Running tasks on automated collections

Do not run a PriceDip task on an automated collection whose conditions are based on price. During the price change, products can be removed from the collection, and the task then cannot find them when it reverts, so those products keep their sale price. Target specific products, a tag or a manual collection instead, and do not edit any collection a task targets while the task is running.

Shopify calls these automated collections. You may also know them as smart collections or dynamic collections.

What goes wrong

Shopify’s automated collections add and remove products by themselves, based on conditions you set. If one of those conditions is the product’s price, changing the price changes which products are in the collection.

A task that targets the collection changes the prices of the products in it. When the task ends, it needs to find those products again to revert them. A product that has left the collection in the meantime cannot be found.

Example

You have an automated collection called Over $500, with the condition price is greater than $500. You run a 50% flash sale on it.

Step	What happens
1. Before the sale	Product A costs $600. It matches the condition and is in Over $500.
2. The sale starts	The task discounts product A by 50%, to $300.
3. Shopify re-evaluates	$300 is under $500. Product A is automatically removed from the collection.
4. The task ends	The task cannot find product A to revert it.
5. Result	Product A is not reverted and keeps its sale price.

Which collections carry this risk?

The app’s documentation warns about one case: automated collections with conditions based on product prices. The rest of this table is our reasoning from that warning, not a product guarantee.

Collection type	Our assessment	Why
Automated, by price	Avoid. This is the documented case.	The discount changes which products match.
Automated, by compare-at price	Avoid	A task can change the compare-at price too.
Automated, by tag, vendor or product type	Lower risk	A price change does not alter these values.
Manual collection	Lower risk	Products leave it only when you remove them. Do not remove products from it while the task is running.

Before targeting an automated collection, open it in Shopify admin and read its conditions.

Do not change a collection while a task uses it

This applies to every collection you target, automated or manual.

Adding products. A product added to a collection takes time to settle, so a product added just before the task starts may not be picked up. Create or edit the collection, wait, then create the sale. Check that the products you expect are in the task.
Removing products. The task searches the collection to find the prices to revert. A product you remove from the collection while the task is running is not found at the revert and keeps its sale price. Leave the collection as it is until the task has reverted.

Alternatives that avoid the problem

1. Target specific products

Select the products directly in the task. This works on every plan, including the Free plan, which can target all products or specific products and covers 50 product variants in total across your active tasks.

2. Target a tag

Targeting by tag needs a paid plan.

In Shopify admin, open the price-based collection and select all its products.
Use the bulk action to add a tag, for example premium-sale.
In the task, under Target items, choose the tag instead of the collection.

A price change does not remove a tag from a product. Our advice: leave the tag on the products until the task has reverted.

3. Target a manual collection

Targeting by collection needs a paid plan. Create a manual collection, add the same products, wait for it to settle, and target that. Leave it unchanged until the task has reverted.

If it has already happened

Do not start new tasks on the same products.
Note which products are still at the sale price.
Contact support@pricedip.app. Ask whether to correct the prices by hand or wait.