Version 2.8.6 brings 15 bug fixes focused on product type conversion stability, image handling for variations, and feed processing reliability. This release addresses issues reported by merchants using the new Product Types API, particularly around profile configuration and variation listings.
Profile Conversion and Product Type Handling
Several merchants encountered errors when configuring converted profiles. An Italian office supplies merchant reported fatal errors when attempting to edit product attributes, triggered by data validation issues in the profile conversion process. The ProfileProductTypeConverter class now properly handles edge cases when validating country codes and other attribute values, preventing “Illegal offset type” errors that could block profile editing.
We also fixed an important priority issue: product-level Product Type settings now correctly override profile-level settings. Previously, when merchants set a specific Product Type at the product level, the system would sometimes ignore this in favor of the profile default. This could cause listings to be submitted with incorrect Product Types, leading to rejection by Amazon.
Variation Image Improvements
A German audio equipment seller using WooCommerce variations discovered that when a child variation had no dedicated image, the generated JSON feed wasn’t falling back to the parent product’s featured image as expected. Instead, the feed would duplicate a gallery image as both the main image and a sub-image, or the variation would be sent without a main image entirely.
This behavior differed from the legacy flat-file feed system, where parent images automatically filled in for variations without their own images. Version 2.8.6 restores this expected behavior for JSON feeds, ensuring variations without dedicated images inherit the parent’s featured image properly.
Feed Processing and Property Handling
We’ve improved how WP-Lister handles feed statuses and property filtering:
Feed status handling: The plugin now skips processing feeds that Amazon has marked with FATAL status, preventing unnecessary reprocessing attempts that would fail anyway.
Sale price management: When a sale price is removed from a product, WP-Lister now properly cleans up the associated start and end dates in the feed. Previously, these dates could remain in the feed even after the sale price was removed, potentially causing validation errors.
Property filtering: Several properties that could cause feed errors are now handled more carefully. The is_inventory_available property is now always excluded from feeds (it’s calculated by Amazon, not submitted by sellers), and the parent listing column filtering now properly removes invalid properties that don’t belong in parent listings.
Variation handling: Properties like variation_theme are now consistently included in feeds. Additionally, batteries_required has been added to the list of allowed parent-level properties, giving merchants more flexibility in how they structure their listings.
Technical Fixes
Boolean string handling: The system now treats boolean strings as actual strings rather than converting them to 1 and 0, preventing data type mismatches in feeds.
Namespace resolution: Fixed an issue where WP_Error class wasn’t being called with its full namespace, which could cause errors in certain PHP configurations.
Profile-based variation handling: When adding missing variations to a listing, the plugin now uses the product’s assigned profile if the parent listing isn’t available, ensuring variations are created with the correct configuration.
Listing status on profile updates: When updating a profile for listings without ASINs, the status now properly falls back to “Prepared” instead of getting stuck in an invalid state.
Variation detection during manual listing: The “List on Amazon” action now checks for existing listing variations before proceeding, preventing duplicate variation creation.
Compression compatibility: Added a fallback for the gzdecode function for servers where the zlib extension isn’t installed, improving compatibility across different hosting environments.
File Cleanup
A small housekeeping improvement: temporary CSV mapping files are now automatically removed after processing, keeping your server storage cleaner.
How to Update
Update from your WordPress plugins page as usual. Your settings, profiles, and listing data will be preserved. If you encounter any issues after updating, you can find support at wplab.com/support.
What’s Next
We continue refining the Product Types API implementation based on merchant feedback. Upcoming releases will focus on further improving profile conversion tools, expanding validation for complex product types, and enhancing the bulk listing workflow.