Sales Channel Configuration

Products not showing up when creating a link? Discounts missing from the dropdown? These are the most common issues merchants face, and they're both related to sales channel configuration in Shopify.

Sales channels control where your products and discounts are available. Checkout Links creates its own sales channel in your Shopify store, and products/discounts must be enabled for this channel to appear in your links.

Common Symptoms

You might need to configure sales channels if you're experiencing:

Products don't appear in the product selector when creating a link
"Out of stock" error for products that are actually in stock
Discount codes missing from the discount dropdown
Links show empty carts or missing items

Enabling Products for Checkout Links

Open the product in Shopify admin — Go to **Products** and click on the product you want to make available for Checkout Links.

Find the sales channels section — Scroll down to the **Sales channels and apps** section on the product page.

Click Manage — Click the **Manage** button next to the sales channels list.

Enable Checkout Links — Check the box next to **Checkout Links** and **Online Store** (if not already enabled), then click **Done**.

Both Online Store and Checkout Links should be enabled. Online Store is required for Shopify's checkout to function properly.

Save your changes — Click Save in the top right corner of the product page.

Verify in link creator — Go back to Checkout Links and try creating a new link. Your product should now appear in the product selector.

Enabling Discounts for Checkout Links

Open the discount in Shopify admin — Go to **Discounts** and click on the discount code you want to use with Checkout Links.

Find the sales channels section — Scroll down to the **Sales channels** section.

Click the sales channels field — Click on the sales channels dropdown or selection area.

Enable Checkout Links — Check the box next to **Checkout Links** and **Online Store** (if not already enabled), then click **Done**.

For automatic discounts created through Shopify Functions, ensure the function is enabled for the Checkout Links sales channel.

Save your changes — Click Save in the top right corner of the discount page.

Verify in link creator — Go back to Checkout Links and create a new link. Your discount should now appear in the discount code dropdown.

Bulk Enabling Products

If you need to enable many products at once:

Option 1: Bulk Editor in Shopify

Select products — In your Shopify admin, go to **Products**, select the products you want to update (use checkboxes), then click **Bulk edit**.

Add sales channels column — Click **Columns** and enable **Sales channels and apps**.

Edit sales channels — For each product (or select all), click into the sales channels cell and add **Checkout Links** and **Online Store**.

Save changes — Click **Save** when done.

Option 2: Set Default for New Products

To automatically enable new products for Checkout Links:

Open sales channel settings — In your Shopify admin, go to **Sales channels** and click **Checkout Links**.

Access product settings — Look for product availability or sales channel settings within the Checkout Links channel page.

Enable auto-publishing — If available, enable the option to automatically publish new products to this channel.

Not all sales channels support auto-publishing. If this option isn't available, you'll need to manually enable products or use the bulk editor.

Edge Cases and Gotchas

Variants with Different Availability

If only some variants of a product are showing:

Each variant can have its own inventory settings
Check that all desired variants are in stock and enabled
Ensure variant-level sales channel settings are correct

Products in Collections

Collections themselves don't need sales channel configuration, but every product in the collection does. If a collection-based link is missing products, check each product individually.

Discounts Not Working at Checkout

If a discount appears in Checkout Links but doesn't work at checkout:

Verify the discount hasn't expired
Check minimum purchase requirements are met
Ensure the discount applies to the products in the cart
Confirm customer eligibility criteria are met

Archived Products

Archived products won't appear in Checkout Links even if sales channels are configured. Unarchive the product in Shopify first.

Still Having Issues?

If you've enabled sales channels and still don't see your products or discounts:

Clear your browser cache - Sometimes the product selector caches old data
Wait a few minutes - Sales channel updates can take 2-3 minutes to propagate
Check inventory levels - Products with zero inventory won't show up
Verify product status - Draft products aren't available until published
Review Shopify Markets - If using Markets, ensure products are available in the relevant market

After enabling products for Checkout Links, you may need to refresh the link creator page to see them appear in the product selector.