full product description—only the line item title and product ID.
Kintsugi therefore uses the line item title as the product description for those entries.
This is expected behavior and ensures we can still classify and tax historical transactions tied to those products.
What are the “shipping” products I see?
For every order with a shipping charge, Kintsugi creates a shipping line item and a related shipping product (e.g., “Standard Shipping”).
This is intentional and required so we can calculate taxes on shipping charges where applicable.
You’ll typically see a small set of shipping items You'll typically see a small set of these shipping-related items in Kintsugi.
Common scenarios & answers
“Kintsugi shows archived or non‑existent Shopify products—why?”
Those items exist in historical orders. We create them from order data so we can tax those orders correcly.
“Kintsugi shows fewer products than Shopify—why?”
Only Active products are pulled during the initial sync. Draft items are excluded.
Archived items only appear if they are part of a historical order.
“Should Draft products be imported?”
No. Drafts are not imported in the initial sync.
“Descriptions don’t match Shopify for some items—why?”
These entries were created from historical order data, and the description reflects the order line item title, not the Shopify product description.
“Do shipping products belong here?”
Yes. We create shipping products on purpose to tax shipping charges accurately.
How to validate what you’re seeing
Check the product’s status in Shopify: If an item was Archived/Deleted in Shopify, yet you see it in Kintsugi, it likely came from the order sync (i.e., it appears on at least one historical order).
Cross‑reference an order: In Shopify, open an order that contains the product. Confirm the product ID appears in that order; this explains why Kintsugi created it.
Identify shipping entries: Look for names like “Standard Shipping” or “Shipping Charges” in Kintsugi. These are expected and tied to shipping tax calculations.
Review Product approvals: If you see items in Partially Approved status, review and approve them to ensure accurate future categorization.
Troubleshooting Product Import Delays
If you're noticing delays in your product imports:
First, check if your products are “Active” in Shopify:
Are your expected products Active in Shopify? Draft/Archived items won’t appear via the initial product sync.
Order-driven items:
If “missing” items are Archived but exist on historical orders, they’ll be created when those orders sync.
Time considerations:
Large catalogs and extensive order histories can take longer to sync. Shopify API rate limits can also affect sync speed.
Next steps:
If numbers haven’t changed for several hours and your target products are Active, contact Support with:
Example product handles/IDs
Example order numbers (if applicable)
Screenshots showing Shopify status (Active/Draft/Archived)
Nexus: How Archived Test Orders Affect Thresholds
Expected behavior: Archived transactions should be excluded from Nexus calculations after we run a full Nexus recalculation (rerun).
If you archived a large number of test orders and still see unexpected Nexus exposure:
Confirm those transactions are actually archived in Shopify.
Ask Support to confirm a full Nexus rerun has been completed.
Re‑check the “Sales made” figures per state/country. They should reflect totals excluding archived transactions.
If totals still look off after a confirmed rerun, share specific order numbers and the expected totals so we can investigate.
FAQ
Do we ever import Draft products automatically?
No. Only Active products in the initial sync. Drafts are ignored.
Why are there products in Kintsugi that I can’t find in Shopify?
They’re likely Archived/Deleted in Shopify but exist on orders. We create them from order data for complete tax calculation.
Can you change order‑created product descriptions to match Shopify?
Only if we also import all archived products—otherwise, order‑created entries will use the line item title by design.
Can I remove shipping products?
We don’t recommend it. They’re needed to properly tax shipping charges.
Need help?
For further concerns, we're always here to help. If you can't find the answer you're looking for, please reach out to us using the chat bubble in the bottom right corner.