Question: Why are my dummy products duplicating?
Answer: Every time a customer adds a new bundle configuration to their cart (a unique combination of bundle products), Bundle Builder automatically generates a variant of the dummy product. After 100 variants have been generated, Bundle Builder will duplicate the respective dummy product to hold more variants. This process continues as many times as required.
Note: This only affects Single SKU bundles.
Shopify's limit of 100 variants
There can be potentially unlimited numbers of bundle configurations. This means the amount of variants can quickly build up on a bundle's dummy product page.
Example of a Single SKU bundle with variants on its dummy product page:
On Shopify's platform, a regular product page can only hold a maximum of 100 variants. The dummy product page works in exactly the same way.
When you have reached the maximum number of 100 different variants (configurations) of the same bundle, the next time a customer adds a new configuration to their cart, Bundle Builder will duplicate the dummy product and add the variant there. This is how Bundle Builder works around Shopify's limitations.
What happens to old dummy products?
By duplicating the dummy product, Bundle Builder allows you to continue selling new bundle configurations without limitations. So what exactly happens to dummy products as duplicates are added?
Old dummy products: These are dummy products that have been duplicated. Having reached their full capacity of 100 variants, they can no longer function like normal dummy products. Old dummy products are assigned the tagbundle-builder-dummy-legacy.
New dummy products: New dummy products go on to auto-generate variants as normal. New dummy products are assigned the tag bundle-builder-dummy-latest.
This cycle will continue every time an additional 100 configurations are added as variants. If the new dummy product auto-generates 100 variants, it will then also duplicate and become an old dummy product.
Example:
Dummy Product A auto-generates 100 variants. It has reached capacity and can no longer generate any more variants. The dummy product duplicates and it becomes an old dummy product.
Dummy Product B is the new dummy product and the duplicate of Dummy Product A. It auto-generates variants with each new bundle configuration until it eventually also reaches capacity at 100 variants. After 100 variants, it also duplicates and becomes another old dummy product.
Dummy Product C then becomes the new dummy product, while Dummy Product A and Dummy Product B remain in place as old dummy products.
Note: Variants will be created with each individual configuration that is added to a customer cart - even if the customer doesn't end up purchasing the bundle. If a customer adds a bundle configuration to their cart which already exists as a variant, then the app will not create a new variant.
Should I do anything with duplicate dummy products?
No, you don't have to do anything with duplicate dummy products. Duplicate dummy products are required for Bundle Builder to function correctly. They should not be archived or deleted if you want to continue selling your bundles.
Doing so can cause irreparable issues for your bundles and also remove valuable order data which might be needed for customer returns, exchanges, etc.
However, if duplicate products are becoming a problem for your store, then you do have options that can be taken in different scenarios:
Scenario 1 (long-term solution): You want to continue selling bundles but don't want duplicate products to appear.
The best way to avoid dummy products is to create Multiple SKU bundles. This would involve essentially creating the same bundle from scratch but choosing Multiple SKU as the bundle type. You would then need to archive all the dummy products associated with your original Single SKU bundle.
However, this isn't always a viable option because Multiple SKU bundles aren't suitable for every bundle. For example, if you allow customers to enter Shopify discount codes against bundles then you must use a Single SKU bundle. In this case, Scenario 2 will be a better solution.
Scenario 2 (short-term solution): You want to remove duplicate dummy products and wish to continue selling bundles but can't switch to a Multiple SKU bundle.
A short-term solution for removing duplicate dummy products is to create a new Single SKU bundle that is exactly the same as your original. Then, you could archive your original bundle and its associated dummy products. However, as you sell more bundles, duplicate dummy products will continue to generate - meaning this process will need to be repeated.
Note: This method requires a lot of manual work and won't prevent dummy products from generating. But if you've got a significant number of duplicate dummy products, then this will allow you to safely archive them and temporarily tidy up your active Products list. Essentially starting over fresh. Considering the regular upkeep required, use this method at your own discretion.
Scenario 3: You want to indefinitely stop selling a specific bundle.
If you wish to stop selling a certain bundle indefinitely, you can set the bundle's status to Draft. This will allow you to continue selling the bundle at a later date without recreating it from new. You can then safely archive any active dummy products associated with the bundle.
When you start selling your bundle again, you can reactivate your dummy products and continue using them as normal. In this scenario, your dummy products will remain on the system.
Scenario 4 - You want to permanently stop selling a specific bundle and remove its associated dummy products.
You can Delete a bundle from your Bundles page if you are going to permanently stop selling it. However, this won't remove its dummy products. You must manually archive dummy products to remove them from your active Products.
If you are uninstalling the app and don't intend on using Bundle Builder again in the future, we only recommend permanently deleting the dummy products after the order returns period has ended. This is because dummy products and their duplicates contain important data that help you identify bundle configurations.
Have more questions about dummy products?
Read our guide on Dummy products
FAQ: Why is the information on my dummy product page incorrect?