We sell collectible figurines many of which have color variations. Since variations are not allowed in the collectible category, we have at two options; list each color variation separately in the collectible category, or list once with variations in the less popular home and garden > figurines category. Not sure which is better or which ebay prefers. Listing fees would be more if they are listed separately, and separate listings for hundreds of products with variations would move us closer to our selling limits, but if the variation listing in a less popular category results in fewer sales....
It seems there are other disadvantages of listing variations. In the search results, there is no indication on our variation listings that there are multiple colors available. A customer would have to click through to our listing to realize we do in fact have all the colors available. They are more likely to click on a listing that has the main image showing the exact color they are looking for. Also, it doesn't appear that we can promote listings with variations. They don't show up on our listings available for promotion.
Now we're also wondering if a variation listing has any impact on search rankings.
Any thoughts or conversation on this topic would be helpful.
