diff --git a/backend/src/itemSelect.ts b/backend/src/itemSelect.ts
index 3b490ad..253d8e2 100644
--- a/backend/src/itemSelect.ts
+++ b/backend/src/itemSelect.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,18 @@
-// Shared item SELECT shapes for the public and admin routes.
+// Shared item SELECT shapes for the public and admin routes, and the row types
+// they return.
+//
+// The types live here rather than in types.ts because they describe a
+// projection, not a table. ADMIN_ITEM_SELECT takes `i.*` and PUBLIC_ITEM_SELECT
+// names its columns so the storefront never sees paypal_order_id or
+// reserved_until — typing both as "an items row" would quietly re-admit exactly
+// the columns that select was written to exclude.
+//
+// KEPT IN STEP BY HAND. `pool.query<T>` asserts a shape; it does not check the
+// SQL, which TypeScript never reads. Dropping a column from a select below
+// without dropping it from its type compiles cleanly and every read of it goes
+// on type-checking while being undefined at runtime. The integration suite is
+// the only thing that catches that, because it runs these queries against a
+// real schema. Change a select and its type together.
 //
 // Images and tags are pulled as scalar subqueries rather than LEFT JOIN +
 // GROUP BY. Joining two one-to-many relations in the same query multiplies
@@ -6,6 +20,8 @@
 // rows, silently repeating every image three times. Subqueries keep each
 // aggregate independent and drop the GROUP BY entirely.
 
+import { ItemStatus, ItemImage, ItemTag } from './types';
+
 const IMAGES_SUBQUERY = `
   COALESCE((
     SELECT json_agg(json_build_object('id', img.id, 'image_path', img.image_path, 'sort_order', img.sort_order)
@@ -41,3 +57,33 @@ export const ADMIN_ITEM_SELECT = `
     ${IMAGES_SUBQUERY},
     ${TAGS_SUBQUERY}
   ${FROM_CLAUSE}`;
+
+/** The columns every item select returns, whichever of the two it is. */
+interface ItemRowBase {
+  id: number;
+  name: string;
+  description: string | null;
+  price_cents: number;
+  status: ItemStatus;
+  created_at: Date;
+  category_id: number | null;
+  category_name: string | null;
+  // json_agg with a COALESCE fallback, so these are always arrays and never null.
+  images: ItemImage[];
+  tags: ItemTag[];
+}
+
+/** What PUBLIC_ITEM_SELECT returns. Deliberately no payment or reservation columns. */
+export type PublicItemRow = ItemRowBase;
+
+/**
+ * What ADMIN_ITEM_SELECT returns: `i.*`, so every column on the table.
+ *
+ * The extra fields are the ones the storefront is not allowed to see, which is
+ * the whole reason the two selects differ.
+ */
+export interface AdminItemRow extends ItemRowBase {
+  reserved_until: Date | null;
+  sold_at: Date | null;
+  paypal_order_id: string | null;
+}
diff --git a/backend/src/routes/admin.ts b/backend/src/routes/admin.ts
index 48261fe..d8a8431 100755
--- a/backend/src/routes/admin.ts
+++ b/backend/src/routes/admin.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import { promises as fs } from 'fs';
 import { randomUUID } from 'crypto';
 import { PoolClient } from 'pg';
 import { pool } from '../db';
-import { ADMIN_ITEM_SELECT } from '../itemSelect';
+import { ADMIN_ITEM_SELECT, AdminItemRow } from '../itemSelect';
 import { asyncRoute } from '../asyncRoute';
 import { parseItemFilters, buildItemFilterSql, FilterError } from '../itemFilters';
 import { tagColorFor } from '../utils';
@@ -235,7 +235,7 @@ router.get('/items', asyncRoute(async (req: Request, res: Response) => {
 
   const { clauses, params } = buildItemFilterSql(filters, 1, null);
   const where = clauses.length ? `WHERE ${clauses.join(' AND ')}` : '';
-  const { rows } = await pool.query(`${ADMIN_ITEM_SELECT} ${where} ORDER BY i.created_at DESC`, params);
+  const { rows } = await pool.query<AdminItemRow>(`${ADMIN_ITEM_SELECT} ${where} ORDER BY i.created_at DESC`, params);
   res.json(rows);
 }));
 
@@ -270,7 +270,7 @@ router.post('/items', uploadImages, asyncRoute(async (req: Request, res: Respons
       await setItemTags(client, item.id, await resolveTagIds(client, tagNames));
     }
     await client.query('COMMIT');
-    const { rows: full } = await pool.query(`${ADMIN_ITEM_SELECT} WHERE i.id = $1`, [item.id]);
+    const { rows: full } = await pool.query<AdminItemRow>(`${ADMIN_ITEM_SELECT} WHERE i.id = $1`, [item.id]);
     res.json(full[0]);
   } catch (err) {
     await client.query('ROLLBACK');
@@ -323,7 +323,7 @@ router.put('/items/:id', uploadImages, asyncRoute(async (req: Request, res: Resp
       }
     }
     await client.query('COMMIT');
-    const { rows: full } = await pool.query(`${ADMIN_ITEM_SELECT} WHERE i.id = $1`, [req.params.id]);
+    const { rows: full } = await pool.query<AdminItemRow>(`${ADMIN_ITEM_SELECT} WHERE i.id = $1`, [req.params.id]);
     res.json(full[0]);
   } catch (err) {
     await client.query('ROLLBACK');
diff --git a/backend/src/routes/items.ts b/backend/src/routes/items.ts
index bfbab42..290c9ff 100755
--- a/backend/src/routes/items.ts
+++ b/backend/src/routes/items.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { Router, Request, Response } from 'express';
 import { pool } from '../db';
 import { asyncRoute } from '../asyncRoute';
-import { PUBLIC_ITEM_SELECT } from '../itemSelect';
+import { PUBLIC_ITEM_SELECT, PublicItemRow } from '../itemSelect';
 import {
   parseItemFilters,
   buildItemFilterSql,
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ router.get('/', asyncRoute(async (req: Request, res: Response) => {
 
   const { clauses, params } = buildItemFilterSql(effectiveFilters, 1, req.customerId ?? null);
   const where = [EXCLUDE_PENDING, ...clauses].join(' AND ');
-  const { rows } = await pool.query(
+  const { rows } = await pool.query<PublicItemRow>(
     `${PUBLIC_ITEM_SELECT} WHERE ${where} ORDER BY i.created_at DESC`,
     params
   );
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ router.get('/:id', asyncRoute(async (req: Request, res: Response) => {
   // Excluded here too, not only from the list. A pending item that stayed
   // fetchable by id would be hidden from the catalogue and still reachable by
   // anyone who guessed or kept a link.
-  const { rows } = await pool.query(
+  const { rows } = await pool.query<PublicItemRow>(
     `${PUBLIC_ITEM_SELECT} WHERE i.id = $1 AND ${EXCLUDE_PENDING}`,
     [req.params.id]
   );
diff --git a/backend/src/types.ts b/backend/src/types.ts
index 98b17bc..545c7c2 100755
--- a/backend/src/types.ts
+++ b/backend/src/types.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,12 @@ export interface ItemImage {
   sort_order: number;
 }
 
+export interface ItemTag {
+  id: number;
+  name: string;
+  color: string;
+}
+
 export interface Item {
   id: number;
   name: string;