diff --git a/includes/admin/class-wc-admin-importers.php b/includes/admin/class-wc-admin-importers.php
index 8c02b9642cd..5b1a31d2c8a 100644
--- a/includes/admin/class-wc-admin-importers.php
+++ b/includes/admin/class-wc-admin-importers.php
@@ -230,6 +230,8 @@ class WC_Admin_Importers {
 		if ( 100 === $percent_complete ) {
 			// Clear temp meta.
 			$wpdb->delete( $wpdb->postmeta, array( 'meta_key' => '_original_id' ) );
+			$wpdb->delete( $wpdb->posts, array( 'post_status' => 'importing', 'post_type' => 'product' ) );
+			$wpdb->delete( $wpdb->posts, array( 'post_status' => 'importing', 'post_type' => 'product_variation' ) );
 
 			// Send success.
 			wp_send_json_success( array(
diff --git a/includes/import/class-wc-product-csv-importer.php b/includes/import/class-wc-product-csv-importer.php
index a0762548a17..8d7ab94412e 100644
--- a/includes/import/class-wc-product-csv-importer.php
+++ b/includes/import/class-wc-product-csv-importer.php
@@ -119,7 +119,19 @@ class WC_Product_CSV_Importer extends WC_Product_Importer {
 			$id          = intval( $matches[1] );
 			$original_id = $wpdb->get_var( $wpdb->prepare( "SELECT post_id FROM {$wpdb->postmeta} WHERE meta_key = '_original_id' AND meta_value = %s;", $id ) );
 
-			return $original_id ? $original_id : $id;
+			if ( $original_id ) {
+				return absint( $original_id );
+
+			// If we're not updating existing posts, we need a placeholder.
+			} elseif ( ! $this->params['update_existing'] ) {
+				$product = new WC_Product_Simple();
+				$product->set_name( 'Import placeholder for ' . $id );
+				$product->set_status( 'importing' );
+				$product->add_meta_data( '_original_id', $id, true );
+				$id = $product->save();
+			}
+
+			return $id;
 		}
 
 		if ( $id = wc_get_product_id_by_sku( $field ) ) {
@@ -152,18 +164,31 @@ class WC_Product_CSV_Importer extends WC_Product_Importer {
 	 * @return int
 	 */
 	protected function parse_id_field( $field ) {
-		$field = absint( $field );
+		global $wpdb;
 
-		// Not updating? Make sure we have a new placeholder for this ID.
-		if ( $field && ! $this->params['update_existing'] ) {
-			$product = new WC_Product_Simple();
-			$product->set_name( 'Import placeholder for ' . $field );
-			$product->set_status( 'importing' );
-			$product->add_meta_data( '_original_id', $field, true );
-			$field = $product->save();
+		$id = absint( $field );
+
+		if ( ! $id ) {
+			return 0;
 		}
 
-		return $field && ! is_wp_error( $field ) ? $field : 0;
+		// See if this maps to an ID placeholder already.
+		$original_id = $wpdb->get_var( $wpdb->prepare( "SELECT post_id FROM {$wpdb->postmeta} WHERE meta_key = '_original_id' AND meta_value = %s;", $id ) );
+
+		if ( $original_id ) {
+			return absint( $original_id );
+		}
+
+		// Not updating? Make sure we have a new placeholder for this ID.
+		if ( ! $this->params['update_existing'] ) {
+			$product = new WC_Product_Simple();
+			$product->set_name( 'Import placeholder for ' . $id );
+			$product->set_status( 'importing' );
+			$product->add_meta_data( '_original_id', $id, true );
+			$id = $product->save();
+		}
+
+		return $id && ! is_wp_error( $id ) ? $id : 0;
 	}
 
 	/**