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@huntfor wrote:Do I have to create a new row for each color and size combination?
Terminology
Let me bring forward some terminology from eBay's online tool and refer to this Variations Tutorial:
http://shipscript.com/ebayhelp/lister_hub/creating_ebay_variations.htm
Attribute is the name of a variation drop list and Option is what eBay calls each selection in the drop list. An Attribute might be "color" and its options might be "red, blue, and green". Another Attribute might be "size" and its options might be "small, medium, and large". A Combination is an item where one "size" and one "color" are selected, like "small, red".
The File exchange manual calls these variation details: Traits (Attributes) with Values (Options).
The File Exchange Item Row is the master record.
The File Exchange Variation Row is synonymous with a variation Combination.
Variation Photos
Based on what we know about the Combination grid when manually populating Combinations, every Combination will be one "variation row" in File Exchange. So if you have 16 patterns and 3 sizes, you would have 48 Combinations, or 48 variation rows.
The documentation has an outdated restriction on the PicURL on pg 31.
PicURL: Defines the image URL(s) for a variation – if you use a single image for a variation, you can use a self-hosted image or an image hosted by eBay Picture Services (EPS) (to use multiple images in a variation, you must use EPS)
You can actually add multiple web-hosted images to be transloaded to EPS.
Pg 32 of the File Exchange manual states:
Image URLs cannot contain blank spaces! To avoid this development and learn about other field requirements, see PicURL.
We duly verified the above. Existing spaces should be converted to %20 in the spreadsheet or images should be renamed.
• Item row: Specify the item-level picture to show a typical example of the product or item. This image will appear as the primary picture for all variations. For example,
• Variation row: Specify the specific picture(s) to use for this variation. To use more than one image for a variation, separate the image URLs with a pipe character ( | ). For example, multiple pictures for the same colored shirts would require multiple image URLs: Black=URL1|URL2|URL3.
Notice the image URLs immediately above for a single Variation Row are referenced as a color Option. We know that only one Attribute can define the variation photos, so we know this example used the color Attribute to define photos for each color Option. Black was one color option that could support up to 12 photos.
This is a backward way of telling File Exchange which Attibute goup (color) contains the variation photos. This backward method also implies that all of the Option values for all Attribute groups must be unique. There can't be a "color" called "plaid" and a "pattern" called "plaid".
Pg32
Note: PicURL values for variations of a given item must use a single trait name. For example, if one variation has Black=URL1|URL2|URL3 and the next variation has Blue=URL4|URL5|URL6, these are valid combinations because the same trait (color) is used. However, if one variation has Black=URL1|URL2|URL3, and the next variation has Medium=URL4|URL5|URL6, this is an invalid combination because two traits (color and size) are used.
This is simply confirming that only one Attribute (trait) may be used to define photos, and mixing in other Attributes (traits) will fail.
Tip: If an item already has a variation row with pictures defined for a given trait value, you do not need to re-define them again. For example, one variation has RelationshipDetails as Color=Black|Size=Small and PicURL as Black=http://host.com/my.jpg. If the next variation has RelationshipDetails as Color=Black|Size=Medium, you do not need to put Black=http://host.com/my.jpg for the PicURL field again because the image for Black has already been defined.
Once a picture has been associated with an Option, there is no need to reassign that same photo. So if pictures are based on "color", and your Combinations are based on "size and color", then once all the combinations of color and "small" have been listed with photos, the remaining combinations of color with "medium", and color with "large", will not require photos. The system will automatically assign them.
@huntfor wrote:Also how are sellers getting more than 12 pictures in their listings, please? I need that. I'm using my own hosting from my website.
The image you referenced is a single photo montage, so that is just one photo. This online stitching tool can combine up to 9 photos into one common photo, or you can use a desktop editor to combine the photos.
http://zippyhelp.com/imagetools/stitch/photostitch.htm
I've seen some sellers make 4 groups of 4 photos and then group those yet again into a 16 grid (etc) with the online tool. Avoid combining too many into one image because this is going to be your search thumbnail — perhaps only show as many as needed to indicate a large assortment. Below are typical thumbnail sizes that eBay displays:
When creating variations, you may select up to 12 photos for each drop down Option in one Attribute group. That means every selection in one (and only one) drop list can have up to 12 photos each.
If we use that example photo as the default image that shows all the available variation options (we'll call them patterns), then each one of those patterns could have up to 16 photos. But perhaps just a front and back view might suffice. The snaps and grippers might be standard images that you put in your default set of photos along with the montage. Depends on the variation and how many photos you want to provide.
That referenced listing has an Attribute called "Type" and a drop list of about 27 Options. Each of those options can have up to 12 photos, so that listing could conceivably hold 324 photos. If there are only 39 photos in the lineup, then they spared us by providing only one photo for each "Type".
You will accomplish the same thing when you provide one or more photos for each "color" in your Attribute grouping.
@huntfor wrote:Do I have to create a new row for each color and size combination?
Terminology
Let me bring forward some terminology from eBay's online tool and refer to this Variations Tutorial:
http://shipscript.com/ebayhelp/lister_hub/creating_ebay_variations.htm
Attribute is the name of a variation drop list and Option is what eBay calls each selection in the drop list. An Attribute might be "color" and its options might be "red, blue, and green". Another Attribute might be "size" and its options might be "small, medium, and large". A Combination is an item where one "size" and one "color" are selected, like "small, red".
The File exchange manual calls these variation details: Traits (Attributes) with Values (Options).
The File Exchange Item Row is the master record.
The File Exchange Variation Row is synonymous with a variation Combination.
Variation Photos
Based on what we know about the Combination grid when manually populating Combinations, every Combination will be one "variation row" in File Exchange. So if you have 16 patterns and 3 sizes, you would have 48 Combinations, or 48 variation rows.
The documentation has an outdated restriction on the PicURL on pg 31.
PicURL: Defines the image URL(s) for a variation – if you use a single image for a variation, you can use a self-hosted image or an image hosted by eBay Picture Services (EPS) (to use multiple images in a variation, you must use EPS)
You can actually add multiple web-hosted images to be transloaded to EPS.
Pg 32 of the File Exchange manual states:
Image URLs cannot contain blank spaces! To avoid this development and learn about other field requirements, see PicURL.
We duly verified the above. Existing spaces should be converted to %20 in the spreadsheet or images should be renamed.
• Item row: Specify the item-level picture to show a typical example of the product or item. This image will appear as the primary picture for all variations. For example,
• Variation row: Specify the specific picture(s) to use for this variation. To use more than one image for a variation, separate the image URLs with a pipe character ( | ). For example, multiple pictures for the same colored shirts would require multiple image URLs: Black=URL1|URL2|URL3.
Notice the image URLs immediately above for a single Variation Row are referenced as a color Option. We know that only one Attribute can define the variation photos, so we know this example used the color Attribute to define photos for each color Option. Black was one color option that could support up to 12 photos.
This is a backward way of telling File Exchange which Attibute goup (color) contains the variation photos. This backward method also implies that all of the Option values for all Attribute groups must be unique. There can't be a "color" called "plaid" and a "pattern" called "plaid".
Pg32
Note: PicURL values for variations of a given item must use a single trait name. For example, if one variation has Black=URL1|URL2|URL3 and the next variation has Blue=URL4|URL5|URL6, these are valid combinations because the same trait (color) is used. However, if one variation has Black=URL1|URL2|URL3, and the next variation has Medium=URL4|URL5|URL6, this is an invalid combination because two traits (color and size) are used.
This is simply confirming that only one Attribute (trait) may be used to define photos, and mixing in other Attributes (traits) will fail.
Tip: If an item already has a variation row with pictures defined for a given trait value, you do not need to re-define them again. For example, one variation has RelationshipDetails as Color=Black|Size=Small and PicURL as Black=http://host.com/my.jpg. If the next variation has RelationshipDetails as Color=Black|Size=Medium, you do not need to put Black=http://host.com/my.jpg for the PicURL field again because the image for Black has already been defined.
Once a picture has been associated with an Option, there is no need to reassign that same photo. So if pictures are based on "color", and your Combinations are based on "size and color", then once all the combinations of color and "small" have been listed with photos, the remaining combinations of color with "medium", and color with "large", will not require photos. The system will automatically assign them.
