Attributes and Variants: everything you need to know

Available for Hub Inventory Small, Midsized, and Huge licenses.

Introduction
In this article, we tackle a particularly tricky topic regarding the so-called Attributes and Product Variants.

Attributes
Attributes represent the distinctive characteristics of your Products, different from "canonical" information. Even though elements such as price, brand, and identifier are considered Attributes, due to their importance, they are treated separately from the standard definition of Attribute.

The importance of Attributes lies in their ability to facilitate an effective distribution of your Inventory. Sales platforms like Amazon and eBay, among others, impose specific Attributes for each Product category. To optimize sales on such platforms, it is essential to familiarize yourself with these requirements in advance.

Variants
Some Products appear as variations of the same item, differing in minimal details such as size or color. These differences create what are defined as Product Variants, each of which must be considered and managed as an independent Product within your Inventory.

For example, consider a T-shirt offered in sizes S and M. Although it is the same model, these two Variants will have unique item codes (usually with a common prefix) and may even have different Prices. Size and color are examples of Attributes that need to be specified.

A crucial aspect of managing Variants is the use of a Parent Product, an element that links Product Variants together. Even though each Variant has its own SKU code, they share a common Parent Product, facilitating the organization and identification of relationships between the different Variants of a Product.

In this article, we illustrate how to manage Attributes and Variants, which must be configured during the MarketRock Setup phase, following this outline:

• Buttons and their functions

• What is an Attribute Set

• Create, modify, and delete an Attribute Set

• Attributes and measurements on variants

• Localizing Attributes

• Attributes, Variants, and Distribution Channels

• Attributes, Variants, and Danea Easyfatt

Buttons and their functions
MarketRock interfaces, according to customers, are very intuitive. Below is a brief description of the button functions found in the Attributes screen.

Attributes buttons:

• New Attribute Set

• Edit Attribute Set

• Delete Attribute Set

  

Other buttons:

• Configure

• Sort

• Select

• Update

• Views

Attribute Sets in MarketRock
An Attribute Set is nothing more than a collection of multiple Attributes. The Attributes you input in MarketRock always relate to an Attribute Set.

For example, imagine having to input the Attributes of a blender. What you need to do is:

1. Create the Attribute Set, which you will call Blenders.

2. Add the following Attributes to the Set:

   • Power

   • Cup capacity

   • Color

In the Product sheet, you will then reference the Attribute Set named "Blenders" and assign the appropriate Attribute values to each blender Product.

For subsequent blender Products you input into your Inventory, you will use the same Set, properly assigning the Attributes.

The Attribute Set useful if you sell clothing (Size and Color) is already available by default for each Product. To input Variant Products for Size and Color, simply visit the Product sheet in the Variants tab and enable the Size and Color Attribute Set.

Creating an Attribute Set
To create an Attribute Set:

1. Navigate to Settings > General Settings > Product Attributes to open the attributes page.

2. Click on the New Attribute Set button.

3. Fill in the fields: "Set Information" (Name and Culture), "Attributes and Translations."

4. Click on New Attribute and complete the fields:

   • Attribute name

   • Group on eBay

   • Type: String (recommended), Date, Dropdown, Email, Decimal number, Integer number, Percentage, Yes/No, URL

   • Add value

Modifying an Attribute Set
To modify an Attribute Set:

1. Navigate to Settings > General Settings > Product Attributes to open the attributes page.

2. Click on the Modify Attribute Set button.

3. You can modify:

   • Set information

   • Attributes

   • Translations (must be done BEFORE publishing on the marketplace).

4. Click OK to complete.

Deleting an Attribute Set
To delete an Attribute Set:

1. Navigate to Settings > General Settings > Product Attributes to open the attributes page.

2. Click on the Delete Attribute Set button.

3. Select OK to complete.

Deleting an Attribute Set will dissociate all items using that Set from the involved attributes.

Linking the Attribute Set to the Parent Product
To associate an Attribute Set with a Parent Product:

1. Open the Product sheet of the Parent Product.

2. Go to the Attributes tab.

3. Select the Attribute Set you want to link.

4. Save the changes.

By doing so, all Variants of that Parent Product will inherit the Attributes of the selected Set.

Attributes and Measurements on Variants
It is possible to manage additional Attributes and specific measurements for Variants that are not necessarily linked to the main variation.

Previously, each Variant was required to have a value for each Attribute defined by the Parent Product’s variation set. Now, in addition to this, Variants can have additional Attributes that are independent of the main variation.

To manage measurements, access the Weights and Measures tab. For additional Attributes, use the newly introduced Attributes tab. Variation Attributes are easily recognizable by the t-shirt icon.

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Localizing Attributes

This function is useful for configuring, for each attribute contained in the selected Attribute Set, both a translated value in the selected culture for the attribute name (e.g., Colore → Color) and a translated value for the attribute values already present in the Products created on MarketRock.

It is not possible to add translations "upstream," meaning before the product has been created. However, these translations will apply uniformly to all Products using that set, those attributes, and those specific values.

Click OK: the new Attribute Set will appear in the list.

Each Attribute Set can contain numerous attributes (size, color, button/zipper, long sleeve/short sleeve). This function allows you to identify a "primary" attribute, the one through which a customer can navigate and make a choice, and "secondary" attributes, which help refine the available options. The Group on eBay function essentially defines which of the attributes should be considered the main one among all available attributes.

For example, in the Clothing category, it is reasonable to say that at least two Attribute Sets are needed:

• A Parent Set, which includes characteristics typical of the product in question, such as the material it is made of, the model, and the style. If we imagine a T-shirt, these could be: Brand, Neckline, Design.
• A Variant Set of the Parent Product, which, especially in clothing, includes Size and Color. For a T-shirt, these could be: Blue, Yellow, Green for color and S, M, L, XL for size.

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Attributes, Variants, and Distribution Channels

The Power of Attributes: Dual Function (Variants and Attribute Sets)

When creating an Attribute Set, if properly selected, it serves a dual function within an eBay listing:

1. Variants: These are typically Size & Color, which can be navigated using a dropdown menu next to the main image in the eBay listing. These are also known as Variants of the Parent Product.
2. Attribute Categories: These appear within the eBay listing as simple information in the Item Specifics box below the main image. These product specifics are better defined as Attributes of the Parent Product because they apply not only to the Parent Product but also across all child products, regardless of size or color.

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eBay

According to eBay’s limitations, a product can have:

• A maximum of 250 variants.
• A maximum of 30 values per Attribute Set.

The Group on eBay option (check if the image should change when selecting a variant from the eBay dropdown menu) should be used with attributes that eBay recognizes and allows filtering in the right-hand search column.

eBay Italy imposes the following limits:

• Maximum attribute name length: 40 characters.
• Maximum attribute value length: 50 characters.
• Maximum number of attributes per listing: 15.

To comply with these restrictions, MarketRock automatically adjusts the data before sending it to eBay:

• If an attribute name on MarketRock exceeds 40 characters, it will be truncated at the 40th character.
• If an attribute value exceeds 50 characters, it will be truncated at the 50th character.
• If more than 15 attributes are specified for a product, MarketRock will ignore any beyond the 15th, giving priority to mandatory attributes (e.g., Brand, MPN, etc.).

Importing Listings from eBay

When importing listings from eBay, if variant products exist in the listing:

• A set will be created in the eBay site's language (e.g., German for eBay Germany) named "eBay Listing Attributes xxxx".
• This set will become the set that varies the parent product.
• The variants will be linked as child products.
• The variant SKU will match the variant SKU on MarketRock.
• The variant quantity will reflect the quantity on eBay, unless the listing is closed, in which case it will be set to 0.
• The set will contain attributes corresponding to those varying the product. These attributes will be of STRING type, and their values will be taken directly from the eBay listing.

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Amazon

On Amazon, the maximum allowed character length is 256. If an attribute name or value exceeds 256 characters, MarketRock will truncate it at the 256th character.

Some attributes are mandatory on Amazon for listing products successfully.

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Attributes, Variants, and Danea Easyfatt

Danea Easyfatt allows the creation of variants (size and color) only if MarketRock has an Attribute Set containing these two attributes. In this case, when sending data from Danea to MarketRock, the system will recognize the variants, and during listing, a size and color dropdown menu will appear.

If you need to create variants that Danea does not support, you can:

1. Create multiple Parent Products in Danea, categorizing them by material, construction, etc., and later associating them with the size and color variants that Danea supports.

   • This method results in products that already have a variant built in. Essentially, unsupported variants would be created as multiple Parent Products (e.g., Parent Product: Glass Plate, Parent Product: Plastic Plate, Parent Product: Porcelain Plate).

2. Create the product directly in MarketRock, skipping Danea, and define the desired Attribute Set with the necessary variants.

This approach requires caution because:

• Stock updates for these products must be done in MarketRock, as Danea will not recognize them.
• Order imports will not adjust stock levels in Danea, since the products do not exist in Danea’s database.