LGS Forge

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Deleting Products ​

Learn how to safely remove synced products from your Shopify store.

Overview ​

LGS Forge provides a Delete All Products feature to bulk-remove all app-managed products from your store. This is useful when:

  • Resetting your store to start fresh
  • Testing pricing or sync configurations
  • Removing outdated inventory
  • Closing down a product line

⚠️ Warning: Deletion is permanent and cannot be undone. Products are removed from Shopify entirely.

Accessing Delete All Products ​

  1. Go to the Settings tab
  2. Scroll to the Danger Zone section
  3. You'll see Delete All Products with a red warning

Before You Delete ​

Important Considerations ​

  1. Products are permanently deleted

    • Cannot be recovered
    • Must re-sync to restore products

  2. Active orders may be affected

    • Products in unfulfilled orders may cause issues
    • Fulfill or cancel orders first

  3. Collections remain

    • Set-based collections are not deleted
    • You may want to manually delete these later

  4. Metafields remain

    • Metafield definitions stay in Shopify
    • Not affected by product deletion

  5. Inventory data is lost

    • Stock quantities are deleted with products
    • Re-syncing resets quantities to default

When to Delete ​

✅ Good reasons to delete:

  • Testing pricing configurations (use test products)
  • Migrating to a different pricing strategy
  • Removing all MTG products to focus on other products
  • Starting fresh after major errors

❌ Bad reasons to delete:

  • Updating prices (use Price Sync instead)
  • Removing a few specific products (delete manually in Shopify)
  • Fixing metafield issues (re-sync with Force Re-sync instead)

How to Delete All Products ​

Step 1: Verify Product Count ​

  1. In the Danger Zone, you'll see:

    • Product count - Total app-managed products in your store
    • Example: "You have 1,247 products managed by LGS Forge"

  2. Verify this count before proceeding

    • Ensure it matches your expectations
    • If count seems wrong, refresh the page

Step 2: Initiate Deletion ​

  1. Click Delete All Products button

  2. A confirmation modal appears

  3. Read the warnings carefully:

    • "This action is permanent and cannot be undone"
    • "All products will be removed from your Shopify store"
    • "Collections and metafields will remain"

  4. Type "DELETE" to confirm (case-sensitive)

  5. Click Confirm Deletion

Step 3: Monitor Progress ​

Deletion begins immediately with real-time progress:

Progress Display:

  • Progress bar (0-100%)
  • Percentage complete
  • Products deleted / Total
  • Current product being deleted (product title)
  • Estimated time remaining

Example:

Deleting products... 45%
567 / 1,247 deleted
Currently deleting: "Lightning Bolt - Bloomburrow"
Estimated time remaining: 3 minutes 12 seconds

Step 4: Monitor Completion ​

Deletion speed:

  • ~10-20 products per second
  • 1,000 products: ~2-5 minutes
  • 5,000 products: ~10-20 minutes

Can you cancel?

  • Yes. Click Cancel Deletion to stop
  • Products deleted so far will not be restored
  • Remaining products are not deleted

Step 5: Review Results ​

When deletion completes, you'll see:

Summary:

  • Total deleted - Successfully removed products
  • Failed deletions - Products that couldn't be deleted
  • Error details - Why specific products failed

Example:

Deletion Complete
✓ 1,245 products deleted
✗ 2 products failed

Handling Failures ​

Why Products Fail to Delete ​

Common reasons:

  1. Product locked by active order

    • Product is in an unfulfilled order
    • Shopify prevents deletion
    • Fulfill or cancel order first

  2. Shopify API error

    • Network timeout
    • Rate limit exceeded (rare)
    • Temporary Shopify issue

  3. Insufficient permissions

    • App doesn't have delete permissions
    • Re-authorize the app

What to Do About Failed Deletions ​

  1. Review error details

    • Modal shows which products failed and why
    • Copy error messages for troubleshooting

  2. Retry failed products

    • Click Retry Failed (if available)
    • Or manually delete in Shopify Admin

  3. Manual deletion

    • Go to Shopify Admin → Products
    • Search for failed product titles
    • Delete individually

After Deletion ​

Verify Products Are Gone ​

  1. Go to Shopify Admin → Products
  2. Search for MTG product names (e.g., "Lightning Bolt")
  3. Verify products are removed

If products still appear:

  • Refresh the page
  • Clear browser cache
  • Check if they're in draft status (may need manual deletion)

Clean Up Collections ​

  1. Go to Shopify Admin → Products → Collections
  2. Find set-based collections (e.g., "Bloomburrow", "Duskmourn")
  3. Manually delete empty collections if desired

LGS Forge does not auto-delete collections.

Clean Up Metafields (Optional) ​

Metafield definitions remain in Shopify. To remove them:

  1. Go to Shopify Admin → Settings → Custom data → Products
  2. Find LGS Forge metafield definitions under the custom namespace
  3. Delete only definitions you have confirmed are unused (for example, custom.collector_number or custom.rarity)

Note: Only delete metafields if you're permanently removing LGS Forge from your store. Definition deletion is merchant-controlled and may affect themes or other integrations. The deprecated custom.card_number definition is not deleted automatically; if you remove it, first confirm products have been backfilled or re-synced to custom.collector_number and no theme or integration still reads it.

Re-syncing After Deletion ​

To restore products after deletion:

Step 1: Verify Metafields ​

  1. Go to Settings → Metafield Setup
  2. Verify status shows Complete
  3. If not, run Setup Metafields again

Step 2: Select Sets ​

  1. Go to Sync tab
  2. Select the sets you want to restore
  3. Or select All to restore your entire catalog

Step 3: Sync Products ​

  1. Click Sync Products
  2. Products will be re-created with current pricing
  3. Monitor progress as usual

Note: Re-synced products are treated as new. Any manual edits or inventory adjustments are lost.

Alternative: Selective Deletion ​

If you only want to delete specific products or sets:

Option 1: Manual Deletion in Shopify ​

  1. Go to Shopify Admin → Products
  2. Filter by collection (e.g., "Bloomburrow")
  3. Select products to delete
  4. Click Delete in bulk actions

Option 2: Delete by Collection ​

  1. Go to Shopify Admin → Collections
  2. Open a set-based collection
  3. Select all products in the collection
  4. Bulk delete

Option 3: Use Shopify Apps ​

Third-party apps like Bulk Product Editor can delete products based on filters:

  • Delete by tag
  • Delete by collection
  • Delete by date added

Safety Tips ​

Protect Your Data ​

  1. Export products first

    • Go to Shopify Admin → Products
    • Click Export to download CSV
    • Keep as backup in case you need to restore data

  2. Test on a development store

    • If you have a dev/staging store, test deletion there first
    • Verify expected behavior before deleting on production

  3. Double-check product count

    • Ensure the count shown in Danger Zone matches expectations
    • If count seems wrong, investigate before deleting

  4. Fulfill active orders

    • Check Orders in Shopify Admin
    • Fulfill or cancel any unfulfilled orders
    • Prevents deletion failures

Prevent Accidental Deletion ​

  1. Don't share account access

    • Only authorized users should access Danger Zone
    • Use Shopify staff permissions to restrict access

  2. Read warnings carefully

    • LGS Forge shows multiple warnings
    • Don't skip confirmation dialogs

  3. Type "DELETE" carefully

    • Case-sensitive confirmation required
    • Prevents accidental clicks

Deletion vs. Other Options ​

When to Use Each ​

GoalUse ThisWhy
Update all pricesPrice SyncFaster, doesn't delete products
Update product dataForce Re-syncPreserves existing products
Remove a few productsManual delete in ShopifySelective, precise
Remove one setManual delete or Shopify appTargeted deletion
Start completely freshDelete All ProductsClean slate
Test pricingTest Mode syncNon-destructive

Troubleshooting ​

"No products to delete" message ​

Cause: You don't have any app-managed products.

Solution: Verify you've synced products first. If you did, check Shopify Admin → Products to confirm.

Deletion hangs at 0% ​

Cause: Network issue or worker process problem (server-side).

Solution:

  1. Wait 30 seconds
  2. Refresh the page
  3. Try again
  4. Contact support if persistent

Some products remain after deletion ​

Cause: Products failed to delete (see error details).

Solution:

  1. Manually delete remaining products in Shopify Admin
  2. Check if products are locked by orders
  3. Retry deletion after resolving issues

Deletion is too slow ​

Cause: Large product count, Shopify API rate limits.

Solution:

  1. Be patient - 1,000+ products can take 5-10 minutes
  2. Avoid deleting during peak hours
  3. Let deletion run to completion (don't close browser)

FAQ ​

Does deleting products affect my Shopify plan? No. Deleting products frees up space in your product limit.

Can I restore deleted products? No. Deletion is permanent. You must re-sync to restore products.

Will deletion affect customer orders? Completed orders are not affected. Unfulfilled orders may have issues if product is deleted while pending.

Do I need to delete products before re-syncing? No. Use Force Re-sync to update existing products without deleting.

What if I accidentally delete? Re-sync your products immediately. They'll be re-created with current pricing. Any manual changes or inventory adjustments are lost.

Can I delete products from only one store (multi-store)? Yes. Deletion only affects the currently selected store.

Best Practices ​

  1. Export products before deleting - CSV backup from Shopify
  2. Test on dev store first - If available
  3. Fulfill active orders - Prevent deletion failures
  4. Verify product count - Ensure it matches expectations
  5. Read warnings carefully - Understand consequences
  6. Have a re-sync plan - Know how you'll restore products if needed

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