What is an inventory item family?
Consider a group of similar items like an "I <3 NY" shirt in a variety of sizes and colors. That would be considered an inventory item family or what Shopify calls variants.
Video Guide
Here's a guide for how to construct an inventory item family in SimpleConsign
In order for inventory item families to work there must be a differentiation in at least one of these fields (size, color, new / used) for the system to see each variant as distinct - the name does not matter. Without distinction they shadow, meaning that one item has to sell before the next item will be available for sale. This allows for multiple of the same variant to be in the same inventory item family without duplicate variants displaying online. This is commonly used for sneaker stores where the same item with different SKUs can be entered into the system.
For inventory family you have to use the action menu, you can not send updates individually
1. Uncheck ecommerce flag on image add (in Settings)
2. Unmark ecommerce in the family actions menu
3. Make changes (includes adding a picture)
4. Mark as ecommerce
5. Set ecommerce flag on image add back
Key Takeaways
- If you have items that have sold (you plan on restocking) and want them in an inventory family you need to uncheck ecomm to pull them off Shopify and add the items to an inventory family within SimpleConsign.
- If you have different variants or SKUs for the same item only load one picture on one item or a group shot.
- Best practice is to always pull the inventory family off Shopify, make changes to the item(s) in SimpleConsign, then mark as ecomm to send up again.