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Creating a New Variation Product
Creating a New Variation Product

Learn how to create a product with different variation options for your customers to choose from

Clare Cormican avatar
Written by Clare Cormican
Updated over a week ago

ChannelGrabber can be used to create new products with general information that can then be utilised for different listings on different marketplaces, therefore saving time by avoiding entering the same information multiple times.

 

  1.  To get started, first navigate to the Products page:

 

2.  Start off by entering a new, unique SKU in the blank SKU field to the left; this will act as the Parent SKU for your variation product, giving all the variation SKUs a header to group under. 

Next enter a Product Name (this can be the same as your intended listing title, or you can use a simplified product name for your own reference as this can be changed before you list the item - it's down to your preference).  Leave the product drop-down menu as "Simple".  

Finally, the stock quantity for the parent SKU will be overwritten once you add the variation stock levels, so for now, just set the stock quantity in the QTY field as 1 - it is important that this is not left as zero, otherwise the variation may not list fully on your channels.  Next click the Add Product (+) button to far left of the row:

 

3.  This creates a new product and takes you to the General - Information tab for the item.  Complete as many of the fields on this tab as you can (if relevant).  The key components are the Brand and Description.  You won't need to enter a barcode at this stage, as each variation can have a separate barcode added at a later stage.  You can also specify whether the item is subject to Standard VAT (20%) or VAT Exempt (depending on the options you create in your Company Settings section):

Top Tip:  Why not check out our blog post on How To Write Product Descriptions That Sell Like Crazy

  

4.  You can skip over the Pricing tab, as you will be able to add separate prices for each variation at a later stage.

 

5.  The next tab is the Stock tab, which is purely for your reference in-house and will not send any information through to listings, so it is up to you whether you use it or not.  It can be helpful for noting the location of your products which will then be used on the Picking List in the Orders section of ChannelGrabber, and you can also enter a cost price and supplier name or code for the product.  Please note that you can only enter this information for the parent SKU, and not for each individual variation:

 

6.  Once you have finished entering all this general information for your product, click on the Images tab on the top left of the page:

 

7.  You can add images either by uploading the file(s) from your computer or my copying the image link from an online source.  Please make sure you add the main/primary image first, then the variation images next (if applicable).

 

Option 1:  To upload an image from your PC, click the Browse button.  Select the file(s) you want to upload (it is possible to upload multiple images at once but make sure the first image you upload is your primary image) and then click the Upload button:

 

 

Option 2:  To download an image from an online source, right-click on the image and select the option closest to “Copy image address” or you can open the image in a new tab and then copy the URL from your browser’s address bar.  Go back to ChannelGrabber and paste the image link into the Add External Image field and click the add (+) button.  You can only add one image at a time this way.

 

8.  ChannelGrabber will now show a preview of the image(s) you have uploaded and they will be hosted on by us, so even if the image is removed from your computer or the online location, your products and listings in ChannelGrabber and on your marketplaces will not be affected:

 

9.  Once you have added your images, click on the Variations tab in the navigation panel on the top left:

 

10.  When your ChannelGrabber account is new, you will not have any variation themes (eg. size, colour etc.) so you will need to set these up.  To do this, click on the Show Global Variations button and a new section will open up on the page with a field for a New Global Variation:

 

11.  Click into the New Global Variation field and enter the variation theme name, eg. Colour, then click the green Add button (+) on the right.  Repeat this for the next variation theme (if applicable) eg. Shoe Size and it will start adding them to your list of variation themes.  Once created, these will always be available in your ChannelGrabber account, to save you having to repeat this step every time.  You can create as many variation themes as you like in ChannelGrabber but we don't recommend adding more than two per product because not all channels allow more than two variation themes:

 

12.  Once you have created your variation themes, you then need to add the variation values.  To do this, click the small white expand button to the left of the variation theme you just created and this will open an empty field below the theme name.  Simply type in the value name, eg. Black and Pink, then click the add button (+) to the right and this will add it in and create a new blank field for you to add the next value.  You can add as many values to each variation theme as you like:

 

13.  You can now click the Hide Global Variations button to minimise this section:

 

14.  Now that you have created your variation themes, click on the Global Variations drop-down menu towards the top left of the page, and you will see that your variation themes are now available to select.  Select the first one you want to add, then click the Add to Table button and you will see a new column appear in your variations table with your selected theme.  Repeat this for your second theme if applicable:

 

15.  You now need to start adding each individual variation.  Start by adding a unique SKU, then specify the stock quantity of that item.  You can then select your variation values for this item from the theme drop-down options and finally, choose which image is associated with that variation.  You can enter the dimensions (weight, height, width, depth) if relevant, and these can be fed through to certain channels and/or couriers if you enter them here.  In this example, it is not relevant so you would leave them blank.  Once all relevant details are filled in, click the Add button (+) on the far left to add your first variation to the table, then repeat this for each different variation:

 

Important Note

If you are likely to have certain variations in future, for example if your supplier has only sent sizes 3-6 but you know they do offer sizes 7-9 as well, we recommend to create all the possible variations at this point, and simply mark the ones you don't have as zero stock.  This is because once an item has been listed to ebay or Amazon, it is not possible to edit the variation structure, so it is better to create the full structure initially, then if you stock the other sizes/variations in future, you can just add stock, rather than having to remove and re-list the items to your marketplaces.

 

Once you have added all the variations that you will be using for your listing, you can then click on the Listings tab and proceed to add any marketplace specific information.  Please refer to the "Listing a Product to eBay" guide for help with listing your products to your marketplaces.

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