Short answer. Merchant Center shows “Condition mismatch detected: condition [condition]” when the condition in your product data — new, used or refurbished — disagrees with the product’s other attributes, and disapproves the products when automatic item updates are off. Set condition to what the title, description and product page already say, then resubmit your product data.
| Shown in Merchant Center as | Condition mismatch detected: condition [condition] |
|---|---|
| Attribute | condition |
| Effect | Product disapproved — Disapproved with automatic item updates off; with them on, Google corrects the condition itself |
| Where to find it | Products → Needs attention, then filter by this issue |
| Free check | Not something a feed file shows; see below for what the check can tell you instead |
What Merchant Center means by “Condition mismatch detected: condition [condition]”
Google compares the condition you send — new, used or refurbished — with the rest of the product’s data. When they disagree, its help page for this issue says the offers are disapproved if you have opted out of automatic item updates, and asks you to update the attributes so that they all reflect the same condition.
Two related issues come from the same disagreement. With automatic item updates on, Google corrects the value itself and lists the product under “Automatic updates: Mismatched condition”. And when the condition on your website differs from the one in your product data, the account can be warned or suspended under “Inconsistent condition between your product data and your website”, which needs a review request once it is fixed.
Why it happens
- Every product sent as new. Neither WooCommerce nor Shopify has a condition field on the product, so a feed built from either one falls back to
newunless the value is stated somewhere else — and a used product then goes to Google as new. - A title or description that says otherwise. “Used”, “second-hand”, “refurbished” or “ex-display” in the text, with
conditionleft atnew. - A product page that says otherwise. The page’s structured data carries its own
itemCondition(NewCondition,UsedConditionorRefurbishedCondition, per Google’s merchant listing structured data), and it can disagree with the feed. - The wrong one of the two non-new values. Google’s condition specification reserves
refurbishedfor items professionally restored to working order and sold with a warranty; everything else second-hand isused.
How to fix it
In Shopify
A Shopify product has no condition field, so FeedRobin receives every Shopify product as new. Add a rule on the feed that sets it: for example, if the title contains “used”, set Condition to used — or match on a product type you already give your second-hand stock. The rule’s preview shows which products it changes before you save it. Then check that the product pages say the same.
In WooCommerce
Our free WooCommerce plugin, from version 1.0.9, reads condition from a product attribute called Condition, with the value New, Used or Refurbished, or from the condition field Google for WooCommerce stores on products and variations. A variation without its own value takes its parent’s, and a product with neither is sent as new. Add the attribute to your used and refurbished products, and make sure the product page’s structured data states the same condition.
In a CSV or XML feed
Add a condition column to the CSV, or <g:condition> to each XML item, with new, used or refurbished, matching the title and the product page. Google’s help page suggests starting from the products named in its warning email and looking for what they have in common. Resubmit the data, then confirm the issue has left Needs attention.
How long until Merchant Center clears it
With automatic item updates on, the listing already shows the corrected condition and the issue goes once your data agrees. With them off, the products stay disapproved until Google processes the corrected data. The account-level “Inconsistent condition” issue clears only after you request a review, which Google says usually finishes within 24 to 48 hours.
What FeedRobin does about it
The free check does not compare condition with your titles or product pages, and its report does not claim to. For connected stores, the condition your source states is kept: a feed file’s condition column is read on every sync, the WooCommerce plugin reads the Condition attribute, and a rule can set condition on any product — it is one of the fields rules are allowed to write.
Questions merchants ask
Is condition required for new products?
No. Google’s condition specification makes it optional for new products and required for every used and refurbished one. Meta asks for condition on every product, so a feed shared with Meta should carry it on every row.
What is the difference between used and refurbished?
Google defines refurbished as professionally restored to working order, so that it appears new, and sold with a warranty. Used is second-hand, or modified from the condition the manufacturer sold it in. A second-hand item that was not restored is used.
Can an opened or ex-display item be sent as new?
Not by Google’s definition: new means never used, in its original packaging and not opened. An item that has been opened or used on display fits used, or refurbished if it was professionally restored and carries a warranty.
Google changed the condition of my products. Do I still need to fix the feed?
Yes. “Automatic updates: Mismatched condition” means Google corrected the condition because automatic item updates are on. The feed still disagrees, so fix the value at its source and the issue leaves Needs attention.
Sources
- googleFixConditionMismatch — Google Merchant Center Help
- googleFixAutoCondition — Google Merchant Center Help
- googleFixInconsistentCondition — Google Merchant Center Help
- googleCondition — Google Merchant Center Help
- googleMerchantListingSd — Google Merchant Center Help
- googleAutoItemUpdates — Google Merchant Center Help
- Product data specifications for catalogs in Commerce Manager — Meta Business Help Centre