Delete or archive a product

Archive it

This is the right choice for almost every product you want to retire.

1. Go to Products and open the menu on the product.
2. Press Archive.
3. Confirm with Archive.

It goes off your store and out of your main list. Past buyers keep their access, and you'll find it under the Archived tab. To bring it back, press Restore, and it returns as a draft for you to publish again.

Delete it

1. Go to Products and open the menu on the product.
2. Press Delete.
3. Confirm with Delete.

The product and its files go away for good. This can't be undone.

Why Delete is greyed out

If you see "Has orders: archive it instead", the product has a history that has to stay. Delete only works if the product has never had:

• an order, paid or free
• a buyer with access to it
• a checkout, even one that someone abandoned

So your own test purchases count, and so does a visitor who opened checkout and left. We can't remove that history for you, because it's what buyers' access and your order records are built on. Archive it instead.

What archiving doesn't do

• It doesn't remove anything from past buyers. To take a bad file away from them, withdraw the version.
• It doesn't refund anyone. Refunds are separate. See refund an order.
• It doesn't free the product's address. An archived product still holds its /p/ address. A new product with the same name gets a slightly different one.

Common problems

• I can't edit an archived product. Archived products are read-only. Press Restore first.
• I restored it, but it isn't on my store. It comes back as a draft. Press Publish.
• Publish says it needs a file. If every version was withdrawn, upload a new file first.