TABLE OF CONTENTS

On occasion, an error will be reported by Shopify when we try to create the order in your Shopify system.


Below are listed the usual error messages and their explanation.


Errors Explained


Shopify Error Message   Explanation
  • {"errors":"Unable to claim inventory"}
  • (example, actual numbers will vary): {"errors":"Inventory not available; Asked for {5184082563=\u003e1}, got {5184082563=\u003e0}"} 

The product is out of stock, i.e. inventory quantity is zero in Shopify. Either increase the inventory and resend the order or cancel the order in our system and refund the customer (refunds must be done via Trade Me).

  • {"errors":{"order":["Line items is invalid"],"line_items":["Title can't be blank"]}}

The product is inactive or has been deleted from your Shopify website and can no longer be found. This can happen:

  • If you've deleted the product in Shopify.
  • If you made it unavailable in Shopify when it runs out of stock.


You will need to manually manage this order or cancel the order in our system and refund the customer (refunds must be done via Trade Me).


  • {"errors":{"customer":["Email is invalid"],"order":["Customer Email is invalid"]}} 

Shopify has validated the email address of the customer and concluded that it is not valid.

This could be an obvious reason, e.g. malformed email address, or a more subtle reason, e.g. : the domain name has no MX record, or the domain name does not have proper DNS records.


In this scenario it is up to you to decide if the order should proceed or should be cancelled. If you want to proceed, you will need to edit the email address in our system to a valid email address, then resend the order.



  •  Cannot find product variant, sku: 1234567890, retailerRef: 54321012345 (this is an example, actual numbers will vary):
The product or the variant cannot be found in our system, thus it cannot be sent to Shopify.
This could happen if you've deleted the product in Shopify, made it unavailable or sometimes when it runs out of stock.
It can also happen if a product in Shopify was a multi variant then became a single variant or vice versa. Making a change like can change the variant SKU, the flow on affect to this is that Shopify will have one variant SKU and the order may have a different on for that product. See our FAQ on changing products from single to multi SKU and vice versa, link below.

  • {"errors":{"billing_address":["Province can't be blank"],"shipping_address":["Province can't be blank"]}}
  • Error message: {"errors":{"billing_address":["Province is not a valid region in New Zealand"],"shipping_address":["Province is not a valid region in New Zealand"]}}

Make sure the State field in the Address is not empty and contains a valid value.

For Australia use the abbreviated form, eg: NSW, QLD, etc. See Postal code on this page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_and_territories_of_Australia

For New Zealand use the abbreviated form, eg: CAN, AUK, etc. See List of regions on this page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regions_of_New_Zealand

  • {"errors":{"billing_address":["Country can't be blank"],"shipping_address":["Country can't be blank"]}}
Make sure the Country field in the Address is not empty. Also, make sure that the country is enabled in the shipping methods of your Shopify store.

See more info here:
https://ecommerce.shopify.com/c/shopify-apis-and-technology/t/unable-to-create-order-via-shopify-api-with-country-set-to-singapore-299002




Additional Reading.


How to edit an order

Changing products from Multi SKU to Single SKU