Trying to determine if I can do a Choice listing here
Summary: itsjustasprain is exploring how to set up a Choice or Variation listing for three vintage bike lights with four lens color options. They want to ensure buyers can choose their lens color without complications. stephenmorgan suggests using a Variations Listing, mkaczorsee recommends listing each color separately, while others offer different strategies. There is also a discussion about terminology confusion, especially regarding "choice" versus "variation" listings. itsjustasprain is concerned about overselling the lights due to the item's limited quantity compared to the lens availability. The thread also touches on the challenges and drawbacks of variation listings.
I'm trying to wrap my brain around whether I can use a Choice listing in my selling account for what I have here. Situation is this:
I have three vintage bike lights that (back in the day) were each sold with one of four lens colors - buyer chooses. Separately I have a large quantity of replacement lenses in all four colors. Therefore I would like to list the three lights for individual purchase and let the buyer choose his lens color for each. (You make your color choice before installing the light so it is not likely that a buyer would want or need all four lens colors for just one light.)
I am getting confused because I want to ensure that the buyer chooses his color in order to purchase and a Choice listing looks like the way to do it. I do not want to rely on simply getting a message from the buyer with his color choice at payment time. I have run Choice listings before with good results but am not sure how to make one here because I have four available colors but only three lights to sell.
If I had four lights available then I could make a Choice listing for one light in each color - but I only have three lights. How do I do a Choice listing here?
I need to get some sleep but promise to follow up here in the morning - thanks.
toomuchstuffagain35
·1 month agoCan you list the lights with NO lens and then the lens colors separately (as a variation)?
itsjustasprain
OP1 month agoNot really - no. The lights were originally sold in the form of one color each (so they would have had four different colors of light set on the shelf) so I cannot really sell these New Old Stock lights with no lens at all in the box and then have the buyer seek out and choose a lens color from another listing. (These days it is a miracle if the buyer reads any description in the first place.)
The color of lens is the variation but I have way more spare/replacement lenses than original light sets to put them on. I already have a variation listing for the lenses by themselves and already had sales there for people who already had lights but wanted to change or replace their existing lenses.
I was mainly looking for a way to give buyers the widest choice of lens color in a New Old Stock light set without the risk of overselling by getting more buyers than light sets to sell to them.
onefootflipper
·1 month agoDidn't you already post this a month ago?
Why would you even WANT to do a variation listing?
Why wouldn't you just want to show up in search 4 separate times instead of once? Then your customer would buy the right thing every single time and there would be no chance of a mess up where the customer makes the wrong choice, doesn't message or responds, or buys the default choice and thinks they are getting every color.
And that is without even getting into the other half dozen reasons variation listings are actively terrible.
itsjustasprain
OP1 month agoNope - not me. I have similar listings operating just fine but for this one I was not sure if I had the minimum necessary to cover all permutations and it now looks like I would not.
The way variation listings are set up you need to have a minimum of one available to fulfill each choice the buyer may make. In this case I had only three vintage lights but four possible colors of lens available. I wanted to offer the flexibility of allowing a sale with any color - someone could buy one of each different color (or three of the four colors anyway) or they could buy as many as all three lights of the same color. But once someone buys three lights there would be no more available to fulfill that fourth color option - even though I have plenty of the lenses themselves and I am already listing the spares in another variation.
So if I list each color of light in completely separate listings it seems like I can only specify a Quantity of 1 for each and I cannot list the fourth color at all. I would also be arbitrarily limiting buyers to one light of each color even though I could easily sell them three of the same if that is what they want. (The color choice is packed with the light at sale time.)
I could show a Quantity of 3 available for each separate listing in case someone wants all three of the same but if they do buy all three of Color 1 then I have to race around and delete the others before someone buys one or more of the other color listings. (If the same buyer goes for more than three units across all the color listings to make one single cart purchase then I would have a big problem on my hands.)
Go ahead and outline the other reasons. I'm already seeing some of the limitations but you can save me some time in future if I can spot the problems before spending too much time trying to solve them. TIA...
participatrophy
·1 month agoI misinterpreted what you were asking about, my bad. I had taken your OP to mean you had 3 different styles of light available rather than a total quantity of 3 lights. Are the actual color choices in question amber, clear, green, or red? Have I found the correct lenses? If so:
1 light + 1 green lens
1 light + 1 red lens
1 light + 1 clear lens + 1 amber lens
is how I might list them for sale if, and only if, I were intent on sticking as closely as possible to the original way in which these were sold back however long ago they first hit the market. Considering your inventory includes a glut of lenses and a dearth of lights, and considering it's more cost effective for buyer and seller alike to have multi-item orders shipped:
1 light + 8 lenses (2 of each color)
is how I would actually end up going about it. One listing. Quantity set to 3. Sell as lot option toggled on; 9 items per lot. That simplifies the photos, lessens the likelihood of a buyer confusedly expecting more than they'll receive, eliminates any need to rely on buyer correspondence before an order can be dispatched, and raises your bottom line.
mam98031
·1 month agoWhat is a "choice listing"? Do you mean a Variation Listing? If you are talking about Variation listings, Ebay nor most sellers do not call them "choice listings". Referring to it by a name you may prefer is only confusing and may result in some incorrect info being shared with you.
itsjustasprain
OP1 month agoThank you; that's duly noted, but I really do not think anyone here has had problems understanding what we are discussing. In fact I have been using the term 'variation' myself already in this thread.
mam98031
·1 month agoThere are far more members that read but do NOT participate on any given thread. All I'm saying is that it makes it easier when we use verbiage that the site uses. Less confusion and easier to follow. You of course have every right to do as you see fit.
tobaccocardyahoo
·1 month agoSome categories do not support variations.
itsjustasprain
OP1 month agoThanks - that is true but the category I am in does support them and I have other Choice listings already in progress there.
itsjustasprain
OP1 month agoThank you all. I still need to get my variation photos done (showing each lens color installed in addition to the default product photos) so I will walk through the Choice listing process again after that and see if I can get this straight.
I have done Choice listings before but only with large quantities for each option. In this case it seemed like I was going below the minimum possible.
inhawaii
·1 month agoI think @participatrophy has got it.
First choice: Light A, B or C
Second choice: Lens color: Red / Blue / Green / Yellow
That would be 12 different available combinations.
participatrophy
·1 month agoDivide the various lights and lenses evenly amongst each other to establish your initial available quantity counts. Redistribute later as needed.
mkaczorsee
·1 month agoList each color separately.
stephenmorgan
·1 month ago · Edited...........