Safer variation matching, beyond product_id
Everlyst no longer trusts Etsy's raw product_id alone for destructive variation edits. It now matches on exact variant signatures, option identity, and base-value checks, treating product_id only as a hint - so stale or mismatched data can't edit or wipe the wrong offering, and untargeted live products are left untouched.
Why product_id alone isn’t enough
It’s tempting to match variations by Etsy’s product_id and call it done. The problem is that the id can be stale, reused, or simply not line up with what’s live by the time an edit runs - and for variation work, matching the wrong record means changing the wrong price or removing the wrong option. Trusting it on its own is how spreadsheet edits go quietly wrong.
Match on what the variation actually is
Destructive variation edits now match on the variation’s real identity: an exact variant signature, the identity of its options, and base-value checks against what’s live. product_id is kept only as a hint to confirm a match, never as the sole basis for one. If the signals don’t agree, Everlyst doesn’t force the edit.
Touch only what you targeted
The payoff is that live products you didn’t target are preserved. An edit aimed at one set of variations can’t spill onto neighbors that happened to share an id, and a stale sheet can’t talk Everlyst into rewriting something it shouldn’t. It’s the difference between a tool that does what you meant and one that does what the row literally said.