Selling an unavailable size or color in a variant product
A clothing store lists a shirt in several sizes, and a customer orders a size that is actually gone from the warehouse because stock was tracked as one total number. A substitute size ships or the order is cancelled, and the store loses the customer trust plus a return shipping cost.
Why this happens
Usually because stock is managed in an external sheet with one number per product, because variant edits touch the total instead of typing the final quantity per cell, or because cell reservation at order creation is not enabled.
What Vareons does about it
For a variant product the final quantity is typed per cell in the colour × size matrix via Edit Stock, and the row shows the total only without inline editing. When stock tracking is enabled, order cells are reserved at creation, any edit that would drop physical quantity below reserved is rejected, and every change is recorded as a movement naming the cell.
- inventory.variants.tracking — Variant stock tracking: Available
- orders.stock.reservation — Stock reservations for orders: Available
Limitations
Cell protection only applies to products with stock tracking enabled inside Vareons. Manual sales outside the system or edits with misconfigured permissions can create gaps that need a history review and manual reconciliation.
Related problems
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does an empty size show as available?
Because stock is recorded as one total number for the whole product, hiding empty cells from the storefront. Move to cell-level tracking and write the final quantity per color and size so the display reflects reality.
How do I reserve order cells at creation?
Switch stock tracking on for the variant product so the system holds each order's cells at creation and rejects edits dropping physical quantity below held levels. That stops two simultaneous orders from winning the same last piece.
Are cells protected from manual outside sales?
No, protection covers products enabled inside the platform only, and manual off-system sales can open gaps. Review the movements history regularly and settle differences manually when selling from the same balance outside the platform.
Last verified: 2026-09-19