Short answer
Scan the real item's barcode at the moment it sells, and let that scan take one off its “available” count in Shopify. The generic listing handles the sale on the platform; the scan tells Shopify which specific item actually left.
Why generic listings break your stock count
In a live show you often sell from one generic listing (“Mystery Slab”, “Pick a pair”, “$20 hit”) and pull the actual item on camera. The buyer pays for the listing, not for a specific product. Whatever your platform records, it can only record the listing the buyer paid for, and with a generic listing that isn't the item that left your table.
So Shopify still shows the real item as available. Sell it again later, on your website or in the next show, and you've sold something you no longer have.
The usual fixes, and where they fall short
- A notepad or spreadsheet during the show: slows you down on camera and gets missed when bids move fast.
- Rewatching the stream afterwards: accurate if you're careful, but hours of work per show.
- Adjusting stock in Shopify by hand after the show: works, until you mistype a count or forget an item.
Scan each item as it sells
The reliable fix is to record the specific item at the moment of sale, with a barcode scan instead of typing. A scan is fast enough to do on camera, it can't misspell a product, and it can update Shopify straight away.
With ScanStation the routine for each sale is:
- The buyer wins the generic listing on Whatnot, TikTok Shop or eBay Live.
- You pick the real item and scan its barcode.
- ScanStation takes 1 off that item's “available” count in Shopify, at the location you chose, and puts it on the packing list under the buyer's sale number.
- If you scanned the wrong thing, undo puts it back.
What you need
- Your stock in Shopify, with each item's barcode filled in. See the guide to setting up barcodes in Shopify.
- A barcode label on each item, matching its Shopify barcode.
- A USB or Bluetooth barcode scanner that types like a keyboard.
- A Windows or Mac computer next to you during the show.
Before the first show
Rehearse. ScanStation's Test Mode only accepts two test items, so you can practise the scan, undo and bundle routine without touching real stock. Then switch to LIVE for the show.
After the show
Your packing list is already done, in sale-number order: print it, download it as a CSV, or open the Google Sheet it filled in as you sold.
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