Quickly Put A Brand Or Category On Sale In Big Commerce

With the lack of a built-in sale function in Big Commerce many new users have a difficult time putting a group of products on sale, resorting to changing prices one at a time or downloading a full Bulk Edit CSV and picking through it one by one. Here's how to get that brand or category on sale quickly:

1. Copy the Bulk Edit export template to create a custom export template that contains only the fields you need. This would be Product Name, Category, Sale Price and any other price fields (retail, cost or selling price) that you may want to base your sale price on. You can also uncheck the "Yes, include product options in the products export" box unless you really need the options in the export - you can't put an option sku on sale, you can only change a fixed price. Note that I also include Product ID in all my custom exports even though it is technically not required unless you are changing the product name.
2. Next go to Products > Search Products and select only the criteria you want to put on sale (Brand, Category, everything over $100, whatever).
3. Export the search results using your custom export template.
4. Add sale prices based on any formula or enter the price directly into the Sale Price field.
5. Re-import the csv (check the box "Yes, I exported this file using the 'Bulk Edit' template").

There you have it, your brand, category or other product group on sale.

Display Single Item Price When Selling Package Quantities in Big Commerce

We've been seeing a lot of Big Commerce users wondering how to display the single unit price of a product when the product only comes in package quantities. Here's one technique to accomplish this that can also be used to add a setup or handling fee that is not included in the advertised price.

1. Create a multiple choice Option that contains the package quantities available (or a single choice for the setup fee). Setting a default here will multiply the price automatically as soon as the product page is displayed. It's probably best to have no default so the single unit price displays until the user checks an option - shopping comparison sites may disqualify your products if they audit your site and see a different price on the page.
2. Create an Option Set and add the Option, making it mandatory.
3. Here you need to make a decision. We need to set up rules to change the price for each package quantity. If rules can be created in the Option Set that will apply to all products this will keep maintainance simple and is the best choice. If the package quantities cannot be based on a formula then the rules need to be created within each product.
4. Add the Option Set to each product that is sold in package quantity only.

Here's a video to demonstrate (sorry for the crappy audio):

The Human Condition

I was recently asked to manage some of the outsourcing for an ecommerce site. I'd been meaning to sign up on a couple of freelance sites anyway to try and fill some open time and what I see on these sites is a real eye opener on the human condition.

Now I fully understand the global economy and I'm not about to start ranting about wage differences but people working for 50 cents an hour? I don't know what a computer and a copy of MS Office, Photoshop or whatever costs in some third world ghetto but I'd be willing to bet 50 cents won't cover it.

Far worse than those who are apparently working with pirateware are the unscrupulous employers on these sites. These are just some of the things I've seen in a couple of days time looking at the other jobs posted:

• Looking for someone to post false reviews
• Looking for someone to modify copywrited material to make it their own
• Looking for someone to copy someone elses web site
• Looking for someone to manage someone who’s not getting the work done on time
• Looking for someone to remove bad publicity on the internet (ripoff report, etc.)
• "I don’t know how to do it but it should only take you a few minutes" (this one's always my favorite)
• "You need to make as many revisions as it takes at no charge until I say it's right"
• Ridiculous time frames

Probably the worst of all are employers trying to get out of paying $2.00 hr when a deadline is missed. I'd be willing to bet the instructions were all of two sentences or the deadline was unrealistic.

All this just goes to show there are untold masses ready and willing to fill Hitlers shoes given the opportunity.