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Bulk Import by ISBN

Bulk Import lets you upload a CSV file of ISBNs to create or update many products at once. Jobs run in the background — you can close the app and carry on while the import completes.

Available on Digital Bookseller / Growth and Omnichannel Pro plans.

Import modes

There are two import modes. You choose the mode when you set up each job:

Mode What it does
Create and update For each ISBN in the CSV: creates a new Shopify product if none is found in your store (matched by ISBN/SKU), or updates the existing product with Ingram data if one is found. You control which fields are overwritten.
Apply inventory Applies the quantities in your CSV to existing products at the location(s) you choose. Does not create or update product data.

Preparing your CSV

Required column

isbn

Every row needs a valid ISBN-13 (13 digits). The app uses this to look up the title in Ingram's catalog and to match against existing products in your store.

Optional column

Column Used for
quantity Apply inventory mode only. Sets the stock level at the chosen location.

CSV formatting rules

  • UTF-8 encoding
  • One ISBN per row
  • ISBN-13 only (13 digits, no hyphens)
  • The header row is required

Example CSV

isbn,quantity
9780385490818,5
9780593311936,3
9780525559474,10

Batch-level overrides

Before starting a job, you can apply overrides that affect every ISBN in the file:

Override What it does
Vendor override Sets the vendor field to a value you specify, instead of the publisher name from Ingram
Custom cost rule Adjusts the cost price by a percentage (e.g. "Ingram price minus 10%" for a known discount)
Global tags Adds the same tags to every product in the job — useful for batch-labelling imports

Batch overrides are applied on top of Ingram's data, not instead of it.

Running a bulk import job

  1. Go to Apps > Emersoft Books > Bulk Import.
  2. Click New Import Job.
  3. Upload your CSV file.
  4. Choose the import mode (Create and update or Apply inventory).
  5. For Create and update mode: select which fields to take from Ingram. Fields you do not select will be left as-is on existing products.
  6. For Apply inventory mode: select the Shopify location(s) to apply quantities to. You can apply to one location or multiple locations in the same job.
  7. Apply any batch-level overrides (optional).
  8. Click Start Job.

The job runs in the background. You can leave the page.

Field-level control

In Create and update mode, you decide exactly which fields get written or overwritten. For example:

  • Take all Ingram data for new products, but only update prices and cover images on existing ones
  • Refresh prices across your entire catalog without touching descriptions you have customised
  • Pull in fresh metadata (binding, audience, BISAC subjects) without changing any pricing

Any field not selected will not be modified on existing products, even if Ingram has newer data for it.

Using bulk import to enrich an existing catalog

If you have an existing Shopify store with books that were added manually or via another app, you can use Create and update mode to fill in missing Ingram metadata across your whole catalog. See Enriching an existing catalog for a step-by-step guide.

Monitoring a job

Open Apps > Emersoft Books > Bulk Import to see all jobs and their status:

Status Meaning
Queued Job is waiting to start
In progress Job is running — shows progress as a count
Completed All rows processed successfully
Completed with errors Finished, but some rows had issues — see the error report
Failed Job stopped unexpectedly — contact support

When a job finishes, you will receive an email summary showing how many products were created or updated, and a list of any ISBNs that could not be processed.

Resumable jobs

If a job is interrupted (network issue, Shopify rate limit), it resumes automatically. You do not need to restart it or re-upload your CSV. The app tracks which rows have been processed.

Tracking your import batches

Every product created or updated by a bulk import job receives the same set of GetBooks tags that single imports use, including a timestamped tag for the exact time each product was updated. This means you can find all the products from a specific import job later by filtering on the timestamp tag in Shopify Admin.

This is particularly useful after a concierge catalog build — if you want to review what was added, publish a batch all at once, or run another bulk edit on only those products.

See Product Tags & Metafields for the full tag reference.

Shopify product limits

Shopify allows up to 50,000 products per store on most plans. Create and update mode jobs stop creating new products when this limit is reached. On Shopify Plus, this limit does not apply. If your store is approaching 50,000 products on a non-Plus plan, speak to the Emersoft team about catalog management strategies — including concierge-assisted imports that add up to 1,000 products per day above the threshold.