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Why a CSV import skips rows as duplicates

Sellinger skips a CSV row when the same person is already in your team's leads. A match on email, LinkedIn profile URL, or phone (when the row has neither of the other two) counts. The import result lists how many rows were already in the pipeline and which ones.

Published by Sellinger AI. Numbers and settings checked on 19 October 2026 against the fact register. Report an error.

Before you start

Open Add Leads, then CSV. The file must be a .csv of up to 50 MB with at least one of email, LinkedIn URL or phone on each row. An Instagram handle also counts.
Know that duplicates are checked across your whole team, not only inside one campaign.

Steps

1
Step 1
Run the import
Upload the file, map the columns and choose where the leads should go on the destination screen. Then click Import with the number of leads shown on the button.
2
Step 2
Read the result
The result screen says Import Complete, No New Leads or Import Failed. The chips show how many rows were imported, how many were already in pipeline and how many were rejected.
3
Step 3
Open the details
Open the skipped list. Each line gives the row number and the reason: a duplicate email, a duplicate LinkedIn URL or profile, or a lead that already sits under another account.
4
Step 4
Find the existing lead
Search the leads page for that email or profile. The lead you see there is the one the row matched.
5
Step 5
Fix what is really rejected
Rows counted as rejected are different from skipped. They usually lack an email, LinkedIn URL, phone or Instagram handle, or the LinkedIn URL could not be read. Correct them in the file and import again.

What happens next

Skipped rows are not an error. The existing lead stays where it is, and new information from the row, such as extra fields and the segment, is added to it.

Good to know

Email matches ignore upper and lower case.
Duplicates inside the same file are skipped too, so the second copy of a row is counted as a duplicate.
A lead that you discarded earlier is brought back by an import rather than counted as a duplicate, unless an active lead with the same identity exists.
The app has no switch to force a duplicate in. Importing the same file again reports the same duplicates.

Common questions

Is a duplicate checked per campaign?

No. It is checked per team. A lead in one campaign blocks the same person in another campaign of the same team.

How many rows can I import at once?

The file can be up to 50 MB. A single import request carries up to 20,000 rows.

How do I avoid duplicates in the first place?

Keep one identifier per person in the file and check the list against your existing leads. See [duplicate leads: merge and prevent](/help/duplicate-leads-merge-and-prevent).

Sources and method

Written from the Sellinger app as of 19 October 2026.