Invalid boolean field value
A boolean shipping field (will-ship-internationally or expedited-shipping) contains a value other than 'y' or 'n'.
What is this issue?
A boolean shipping field (will-ship-internationally or expedited-shipping) contains a value other than 'y' or 'n'.
Invalid boolean field valueWhy Amazon rejects this
Amazon's flat-file processor expects these fields to be exactly 'y', 'n', or blank. Invalid values are silently ignored or cause the row to be rejected.
Amazon-specific note
Amazon flat files use lowercase y for true and lowercase n for false. This is different from most other platforms that use TRUE/FALSE.
Valid values / expected format
- ✓y (lowercase, means true)
- ✓n (lowercase, means false)
Examples
| Bad value | Good value | Note |
|---|---|---|
yes | y | Amazon uses lowercase y/n |
TRUE | y | |
No | n | |
FALSE | n |
Fix in StriveFormats
Upload your CSV to StriveFormats to detect this issue across all rows, with clear line-by-line reporting.
Fix in Excel
- 1In Excel, click the column letter for the Invalid boolean field value column to select the entire column.
- 2Press Ctrl+H to open Find & Replace.
- 3In 'Find what', type: yes -- in 'Replace with', type: y -- check 'Match entire cell contents' -- click Replace All.
- 4Repeat: no -> n, 1 -> y, 0 -> n.
- 5Also replace: True -> y, False -> n.
- 6Scan the column to confirm only y and n remain (and blanks if allowed).
- 7Save as CSV (Comma delimited).
Fix in Google Sheets
- 1In Google Sheets, click the column letter for the Invalid boolean field value column to select the whole column.
- 2Press Ctrl+H to open Find & Replace.
- 3Set Find: yes -- Replace with: y -- check 'Match entire cell contents' -- Replace All.
- 4Repeat: no -> n, 1 -> y, 0 -> n, True -> y, False -> n.
- 5Verify only y and n remain in the column.
- 6Go to File > Download > Comma Separated Values (.csv).
Prevent it next time
- --Always type y or n (lowercase) -- do not use spreadsheet checkboxes; export them as text instead.
- --If you export data from the platform's own admin panel, do not modify boolean columns in Excel -- autocorrect can silently change the values.
- --Set the cell format to Text in Excel before pasting boolean values to prevent automatic conversion.
- --Use StriveFormats auto-fix as a final pass before every import.
How StriveFormats detects this
StriveFormats reads every cell in the Invalid boolean field value column and checks it against Amazon's accepted boolean values. Any value that does not match exactly -- including mixed-case variants like "True" or "Yes" -- is flagged as an error.