How to add a supplier’s products to Shopify in bulk

1. Ask for the most usable file

Before you convert anything, ask your supplier for their product data as a spreadsheet (XLSX or CSV) with one row per sellable item. Spreadsheets carry SKUs, barcodes and prices without the ambiguity of a PDF layout. Useful columns to request:

• Product name and a model or parent code that groups variants
• Item code (SKU) and barcode (EAN/UPC)
• Wholesale price, currency and whether it includes tax
• Color, size and other options in separate columns
• Product description and materials
• Links to product images, or an image folder

If a PDF is all you can get, check that you can select its text. Scanned pages are images and need OCR before any tool can read them. Getting data out of a PDF price list.

2. Choose the right cost column

Supplier lists often show several prices: wholesale, recommended retail (RRP), carton price, prices by quantity tier. Decide which number is your unit cost. A carton price divided by the units per carton is your cost per item; an RRP is a guide for your selling price, not a cost. Note whether prices include VAT and which currency they are in.

3. Set your selling prices

The usual approach is a markup on cost: selling price = cost × (1 + markup). A 40% markup turns a cost of 10.00 into 14.00. If the supplier invoices in another currency, convert with the rate you actually expect to pay, then apply the markup. Many stores finish with a .99 ending. Markup vs margin, with a conversion table.

The exchange rates above are examples, not current quotes.

4. Turn rows into products and variants

Group rows that are the same product in different colors or sizes. In Shopify they share a URL handle; the first row carries the title and option names, and each row carries one variant’s options, SKU and price. Check for duplicate combinations and missing option values now, because they are the most common reason imports fail. How variants work in a Shopify CSV.

5. Sort out images

Shopify imports images from public URLs. If the supplier provides links, check that they open directly as images. If the photos are only inside a PDF, ask for the originals or upload them to Content → Files in Shopify and use those URLs. Otherwise, import without images and add them in the admin.

6. Build, check and import the CSV

1. Write the data into Shopify’s format: start from the free template or let a converter do it.
2. Set every product to draft.
3. Check the file with the free CSV checker.
4. Import a small test file first, then the rest, with Overwrite products with matching handles off.
5. Review drafts, add inventory and shipping settings, then publish.

Do it in one pass with Sheet2Store

Sheet2Store was built for exactly this job. Upload the supplier’s PDF (text-based, up to 25 pages), XLSX or CSV; map the columns; choose supplier and selling currencies, enter your exchange rate and markup, and optionally round to .99. Every row keeps a reference to where it came from in the source file, flagged rows must be fixed or excluded, and the result downloads as a Shopify CSV (drafts), a WooCommerce CSV or a review Excel file. You can preview the first five rows free; a full catalog costs $19.