Catalog vs Inventory Explained: Use Individualized Inventory to Power Granular Listings

Catalog vs inventory

Your catalog explains what you sell and how you present it to each channel. Your inventory records what you actually have, its condition, and availability. The catalog points to stock so every order reserves the right items.

Why granularity matters

The more granular your inventory, the deeper you can go with listings. Keep a general pooled listing for broad channels while publishing highly specific model and condition based pages for niche marketplaces where detail drives conversion.

You do not need to track every detail

Individualized inventory lets you run aggregated SKUs and count unique item IDs. Operate at a high level day to day, then spin up an item level listing for a single unit whenever it adds value.

Channel strategy

• General channel: simple listings mapped to shared stock pools.
• Niche marketplace: granular listings that surface exact model, size, condition, and media.
• Clear mapping rules keep availability accurate across all listings.

Benefits

• Flexible merchandising without duplicating data.
• Higher conversion where specificity matters.
• Operational clarity with one source of truth.

Implementation essentials

• Separate catalog management from inventory management.
• Choose inventory granularity that matches your workflows.
• Link listings to items or pools using many to one relationships.
• Expose rich attributes and photos only where they help the buyer.

Build your catalog on top of individualized inventory to serve multiple audiences from the same stock. Go broad for reach and go deep for intent while keeping availability, pricing, and fulfillment consistent.