09-11-2018 06:01 PM
09-11-2018 06:18 PM - edited 09-11-2018 06:22 PM
I'm reading through the instructions and have several questions. alan@ebay, can your team or someone from the promotions team come by to answer these questions?
1. Is it possible to set up the same tiered discount across all SKUs in a variation listing?
a. If you put the same tiered discount amounts next to each SKU on your form and buyers want to purchase 1 each of 3 different variations, will the discount apply or will the system only recognize the purchase of multiples of the same SKU, treating each SKU as a separate discount?
b. Same question, but applied to different listings. If I create the same tiered discount and enter SKUs from different listings and buyers want to purchase from different listings, will the discount apply or will the system only recognize the purchase of multiples of the same SKU?
c. (In case the answer to a & b is that it won't combine different variations or listings.) What happens if you use the same custom SKU across different variations or different listings, would that get the system to recognize the discount when buyers select a single item from different variations or listings?
d. The instructions specifically say to "use a different SKU for each item" but currently the system doesn't prevent me from using the same SKU across different listings or variations. Please provide further clarification on the note to use a different SKU for each item.
2. It should be noted that the instructions only specify a percentage discount, but the CSV form provided also offers the option of amount discounts. Why are amount discounts not referenced in the instructions?
3. Can we expect a volume/tiered discount tool for shipping?
09-11-2018 06:24 PM - edited 09-11-2018 06:25 PM
I take that back - you USED to be able to use the same custom label across different variations and listings. I guess that changed with the rollout of this new tool. Points c & d above are now irrelevant.
09-11-2018 06:46 PM
09-11-2018 06:54 PM
The CSV shows options for Percentage and Amount. The instructions only discuss Percentage.
File Manager is not referenced in the instructions, but I imagine if you want to apply this to a large volume of listings that would be an easier way to download all of your custom SKUs. https://pages.ebay.com/specialoffers/volumepriceinstructions/
09-12-2018 02:28 PM
brian@ebay, as a follow up to the Chat today I am adding my questions about shipping promotions to this thread.
My objective is to use promotions to create a tiered shipping discount based on quantity. Ex. 1-2 items ship first class, 3-4 items ships priority flat rate padded envelope, 5 items or more ship priority flat rate box (or weighted)
There is no option within shipping promotions to set a maximum purchase quantity.
There is no option within shipping promotions to create a tiered discount.
I want to know if the below scenario will achieve the tiered shipping promotion I'm looking to create.
Scenario using random numbers:
A flat rate shipping promotion is created for 2+ items for $4
Another flat rate shipping promotion is created for 3+ items for $7.50
Another flat rate shipping promotion is created for 5+ items for $13.00
Buyer purchases 5 items.
Will the buyer be charged $13 shipping or $4 shipping? Will the system default to the best value of $4 because it's technically for 2 or more items or will it default to the higher price of $13 because it's looking at min quantity?
09-13-2018 08:54 AM
This was easy for us to setup on our end, but as usual eBay is so far behind and broken.
1. We have over 12,000 SKUs once broken out in sizing - Max upload thorugh CSV is 200 (Seriously?!)
2. SKU's have to be unique which wasn't too big of a deal yet (some of our vendors have the same numbers)
3. Broke the CSVs down to 200, takes 2-3 mins to upload, says there is an error, but they appear to get listed anyway.
4. They are listed in the promo area on an indivudual SKU level which is a complete mess compared to having them grouped like the other promotional options allow.
Other than that, GREAT idea since buyers never see the Buy 1 Get 1 text, nor do they know they have to use 'Add to Cart' to get discounts applied.
Welcome to 2018 eBay.
09-13-2018 09:54 AM
How long does it take for the promo to show on the listing? I uploaded a file about 20 minutes ago. I can see the promo is active in the dashboard but nothing is showing on the listing.
Also @fullsourcellc, when I try to view your listings I get zero results. Both in normal eBay search and looking at your store.
09-13-2018 10:17 AM
@Anonymous wrote:
I'm reading through the instructions and have several questions. alan@ebay, can your team or someone from the promotions team come by to answer these questions?
1. Is it possible to set up the same tiered discount across all SKUs in a variation listing?
a. If you put the same tiered discount amounts next to each SKU on your form and buyers want to purchase 1 each of 3 different variations, will the discount apply or will the system only recognize the purchase of multiples of the same SKU, treating each SKU as a separate discount?
b. Same question, but applied to different listings. If I create the same tiered discount and enter SKUs from different listings and buyers want to purchase from different listings, will the discount apply or will the system only recognize the purchase of multiples of the same SKU?
c. (In case the answer to a & b is that it won't combine different variations or listings.) What happens if you use the same custom SKU across different variations or different listings, would that get the system to recognize the discount when buyers select a single item from different variations or listings?
d. The instructions specifically say to "use a different SKU for each item" but currently the system doesn't prevent me from using the same SKU across different listings or variations. Please provide further clarification on the note to use a different SKU for each item.
2. It should be noted that the instructions only specify a percentage discount, but the CSV form provided also offers the option of amount discounts. Why are amount discounts not referenced in the instructions?
3. Can we expect a volume/tiered discount tool for shipping?
Hi @Anonymous, I'll answer your questions below:
a - The Volume Discount tool does not support variation listings at this time. We are looking into the possibility of adding support for variation listings in the future.
b - Discounts currently work per item only, meaning that volume discounts do not work across different items/SKUs.
c - For this type of promotion, it does appear to work when you’re using the same SKU.
d - SKUs are typically used to identify a unique item. While the system won't prevent you from using the same SKU across as many listings as you like (in the custom label field), if you’re already using SKUs for something else then you may not want to do that. Also, if you add that SKU to another item, it will be picked up by the promotion. If you remove the SKU it gets dropped from the promotion.
2 - That's a good callout! We've found that percentage discounts are largely the most popular choice with sellers, which is why it's prominently displayed. We've also found that buyers respond well to percentage discounts. However, the option to create a amount discounts as well for sellers that prefer this method.
3 - We do not have any plans to create a volume discount tool for shipping at this time.
09-13-2018 10:18 AM
Our test file of 10 listings showed up in 5 mins or so, but the files we've done in the last 2 hours seem to be really behind. You also have to Pause or remove any other promotions on the listing for the new volume pricing to show active. We were running the Buy 1 Get 1 on everything with scaling % based on price, but this new setup will be much more effective on sales if it would actually work.
We have 3,800 active listings, not sure why you can't pull anything up.
09-13-2018 10:21 AM
@fullsourcellc wrote:4. They are listed in the promo area on an indivudual SKU level which is a complete mess compared to having them grouped like the other promotional options allow.
It's definitely a mess in promotions manager. There should be one promo for all SKUs with the same discount level and an expand/collapse option to see all the SKUs that are part of that discount.
I added this to a variation listing and it says active in promotions manager, but there is no visibility on the listing itself like there is in the images shown in the instructions. I logged out and used another account to add items to my cart and the discount still doesn't show in the cart.
I'm starting to wonder if this is even functional yet, and if it is - does it even work with variations?
It appears not well thought-out and definitely not ready for prime time.
I would love to get on a call with eBay and point out some key areas that need to be improved for this tool to function the way we need it to.
You have nearly 14k listings - I can see how the limit of 200 skus per upload makes this cumbersome for you.
09-13-2018 10:26 AM - edited 09-13-2018 10:29 AM
Hi @Anonymous, I'll answer your questions below:
a - The Volume Discount tool does not support variation listings at this time. We are looking into the possibility of adding support for variation listings in the future.
b - Discounts currently work per item only, meaning that volume discounts do not work across different items/SKUs.
'Does not work with Variations' - well that's a huge dissapointment and explains why these uploads are not going live.
80% of our listings are variations. Why build something just to make it half effective? Especially for some of us larger businesses.
09-13-2018 10:29 AM - edited 09-13-2018 10:31 AM
+1 on that.
Any why would that information not be provided at the top of the instructions page?
And it doesn't work across SKUs which also makes it less effective. If you sell t-shirts and apply this volume discount, someone would have to buy all the same size/color and couldn't mix and match sizes and colors to get the volume discount.
09-13-2018 11:14 AM
@fullsourcellc wrote:Our test file of 10 listings showed up in 5 mins or so, but the files we've done in the last 2 hours seem to be really behind. You also have to Pause or remove any other promotions on the listing for the new volume pricing to show active. We were running the Buy 1 Get 1 on everything with scaling % based on price, but this new setup will be much more effective on sales if it would actually work.
We have 3,800 active listings, not sure why you can't pull anything up.
Thanks. My test listing was on Markdown so that's why it wasn't showing up. Tested it on a non-markdown SKU and it showed up pretty quickly.
My shipping country was international so that's why your listings weren't pulling up in the search. Changed to US and they are pulling up.
09-13-2018 11:39 AM
Thanks for the follow up brian@ebay, I look forward to your response to post #6 in this thread about shipping promotions.