How to think about stock per variant in your catalogue

A product page that says "12 in stock" hides a problem. If those twelve pieces are ten in size M and two in size XL, a customer wanting XL will think there are plenty. Stock only means something when it is counted for the exact thing a customer will receive.

Count the sellable unit, not the product

The sellable unit is one colour in one size. A T-shirt in three colours and four sizes is twelve sellable units, not one product. Each unit has its own count, and each can run out on its own.

Write the counts down before you enter anything. A small grid works: colours down the side, sizes across the top, quantity in each cell. If a cell is zero, that is useful information, not a gap.

How this looks in Varchas

In the admin product editor, stock can be set per colour, and per size within a colour, and the product total is shown as the sum of the colourways. You set up sizes and colours once, then keep the numbers accurate. The wider idea of structuring variants is covered in setting up product variants properly.

Habits that keep numbers honest

• Count physically on a fixed day, such as the first of the month, and compare to what your store shows.
• Keep a small buffer for pieces that may be damaged or held back for photos and gifting.
• Update stock the same day you receive a new batch, not "later".
• When an order is cancelled, check that the piece goes back into the right size and colour. See cancellations, refunds and restocking.

Decide your own low-stock line

There is no universal number that counts as "low". For a handmade product that takes two weeks to restock, three pieces left is urgent. For something you can reorder in a day, it is fine. Pick a line per product based on how long restocking takes, and note it in your planning sheet. Then make a habit of scanning for anything at or below that line once a week.

I could not find an automatic low-stock alert in the Varchas admin, so treat this as a manual routine: open your products list, sort or scan the stock figures, and reorder from there.

Do not let sold-out sizes disappear from your thinking

A size that keeps selling out first is telling you something. If M and L vanish in a week while XS sits untouched, your next batch should lean that way. Keep a simple note of which variant sold out and when. After two or three batches the pattern is obvious, and you stop over-making the slow sizes.

Limited releases need extra care

When stock is deliberately small, such as in a Drop, an inaccurate count is more painful, because the customers waiting for it are the ones most excited about it. Count twice before you announce.

Accurate stock per variant is not complicated. It is a grid, a counting day, and the discipline to update it.