Problems we fix
Why your products aren't selling online as well as they could
Eight problems we find in almost every catalog we audit. Most suppliers have three or four of them and don't know it. Here's what each one looks like, why it happens, and what we do about it.
- 1
Problem 1 — Items you think are live, aren't.
What you see
Products that "should" sell are flat. A buyer tells you an item shows "currently unavailable." You look — and find items that have been down for weeks.
Why it happens
Retailers take items down automatically: a required attribute is missing, an image fails a rule, dimensions don't match the ship class, a feed error flips the status. The notice goes to an inbox nobody checks, and the retailer doesn't chase you.
What we do
We check the status of every item on every retailer, every day. When something drops, it goes into a fix queue and our team gets it back up — then you see it on your weekly tracker: Live, Not Setup, In Progress, Rejected.
Fact
Most wholesalers we audit believe all their products are live and sellable. Most aren't.
- 2
Problem 2 — Your inventory feed is wrong, or never made it.
What you see
"Out of stock" on products sitting in your warehouse. Or the opposite — orders you can't fill, cancellations, and a hit to your retailer scorecard.
Why it happens
Feeds get emailed or uploaded by hand. A column shifts, a SKU is misspelled, the file is rejected — and nobody confirms it landed. The retailer keeps selling from yesterday's numbers.
What we do
We send accurate inventory to every retailer daily, confirm receipt, reconcile what the retailer shows against what you have, and fix mismatches the same day. Someone on our team watches it every day.
- 3
Problem 3 — Half-finished listings don't rank or convert.
What you see
Your item is live but sits on page four. Shoppers click and leave. A competitor with a worse product outsells you.
Why it happens
Two photos, no video, a two-line description, generic bullets, no manual or spec sheet. Retail search engines rank complete listings higher, and shoppers buy from the listing that answers their questions.
What we do
We bring every item to our web-ready standard: a title with the words shoppers search, bullets that answer buyer questions, a full description, 8+ images (white background, angles, room scenes), a video, and the documents — warranty, install guide, use and care. Built to each retailer's rules.
- 4
Problem 4 — Sets and variations are set up wrong.
What you see
A dining set (table plus four chairs) sells when one of the chairs is out of stock. Or the set exists as five separate products and never sells as a set. Or a color variation is listed as its own product with no link to the others.
Why it happens
Every retailer models parent/child products and sets differently, and most supplier data has no concept of "this set is made of these parts."
What we do
We model your catalog once — parts, products, sets, variations — then set it up each retailer's way, with set inventory tied to its components so the set goes out of stock when a part does.
- 5
Problem 5 — Retailer portals eat your team's week.
What you see
Your best people spend their days inside Home Depot Supplier Hub and IDM, Wayfair Partner Home, Overstock, Target — instead of on product and sales.
Why it happens
Each portal wants your data in its own format, with its own rules, and every PO, remittance, return and content rejection needs follow-up. It's a full-time job per retailer.
What we do
We run the portals for you. Item setup, content, inventory, purchase orders, remittances, returns, chargebacks. You send us product information; we handle everything between you and the retailer.
- 6
Problem 6 — You're not getting paid what you're owed.
What you see
The remittance is smaller than the invoices. Deductions you don't recognize. Chargebacks for things you didn't do.
Why it happens
Retailers deduct for late shipments, dimension mismatches, compliance issues and returns — often wrongly — and the remittance detail is buried in a portal report nobody reconciles.
What we do
We match every payment to the invoices and POs behind it, flag short-pays and deductions, dispute the ones that are wrong, and chase what's missing with the retailer's accounting team.
- 7
Problem 7 — Returns and damage claims leak margin.
What you see
Returned items you never get back. Damage claims on items that shipped fine. Credits issued without proof.
Why it happens
Return-to-vendor and damage disputes have deadlines and evidence rules. Miss the window and the retailer's claim stands.
What we do
We handle return authorizations, file disputes with evidence inside the retailer's window, track every claim to a decision, and report what was recovered.
- 8
Problem 8 — You don't know your real numbers.
What you see
Sales by retailer live in five portals. "How many of our products are actually live?" takes a week to answer. Decisions get made on last quarter's guess.
Why it happens
Each retailer reports differently, and nobody pulls it into one place.
What we do
One login. A handful of reports: what sold (by retailer, by item), what's live, what's web-ready, what's web-complete. Updated by our team, not by you.
Which of these do you have?
Frequently asked questions
Why does Home Depot take my items down?
Usually a data rule: a required attribute is missing, an image fails their spec, or dimensions don't match the shipping class. The item is suppressed automatically and the notice goes to the supplier's Supplier Hub inbox. Daily status checks catch it; otherwise it can stay down for weeks.
Why does Wayfair show my product out of stock when I have inventory?
The inventory feed either didn't upload, was rejected, or carried the wrong number for that SKU. Wayfair sells from the last feed it accepted. Confirming receipt of every feed and reconciling it against your stock fixes it.
How do I know if all my products are live on a retailer?
Pull the retailer's item report and compare it to your full SKU list — most suppliers find items missing, suppressed, or rejected. Our free scorecard does this comparison for you.
What is "web ready" vs "web complete"?
Web ready means an item has the full content set — description, bullets, images, video, documents — ready to submit. Web complete means it's set up and live on every retailer it's assigned to.
Do I have to learn the retailer portals to work with GEC?
No. Our team works inside the portals. You log in to GEC to see your reports.