How to list a simple product

How to list a simple product

These products are straightforward and do not have variations. They are standalone items that don’t require any additional details, such as size or color options. For example, if you’re adding a ceramic coffee mug to your store, it would be considered a simple product since it doesn’t come in multiple sizes or designs.

A type of simple product, downloadable and virtual products are intangible items that you can offer online. These products don’t require physical shipping and can include items like eBooks, software, music files, or online courses. They’re perfect for instant delivery and provide your customers with convenient, on-demand access.

Select the type of listing

From your Seller Dashboard, go to Products > Add new product > Product Type. In this case, choose “Simple” (it should also be the default option). You can also select “Downloadable” and “Virtual” product options here.

Note: You can learn about other types of listings here.

Set the basic details

Here, you can set the following basic details for your simple product, even for downloadable and virtual products:

Title

Your titles play a vital role in encouraging shoppers to click on your listings. They should enable shoppers to quickly understand what you’re selling and what makes it unique. Since shoppers only see the first few words of your title in search results, make sure you’re using that space to effectively describe your item. While it’s important to be descriptive and include relevant keywords, your titles should remain short and easy to read.

Product Image(s)

Your listing’s first photo—the image displayed in search results—is crucial for inspiring shoppers to click and increasing your conversion rate. Here are some important considerations to keep in mind:

Clearly Showcase Your Item: The first photo should prominently display the item you’re selling and be eye-catching enough to make buyers want to take a closer look.

Use High-Quality Images: Choose a photo that is high-resolution, clear, and well-lit. The recommended size for listing images is 2000 pixels on the shortest side, with a resolution of 72 PPI.

Avoid Collages: Steer clear of using collages in your first listing photo. Collages can confuse shoppers about what’s actually for sale and may be hard to see on smaller screens since the first photo also serves as a thumbnail.

Showcase Finished Products: Images should not contain placeholder text like “Your text here.” Instead, they should reflect an example of the finished product you’re offering.

Include Multiple Photos: Each of your listings should feature multiple high-quality photos. These are critical for buyers when deciding whether to make a purchase.

Price

Shoppers tend to compare prices when browsing search results, so your listing price plays a big role in whether they’ll click on your item. Many buyers come in with a budget already in mind. As you grow your inventory, try to offer products at different price points to attract shoppers with a variety of budgets.

Discounted Price and Special Offers

Running a sale can make your listings stand out in search results. When a listing is part of your sale, shoppers will see the original price, the discounted price, and the percentage off in search results. These listings will also appear when shoppers use the “On sale” filter. 

Category

Choosing the right category for your product is key to helping shoppers find your listings. When you list an item, you’ll need to select a single category that best fits what you’re selling. This ensures your product appears in relevant searches and filters. Take your time to choose the most accurate category, as this can greatly impact your visibility and attract the right buyers. If your product fits into more than one category, pick the one that aligns most closely with how shoppers are likely to search for it.

Tags

Selecting the right tags for your product is essential for making your listings more discoverable in search results. Tags help shoppers find your items when they search using specific keywords. You can add multiple tags to each listing, but make sure they are relevant and accurately describe your product. On BlackSpace, tags are created exclusively by our team to maintain consistency and accuracy across the marketplace. If you need a specific tag that isn’t currently available, you can submit a request through the “Contact Admin” section of your Seller Dashboard. This ensures your products are categorized effectively to reach the right audience.

Taxability Information Code (TIC)

A Taxability Information Code (TIC) is a code that helps our tax engine determine whether an item should be taxed based on the destination address of the sale. This ensures that the correct tax rates are applied to your products or services. The TIC considers several factors, including:

Sales and Use Tax Rates: Ensures the correct rates are applied based on the buyer’s location.

Product and Service Exclusions: Accounts for items or services that may be exempt from tax.

Sales Tax Holidays: Automatically adjusts for temporary tax exemptions during designated periods.

Using the right TIC helps streamline tax compliance and ensures accuracy in every transaction.

Description

Creating compelling product descriptions is key to improving your conversion rates. A great description not only tells shoppers what your product is but also highlights its unique benefits and features, convincing them to make a purchase. Here are a few tips for crafting descriptions that sell:

Focus on Benefits: Don’t just list features—explain how they solve a problem or enhance the shopper’s life.

Use Clear, Engaging Language: Write in a tone that fits your brand and speaks directly to your audience. Avoid jargon and keep it easy to understand.

Incorporate Keywords: Include relevant keywords shoppers might use in their search to help your product appear in search results.

Tell a Story: Share the inspiration behind the product, how it’s made, or how it’s meant to be used to create a stronger connection with potential buyers.

Keep It Skimmable: Use bullet points, short sentences, and headers to make it easy for shoppers to quickly grasp the key details.

An effective product description can turn casual browsers into loyal customers, so take the time to make it count!

Choose optional inventory and geolocation settings

SKU stands for Stock Keeping Unit, a unique identifier assigned to each product. On BlackSpace, SKUs must be unique across the entire site, meaning no two sellers can use the same SKU. If you try to use a SKU that’s already taken, an error message will appear, prompting you to choose a different one.

To avoid conflicts and ensure your SKUs are distinctive, it’s a best practice to use an alphanumeric format. Consider including a part of your store name or another unique identifier to make your SKUs easy to manage and identify. This not only helps streamline your inventory management but also prevents errors in tracking and processing orders.

You can also enable product stock management to keep track of your inventory automatically. For example, if you have 10 units of a product and don’t want to accept any more orders once they’re sold, you can enable stock management and set the quantity to 10. Once all 10 units are sold, the product will display an “Out of Stock” message, preventing further orders.

However, if you want to continue accepting orders for an upcoming restock, you can enable the Allow Backorder option. This lets customers place orders even when the product is out of stock, allowing you to take pre-orders and maintain sales momentum while waiting for your next batch.

Product geolocation allows you to specify the physical location of each product. By default, the product’s location will be set to your store address. However, you can choose a different location if the product is stored or available elsewhere.

This feature is particularly useful if you have items in multiple locations, such as a warehouse, a pop-up shop, or even for local pickup at a specific address. Setting the correct geolocation helps provide accurate shipping rates and improves the shopping experience by showing customers the most relevant options for their area.

Set shipping details

Entering accurate shipping dimensions and weight is essential for calculating USPS postal rates. You’ll need to provide the length (inches), width (inches), height (inches), and weight (lbs.) of the package. These details ensure that shipping costs are calculated correctly, giving your customers the right rates at checkout.

Make sure to measure the package as it will be shipped, including any padding or protective materials, and weigh it to get an accurate total. This helps prevent unexpected fees and ensures a smooth shipping process. If your product ships in different package sizes or weights, update these details for each product listing to keep everything accurate.

Set other options

The visibility option defines the privacy of the product. By default “Visible” is selected. But if you want the product to only appear on the category listing page, search results, or want to list it as a hidden product, then you can select the option respectively. If you select any other option than Catalog or Search then the product will not appear on the site other than the store page.

If you want the customer to receive a custom message right after purchasing the product, you can paste that in the box.

What about all of the other options I see?

The purpose of this doc is to get you going on adding a simple product. While adding or editing your product, you noticed other options that we did not cover here. Those options need more detail and have their own docs, which you can find below under Related Docs.

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