Auctiva - Powerful solutions for eBay Sellers

This question came up on the boards today. I thought it was worthy of a post.

I have visited many AC seller's stores. Many sell used items (clothes, antiques, books etc.) And many times I test them just to see if I can order multiple quantities of a used unique item. Obviously for unique items, you don't want your store to allow that. But, many times I have been able to put a quantity of 5 of a unique item in my basket.

If you haven't set up inventory tracking on your items you need to do so. It is not difficult but it does need to be done. It will keep you from selling your unique item multiple times to the same person or the same item to multiple customers.

Currently the only way to remove your unique item from inventory after it sells is to hide the item or delete the item.

So for instance at the end of your online day the unique item hasn't sold. After your business hours someone buys it. So far so good. You would start your new day and process your order and hide or delete the inventory item. But without the inventory tracking on someone else could come along during the night and purchase the same item again. Not a good way to win friends and influence customers.

By using the inventory tracking in the inventory control section of your item listing you will prevent selling your unique item more than once. You will want your quantity to be 1 and allow backorder to be no.

You can test your items yourself by going into your store (don't log in) and try putting the items in your cart, changing the quantity etc. You don't have to get to the paypal part to test this.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Michelle G,

Yep, Michelle, I'd figured it would work like that.
Would you check my store please on the pre-owned items, like the records?
Should be ok, but I'm glad you pointed this out
Thanks!

quote:

Originally posted by Lunabu-Allsorts:
Yep, Michelle, I'd figured it would work like that.
Would you check my store please on the pre-owned items, like the records?
Should be ok, but I'm glad you pointed this out
Thanks!

You will need to go work on your listings and set it up. I was able to put 10 of your South Pacific Sound Tracks in your cart and successfully get to checkout.

I went into my store, put a book in my basket (it shows qty 1, min 1, max 1), when I got to checkout I was able to increase the number to 10. But when it took me to checkout it said: The quantity of item 1803 Jefferson's Decision The United States Purchases Louisiana is above the maximum purchase quantity of 1 The quantity has been decreased to the maximum allowed.

In the same inventory control section of your item it has other boxes that say min and max that are not part of the inventory tracking. This would prohibit me from purchasing more than 1 per order, but it would not prohibit me from coming back and placing an additional order of the same item, or anyone else from ordering the unique item.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Michelle G,

Thank you for clearing this up. I figured by not using inventory control it would show only one of a kind. Not the right train of thought.
Again, thank you for pointing this out to us.
Hazel

Hazel I'm afraid my train was on the same track as yours. Thanks michelle for pointing this out.
Katy

quote:

Originally posted by granny hazel:
Thank you for clearing this up. I figured by not using inventory control it would show only one of a kind. Not the right train of thought.
Again, thank you for pointing this out to us.
Hazel

You're welcome.

I was concerned about setting this up right because with my luck, I would have 5 people over night buy the same thing as a special gift. And 4 people who would never buy from me again!

Thanks Michelle, I hadn't thought of it that way,

I thought it was more geared towards people with

a lot of the same inventory!

It will certainly be needed for people with a lot of the same item. There are reports you can run to help you know when to reorder etc.

But it is also needed for those of us who just sell a quantity of 1.

I didn't go research on it until I realized I could buy more than 1 of my unique items...

Wait, Michelle I'm lost now. So what's the solution? I have the same setting 1 item, min 1, max 1 in inventory, but right before checkout the quantity can be adjusted by buyer, however at the end of checkout he won't be allowed to buy more than 1. It's confusing to the buyer.
hoppyeshopper
www.bargainseekersintl.net

It potentially could be. But it would be impossible for them to purchase more than one. They would get an error message showing them why. If they were confused they might look at the item listing and realize it was unique. The only place they can currently increase qty is in the basket and it will give them an error message explaining that there is only one available.

But you raise a good point worthy of a change request for AC. If we are using the inventory tracking, it should not allow them to increase it there either.

That is exactly my thought. Well, thanks for replying. Have a good night
hoppyeshopper
www.bargainseekersintl.net

I also just tested it. I think with inventory tracking it should remove the add to cart once the qty is zero. It currently does not. However, when I went to my basket it said: The item 1803 Jefferson's Decision The United States Purchases Louisiana is out of stock. It has been removed from the basket.

Michelle d
Different subject. but thanks to one of your posts a couple of days ago I was able to put a Trust Plus badge on my store.
Thank You
Larry

i too sell unique items and thought that by putting a 1 in the maximum, that, duh, the maximum would be .... uh 1. i did not think that my customer would be able to increase this number at checkout, only to get an error message....i too will put in a ticket to fix this....if the max is 1, there should be no option to increase the order amount above the max, even at checkout and even with an error....just causes more confusion.....we have enough of that

Just make sure that you have the inventory tracking turned on too. The min and max buttons above the inventory tracking section will not prevent the same item from being sold to different customers.

quote:

Originally posted by Larry S:
Michelle d
Different subject. but thanks to one of your posts a couple of days ago I was able to put a Trust Plus badge on my store.
Thank You
Larry

And a wonderful reputation it is too Glad you could wade through the instructions.

Thanks
it took me 3 trys, but i made it
I read the posts everyday when i can and print the ones i think will help me later on. I have quit a collection already thanks to all of you. maybe some day i can help others like all of you have helped me
Thanks again
Larry

Thanks from me too. Luckily I had only one item to change.

quote:

Originally posted by Larry S:
Thanks
it took me 3 trys, but i made it
I read the posts everyday when i can and print the ones i think will help me later on. I have quit a collection already thanks to all of you. maybe some day i can help others like all of you have helped me
Thanks again
Larry

Always glad to have more members in the answering questions department!

quote:

Originally posted by Lunabu-Allsorts:
Yep, Michelle, I'd figured it would work like that.
Would you check my store please on the pre-owned items, like the records?
Should be ok, but I'm glad you pointed this out
Thanks!

Michelle, could you please check the few items I have listed and let me know if I have them set up correctly so only (1) purchase can be made on each item?

Is there a way to set inventory tracking to permanently be set to : ON for every listing without having to manually click it for each new listing? I think there is a tutorial on this, but I can't seem to locate it.

-Ryan

quote:

Originally posted by Yore Antiques:
Is there a way to set inventory tracking to permanently be set to : ON for every listing without having to manually click it for each new listing? I think there is a tutorial on this, but I can't seem to locate it.

-Ryan

Ryan,

Yours works. I tested a couple of your trains and it didn't matter what I did where... I was only buying 1.

And I thought there was a tutorial or a help on Auctiva Commerce Help as well, but there is not that I could find. And when I did a find on "Inventory Tracking" and Unique, I found a previous post of mine where I had looked for them once before and couldn't find a tutorial on them. There is only a small blurb about it in the adding a product tutorial, but it doesn't go into any depth.

Michelle,
thanks very much for pointing this out. Thought I'd done it right but obviously not.
Could you please test another few of my unique items? Many thanks

Angela,

It looks like you have got it now.

Thanks Michelle for the info on this. I, like most everyone else, thought the inventory tracking was for people that sold lots of the same inventory. I was concerned about the little arrows on the product templates where the customer could increase the count, but hadn't gone so far as to check it out in check-out. Was going to have to check into after my last project with the google feed base. But thanks to you, I don't have to now.

Man, I don't think I will ever get through all this!

Donna
http://carolinabluelady.auctivacommerce.com