We’re pleased to announce version 2.8.2 of WP-Lister for Amazon, released on July 7, 2025. This update addresses several important stability issues and introduces a significant improvement to how the plugin handles product deletions on Amazon. If you’ve experienced feed errors with bullet points, API initialization failures, or issues with product deletion feeds, this release resolves those problems.
What’s New: JSON Delete Feeds
The most significant change in version 2.8.2 is the replacement of CSV delete feeds with JSON delete feeds. Previously, when removing products from Amazon, the plugin generated CSV-formatted feeds with an “add-delete” column marked with ‘x’ for items to be deleted. This legacy approach had limitations in error handling and validation.
The new JSON delete feed system provides better structure and reliability. When you delete a listing in WooCommerce, the plugin now creates a properly formatted JSON feed with explicit DELETE operations. This results in more reliable product removals and clearer error messages if something goes wrong. The transition happens automatically—no configuration changes needed.
Critical Bug Fixes
API Initialization Failures
Several merchants encountered fatal errors when the plugin failed to properly initialize Amazon’s SP-API. The error typically appeared as “call to a member function on null” or prevented feeds from being processed entirely. This occurred when the API configuration object wasn’t created successfully, but the plugin continued trying to use it anyway.
We’ve added comprehensive validation checks throughout the API initialization process. The initAPI() method now returns false if initialization fails, and critical functions like getFeed(), putListingsItem(), and getListingsItem() check this return value before proceeding. If initialization fails, you’ll now see a clear error message instead of a fatal error.
Feed Array Index Gaps
Amazon’s JSON feeds require arrays (like bullet points for product descriptions) to have consecutive indices starting from 0. Some merchants found their feeds failing with cryptic errors when array indices had gaps—for example, if you had bullet_point[0], bullet_point[2], and bullet_point[4], but no bullet_point[1] or bullet_point[3].
This often happened after editing product data or when certain fields were conditionally populated. The plugin now includes a reindexArrays() method that ensures all array indices are sequential before generating feeds, preventing these validation errors from Amazon.
Product Search and Matching Issues
The searchCatalogItems() function wasn’t properly handling identifier formats, causing product searches to fail silently. When searching for products by EAN, UPC, or ASIN, the function expected a string but sometimes received an array or other data type.
We’ve added type validation to ensure the $identifiers argument is always a string before making the API call. This resolves issues where products wouldn’t be found during matching operations, leaving listings stuck in limbo.
Profile and Conversion Improvements
External Product ID Mapping
When converting older profiles to the new JSON format, the External Product ID field (used for EAN, UPC, or other manufacturer identifiers) wasn’t being mapped correctly. This meant merchants had to manually re-enter these crucial identifiers after profile conversion.
The profile converter now properly maps External Product IDs during the conversion process, preserving your product identifiers and ensuring listings maintain their connection to Amazon’s catalog.
Custom Attribute Field Mapping
Amazon’s catalog schema includes thousands of product attributes, but their CSV mapping file doesn’t include all of them. This left some specialized product types unable to map certain required fields. We’ve manually added mappings for properties that Amazon excluded from their official CSV map, expanding compatibility with more product types.
Undefined Array Key Warnings
The Edit Profile page occasionally displayed PHP warnings about “Undefined array key” when loading certain profile fields. This happened when checking if a profile field was set without first verifying the field existed. We’ve added proper isset() checks to eliminate these warnings and ensure profile loading is error-free.
Order Processing Enhancements
Double-Click Protection
The Update Orders button lacked protection against accidental double-clicks, which could trigger duplicate API calls and, in some cases, create duplicate WooCommerce orders for the same Amazon order. We’ve implemented client-side button disabling to prevent multiple simultaneous order update requests.
Custom Tracking Link Fix
An “Undefined array key ‘custom_tracking_link'” warning appeared when processing orders that didn’t have custom tracking configured. The code now checks if the custom tracking link field exists before attempting to use it.
Last Order Updated Consistency
The “Last Order Updated” timestamp wasn’t being set consistently across different order update scenarios, making it difficult to track when orders were last synchronized with Amazon. This has been normalized to ensure accurate tracking of order synchronization status.
Feed and Listing Improvements
Feeds Page Search Functionality
A code change in version 2.8.1 inadvertently broke the search functionality on the Feeds page, making it impossible to find specific feeds by ID or other criteria. The search query logic has been restored to full functionality.
Data Escaping in JSON Feeds
Product data containing special characters wasn’t being properly escaped before inclusion in JSON feeds. This could cause feed parsing errors if product titles or descriptions included quotes, backslashes, or other special characters. All values are now properly escaped before being added to JSON feeds.
Sale Price Handling in Inventory Feeds
Inventory loader feeds were missing sale price information, preventing price promotions from syncing correctly to Amazon. Sale prices are now included in inventory feeds, ensuring your promotional pricing stays synchronized.
Listing Status Verification
The “Check for Listing Errors” bulk action now has dual functionality: it checks for issues with submitted listings, and if no problems are found, automatically marks those listings as online. This eliminates the manual step of updating listing status after verification.
How to Update
If you have automatic updates enabled in WordPress, version 2.8.2 will install automatically. You can also update manually:
- Go to Dashboard → Updates in your WordPress admin
- Find WP-Lister for Amazon in the plugin updates list
- Click Update Now
As always, we recommend backing up your site before updating any plugins. The update should be seamless with no configuration changes required. If you’ve experienced any of the issues mentioned above, updating to 2.8.2 should resolve them immediately.
Looking Ahead
We continue to refine the JSON feed system introduced in version 2.8, addressing edge cases and improving reliability based on real-world usage. Our focus remains on making the transition to Amazon’s modern SP-API as smooth as possible while maintaining the stability you expect.
Questions about this release? Our support team is here to help at wplab.com/support.