WP-Lister for Amazon 2.8.3 – Release Notes

Jul 18, 2025 | Release Notes

We’re releasing version 2.8.3 of WP-Lister for Amazon with important improvements to profile conversion, JSON feed handling, and listing management. This update addresses feedback from merchants who’ve been working with the new Product Types system and includes several bug fixes that improve reliability.

Profile Conversion Enhancements

The transition to Amazon’s new Product Types system continues to be our focus. We’ve made several improvements to help merchants who converted profiles in earlier versions:

Re-convert Profiles Action

We’ve added a new bulk action that lets you re-convert profiles using updated field mappings. When you initially converted profiles from feed templates to Product Types, some field mappings may not have been optimal due to Amazon’s evolving requirements. The Re-convert action reruns the conversion process with improved mappings while preserving your original feed template data.

To use it, select one or more profiles and choose “Re-convert Fields” from the bulk actions dropdown. This is particularly useful if you notice unmapped fields or want to take advantage of improved mapping logic introduced in recent updates.

CSV Map File Management

The profile converter relies on a CSV mapping file that translates old feed template fields to new Product Type fields. Previously, if this file was missing, profiles would convert with most attributes showing as unmapped. Version 2.8.3 adds automatic detection and a download tool:

  • A warning appears on relevant admin pages if the mapping file is missing
  • You can download or update the file directly from the Tools page (Developer tab)
  • The system checks for file availability before attempting conversions

Memory Optimization

Some merchants with large catalogs encountered memory errors during profile conversion when the plugin loaded the entire CSV mapping file into memory. We’ve implemented a caching system that significantly reduces memory usage by storing processed mappings and retrieving them as needed rather than loading everything at once.

JSON Feed Improvements

Sale Price Support

Sale prices weren’t being included in InventoryLoader JSON feeds, which meant scheduled sales couldn’t be managed through inventory updates. The feed now correctly includes sale price, sale start date, and sale end date fields for proper price scheduling.

Additionally, we fixed an issue where the discounted price section would appear in feeds even when no sale price was set, potentially causing validation errors. The plugin now only includes this section when a sale price actually exists.

Encoding and Character Handling

An encoding bug was causing product data with special characters to get cut off in JSON feeds. Values weren’t being properly URL-encoded before transmission, which caused problems for merchants selling products with accents, symbols, or other non-ASCII characters. All field values are now correctly encoded to ensure they arrive at Amazon intact.

Variation Handling

Several issues affecting variable products have been resolved:

  • Variation attributes now fetch correctly from product data
  • Shortcodes in variation-specific fields get replaced properly
  • Nested composite data structures (like Color Map) are handled correctly
  • Parent variable column whitelists now execute as intended
  • Variation-related properties are no longer hidden in the UI

These fixes address listing failures and data inconsistencies that occurred when managing products with multiple variations.

Field Mapping Fixes

Several specific field mapping issues have been corrected:

  • Merchant Shipping Groups: Old feed template values now map correctly to new dropdown IDs, and newly created Merchant Shipping Group values are found properly
  • Country of Origin: Fixed incorrect mapping that was causing this required field to fail validation
  • Package Weight Unit: Corrected the mapping from package_weight_unit_of_measure to use item_package_weight[0][unit] instead of item_weight[0][unit]
  • Product Type Priority: The system now correctly prioritizes product-level Product Type settings over profile defaults

Listing Management Tools

Lock All and Unlock All

Managing locked status for large catalogs is now easier with new bulk tools on the Tools page. Lock All prevents automatic updates to all listings (while still allowing inventory and price changes), and Unlock All removes the lock to resume full automatic updates. Both tools skip trashed and deleted listings and provide feedback on how many listings were affected.

ASIN Synchronization

We’ve improved how the plugin handles ASIN data synchronization:

  • Fixed _wpla_asin meta sync when inserting and matching listings
  • Added fallback logic to use ASIN from the listings table if the meta field is empty
  • SKU Not Found errors are now properly handled by the Check for Listing Errors action

Additional Fixes

  • Matched Listings: Condition values now transfer correctly to matched listings, preventing submission failures
  • DELETE Feeds: Status no longer incorrectly changes back to SUBMITTED after processing delete feeds
  • Profile Converter Display: Fixed UI issues on the profile converter page
  • Converted Profiles: Successfully converted profiles no longer appear in the “available to convert” list
  • Profile Cloning: Resolved a double serialization bug that occurred when cloning profiles
  • Order Date Consistency: Fixed inconsistent “Last Order Updated” date/time formatting
  • Custom Tracking Links: Eliminated undefined array key warning for custom tracking links
  • Stock Sorting: Fixed sorting by stock column for variable product listings
  • Listings Check: The action now only affects matched and submitted listings, not all statuses

How to Update

If you have an active license, you can update directly from your WordPress admin dashboard. Go to Plugins → Installed Plugins, find WP-Lister for Amazon, and click Update Now. We recommend backing up your site before updating, though this release doesn’t include database schema changes.

After updating, if you’ve converted profiles to Product Types in a previous version, consider using the new Re-convert Fields action to ensure your field mappings are using the latest optimizations.

What’s Next

We continue to refine the Product Types conversion process and improve feed handling based on merchant feedback. If you encounter issues with field mappings or profile conversion, please reach out through our support portal so we can address them in future updates.

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