SyncBase was designed for continuous, reliable sync. But we know many users also rely on it for bulk operations — like imports, catalog migrations, or mass edits. This guide walks you through how to do it efficiently and safely, without running into API rate limits.

How Bulk Operations works

SyncBase uses both Shopify and Airtable APIs, and each has rate limits depending on your plan. For instance, Shopify Plus offers 10x more bandwidth than a Basic plan.

During a bulk operation, you can easily hit these limits. And while SyncBase has a built-in queuing system to manage traffic, too many requests too fast can lead to:

• Slower syncing.
• Delayed operations.
• Or even lost updates if limits are breached for too long.

Bulk Operations guide

Testing a single operation before bulking it

That's probably our best advice: before launching a bulk operations just try the operation once on a single data object. For example: creating a new product. You'll then see if everything goes as expected. If not, that will help you improve it before launching a massive operations potentially full with many errors.

Sizing your batches

Avoid all-at-once actions. Instead of pasting 500 records into Airtable, add them in smaller batches.

Adding delays

Let's get straight to the point: Shopify API is the most restrictive.

And as it's running in credit/seconds, the main goal is to slow down a bit your bulk operations.

The Shopify API is usually the tightest bottleneck. The solution? Slow things down — just enough to stay within limits.

Here are a few tips:

• Add delays in your script. Even 2 seconds between each operation can make a big difference.
• Use automation delays. In Zapier, Make, or Airtable automations, insert a “Wait” step between tasks.

Monitoring your queue

Monitor your SyncBase queue. SyncBase > Synchronization > Tasks section.

If you see a backlog growing too fast, slow down your inputs temporarily.

Updated on: 10/07/2025