Hiding takes a product off your storefront but keeps it — photo, price, history — ready to bring back with one click. Deleting removes it for good. When in doubt, hide.

Hiding#

The green toggle on each Inventory row is the publish switch: off = hidden from customers. To do several at once, tick the checkboxes on the rows and use the bulk bar: Hide from storefront or Show on storefront. Nothing else changes — the product sits in your list, just out of public view.

Deleting#

Delete on the row (or select rows and Delete selected) removes the product permanently. There is no undo. Run Export products first if there is any chance you will want the data back.

Which one, when#

• Seasonal gear (patio heaters in July): hide. It is back in one click come October.
• Item out for repair for a while: hide it — or set a blackout on it if you know the return date.
• Sold the equipment, never renting it again: delete — after the export.
• Duplicate rows from an import gone wrong: delete the copies.

Related reading#

The how-do-i-delete-a-product article walks deletion step by step, and what-is-quantity-availability explains the difference between "hidden" and "unavailable" — a hidden item is invisible, while an active item with all units booked still shows but cannot be double-booked.