At some point, you likely want to add variations to your products to let customers choose to their liking. Instead of adding an entire new listing, variations can be used. If you’re deciding on whether to add variations or new products, it’s a better strategy to add to an existing listing and make it more robust vs a new standalone product.
What Are Listing Variations?
While some of your products may only be offered in one size and color, you want to offer customized options for your customers.
One reason people go to Etsy is to find unique items customized for them. This includes size, colors, patterns etc.
Put simply, you are offering your product in different variants. I always offer different stains for all of my wood products. Customers are searching for their taste; light shade, dark shade, gray etc.
Variations are different from customizations. Custom orders are usually one specific request for that one buyer. Example, a custom name printed on.
How to Add Variations to Your Etsy Listing?
You can add variations to a new listing or by editing an already existing one. Here’s where to start:
1. Go to the Listings page in your Shop Manager and click on the listing you want to edit.
2. Scroll down to Variations and click Add Variations.
3. Select Choose variation type and pick the type of variation you want to offer.
Notice you can choose from the list of common variations, or choose your own custom.
4. Under the variation type, check the box to provide different SKU numbers, quantities, and prices if they differ. If you don’t have SKUs, then don’t worry about it, it’s not a requirement.
It’s easy to add pricing for your different variations. If you have different sizes, more than likely you’ll have price differences.
What Variations Can You Add to Your Etsy Listing?
Etsy offers a wide range of variations to sellers. You can practically provide any type of variation that you’d like. They include:
- Price
- Size
- Custom variation – If you don’t see a variation you’d like to offer, you can make your own custom variation.
While it’s great that you can add lots of variations to your listing, remember that adding too many can confuse the buyer. You want to keep the buyer’s decision as simple as possible, so don’t add more variations than necessary.
I wouldn’t have more than 2-3, and if you need to have that many, consider making it into another product listing. Consumers can be confused easily, so to avoid any negative outcomes, make sure every detail is crystal clear.
Need to Hide a Variation on Your Listing?
If you want to hide a variation, you can do it in the Listing Manager. Simply click the Visible toggle, and that’s it. You don’t have to delete it and re-add later. This is great for if you have one color you can’t get supply of temporarily.
On the other hand, you’ve sold out the variation, simply put the quantity value to 0, and it will appear on the listing as Sold out.
How do I see what the customer orders?
Once an order comes in, you will see the product purchased, quantity, price, variation selected, any notes the customer may have left and the customer shipping info.
You don’t have to do any additional searching!
To find more Etsy how-to’s and advice for shop owners, check out my other recent posts: Blog Archives – Wood Craft Blueprints
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