Variable products allow you to create multiple variations of a single product, giving you control over price, stock, images, and other details for each variation. This is useful for products like T-shirts, where you can offer different colors and sizes within the same listing. By using variable products, you make it easier for customers to find the exact option they want while managing all variations under one product entry.
From your Seller Dashboard, go to Products > Add new product > Product Type. In this case, choose “Variable”.
Note: You can learn about other types of listings here.
Here, you can set the following basic details for your variable product:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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. SKUs are unique to all of BlackSpace, meaning that no two products, no matter who the seller is, can share a SKU.
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.
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.
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.
The Attribute & Variation section is is where you will manage the different variations and attributes for your variable product.
First, you’ll set your attributes. Next, you’ll set each of your variations.
Attributes are characteristics or features of a product that helps define its variations, such as size, color, material, or style. When listing a variable product, attributes are used to create different variations, allowing customers to select their preferred option.
BlackSpace Attributes: We have set up certain attributes that are frequently used (e.g., clothing sizes). You can choose to use these to get you started. As we continue to grow, we will add more attributes based on feedback from our sellers. You can access these by clicking the dropdown.
You also have the option to create your own attributes.
Custom Attributes: By selecting “Custom Attribute” and clicking the “Add Attribute” button, you can make your own to fit the variable product you will sell. Now, you can give the attribute a name and values. After you enter each value, press “Enter”.
Once you have entered all the attributes for your variable product, click the “Used for variations” checkbox and be sure to click “Save Attribute”.
As an example, if you are selling framed pictures and want to offer frame sizes 16″, 20″, 28″, and 32″ and wood options of oak, teak, mahogany, walnut, and birch. BlackSpace offers various wood attributes, so you can use those, but picture frame sizes are a custom attribute.
Variations are the different versions of a product created based on selected attributes, such as a framed picture offered in various frame sizes and wood types. Each variation can have its own price, stock level, image, and other individual settings.
To create new variations of your product based on the attributes you’ve set, there are two options: Create variations from all attributes and Add Variation.
Once each of the variations have been generated, you can edit each one to meet your needs by clicking on it. To set the details, you can follow either the Simple Product or Digital Product resource documents.
For each variation, enter the price, dimensions, and SKU. You can also add optional details like shipping class, tax class, and a variation description to better define that specific version of your product.
If there are variations you don’t plan to offer, you can easily remove them. Once you’ve finished editing, click the Save Variations button to save your changes.
The purpose of this doc is to get you going on adding a variable 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.