WooCommerce duplicate SKU import errors: find the conflicting record

Find duplicates in the source first

Keep the supplier file untouched and work on a review copy. Group rows by the exact SKU, including leading zeros. Compare the names, prices, stock and product types within each group. Two identical copies may be an accidental repeated export; two different products with one identifier need the source owner to resolve the collision.

Do not remove all repeated rows with a spreadsheet’s first-match rule. That can silently select the wrong price or stock. Record which row you retained and why. If identifiers contain surrounding spaces, confirm whether removing them is a valid normalization and recheck for collisions afterward.

Compare with the destination catalog

Export the relevant staging products and search for the same identifier, including variations. Use the product ID and parent relationship to distinguish similarly named records. A source file can be unique within itself and still collide with an existing product.

Decide whether the row should update that record, create a separate product with an approved new identifier, or be excluded. For an update, first run a single known SKU through the update workflow and inspect the same product ID afterward. Do not delete a live product simply to free its SKU.

Look for spreadsheet damage

If 00041 became 41, return to the authoritative source before comparing identifiers. Reformatting a damaged value with zeros cannot prove how long the original code was. The leading-zero guide explains a text-based import workflow.

The example below intentionally uses one SKU for two different products. It is a diagnostic example, not a file to import. Our preflight fixture checks repeated identifiers, but only a destination comparison can reveal conflicts already in your store.

Inspect the CSV structure

Deliberately invalid: one SKU identifies two different products.

Type,SKU,Name,Regular price
simple,00041,Blue mug,12.50
simple,00041,Large plate,18.00

Check the result

• Every intended new product has an agreed unique identifier.
• Each update maps to the expected existing product ID.
• The retry does not create unexpected extra products.