Add a product to Shopify
Adding a product is the first job in any store build: a title, a description, a price, and a save. This tutorial adds one product, the Trail Crew Tee, priced at $28.00 with a cost of $11.00, so each sale leaves a $17.00 margin.
Written · Shopify admin, desktop steps · 5 minutes read
The worked example
| Product | Trail Crew Tee |
| Price | $28.00 |
| Cost per item | $11.00 |
| Margin per sale | $17.00 |
| Status on save | Active |
| Stock at launch | 24 units |
Download the record: trail-crew-tee-product-record.csv (121 bytes).
A product record for the Trail Crew Tee, with price, cost, margin, and opening stock. Keep it with your launch notes; it is a record, not an import file.
1Open Products and add a product
From your Shopify admin, go to Products, then click Add product. The product page opens with a title field at the top and sections for description, media, price, inventory, and shipping below it.
2Enter a title customers can read at a glance
In the Title field, enter Trail Crew Tee. A clear title names the item and its use, so a shopper knows what it is before reading further. The title also sets the start of the product web address.
3Write a short description
In the Description field, write what the shirt is and who it suits, in plain words. Keep it short: fabric, fit, and care. A description that states facts helps a shopper decide and helps search engines place the page.
4Set the price to $28.00
In the Pricing section, enter 28.00 in the Price field. Enter the price as a number only, with no dollar sign. The price is what the customer pays before tax and shipping.
5Record the cost per item
In the same section, enter 11.00 in the Cost per item field. The cost is what you paid to make or buy the shirt. Shopify uses it for margin and inventory value figures, and customers never see it.
6Set the opening stock
In the Inventory section, check Track quantity and enter 24 as the quantity. Tracking is what lets Shopify count the shirt down as orders come in and warn you when it runs low.
7Save the product
Click Save. The product is set to Active by default, which means it is ready to sell once it is published to your online store. Saved changes take effect in your store at once.
The arithmetic
| Figure | Amount |
|---|---|
| Price | $28.00 |
| Cost per item | $11.00 |
| Margin per sale | $17.00 |
| Margin as a share of price | 60.71% |
| Opening stock value at cost (24 units) | $264.00 |
The margin share is the $17.00 margin divided by the $28.00 price, which is 60.71% when rounded to two places. The opening stock value is 24 units times the $11.00 cost, which is $264.00.
Held at the counter
A saved product is not always a visible product. New products are Active by default, but a product still has to be published to the online store sales channel before customers can buy it. If the shirt is missing from the storefront, check the Publishing section before rebuilding the listing.
Cost per item is not the price. The cost field is for your own margin and inventory figures. Leaving it blank, or typing the price into it, makes every margin figure in your reports wrong. Enter the amount you paid for the item.
Save before you leave the page. Changes on the product page are not kept until you click Save. If you move to another page first, the title, price, and stock you typed are lost and have to be typed again.
Sources
- Adding and updating products — Shopify's help pages: the add-product steps, the default Active status, and that saved changes take effect at once.
- Using CSV files to import and export products — Shopify's help pages: the Cost per item column and how it is used in product records.