Your customers relish the opportunity to tailor their purchases to their personal preferences. With Etsy’s product variation functionality, you can offer a range of options for your products, enhancing the shopping experience and boosting your sales. This guide will help you navigate through adding variations to your listings effectively.

Understanding Product Variations

Variations provide flexibility for sellers to showcase different versions of a single product within one listing. Each listing permits up to two types of variations. For instance, if you’re retailing a dress available in multiple sizes and colors, these attributes can be included as variations in that dress listing.

How To Add Variations:

Adding item attribute variations during listing creation or editing is pretty straightforward:

1. Navigate to the desired listing on the Listings page.
2. Choose from the Category dropdown.
3. Relevant attributes will surface below the chosen categories.
4. To add variations, select I offer more than one for the preferred attribute (size, color). Note: Some attributes like Holiday or Occasion don’t support variations.
5. Proceed to the Variations section and click Add Variations.
6. Pick your variation type using Choose variation type
7. If varying price, quantity or SKU numbers are needed, tick the corresponding box under variation type.
8. Selected variation details appear under Variations

Take Note: To rearrange option order; hit Edit Variations, drag options accordingly then save.

Variations Types

Here are some of the primary types of variations you can utilize in your Etsy listings:

1. Price Variation

The price set for each variation is the total cost for that item version—not an additional fee. If you’re a non-US or Indian seller, learn how to establish different prices for domestic and international orders.

2. Size Variation

For size-related variations like length or size, pick a sizing scale and specify your available options after selecting a measurement unit.

3. Custom Variations

For unsuggested variation types or self-added ones, you can supply your custom options. If you can’t find your desired variation type to offer, create a new one by clicking Create a new variation from the Add or Edit variations popup window. However, note that Etsy search results cannot be filtered based on custom-created variations

How to Hide Variations:

Here’s how to temporarily hide a particular listing variation:

1. Open the listing you wish to modify.
2. Scroll down to the Variations section.
3. Find the toggle button under the “Visible” label next to the variation you intend to hide.
4. Click this toggle button to turn off visibility for that variant.

Now, this specific variation won’t get displayed on your listing until you decide to toggle visibility back on again. Remember, hiding a variant doesn’t delete it - it simply keeps it out of sight from customers until you’re ready for its display again.

Please note: Digital item listings currently don’t support variations.

Linking Photos to Your Variations

Visual attributes like color can have corresponding images attached to better illustrate the product variation to potential buyers:

1. Select the desired listing from the Listings page.
2. Click Add photo.
3. Choose photos you want linked to the listing (maximum of ten).
4. Navigate to Variations, and add if not done already.
5. Hit Link photos
6. Choose which variation needs photos linked (only one allowed). If there are more than 10 variations, only 10 can have linked photos.
7. Link each image to its respective variation.
8. Save changes

Upon selection of a variant by a buyer, the corresponding image will appear on the listing page.

Should I use Etsy variations or separate listings?

The decision to use either Etsy variations or separate listings hinges on your product type and business model. Both options come with their own set of advantages. Separate listings can make sense if the products are significantly different from each other, warranting an individual spotlight for each. However, using variations within a single listing often proves more advantageous for similar items with minor differences like color or size.

The benefits of using variations are twofold. Firstly, it reduces listing fees as you consolidate multiple items into one listing instead of paying for several separate ones. Secondly, it provides customers with additional purchasing options within the same product page, making their shopping experience smoother and more convenient.

Does Etsy charge extra for listings with multiple variations?

While offering multiple item variants under a single listing does not incur additional charges upfront, certain scenarios could lead to extra costs on Etsy. Specifically, when a customer purchases more than one variant from a single listing in one transaction. In this case, you will be charged Etsy’s standard $0.20 USD fee for each additional item bought from that same listing. For example, if someone buys three different colors of the same shirt listed under one variation-enabled listing in one go, you’ll incur two extra charges (for the second and third shirts).

However, it’s important to note that these additional charges only apply when a purchase involving quantities occurs from the same product listing in one transaction. If each variant is purchased separately in different transactions by different customers (or even by the same customer), no extra fees will be charged

Buyer Perspective On Product Variation

Shoppers must select their preferred options before adding your item to their cart. If a buyer added your item to their cart prior to you adding variations, they won’t be prompted to select options at checkout. After purchase, the chosen variants appear in your Sold Orders, receipts and transaction notification emails.

For Etsy Plus subscribers, shoppers can request an email notification when a sold-out item is back in stock. Learn more about restock requests.

Troubleshooting Listing Variation Errors

Occasionally, previewing a listing with variations may result in the error “Listing preview doesn’t accurately reflect price and quantity on variations.” This is normal; rest assured the variations and price differences will be correctly displayed once the listing goes live.

Top 10 Tips for Optimizing Etsy Variations

1. Strategic Variation Selection

Choose variations that your customers are most likely to search for. This could be size, color, style, or material.

2. Combine Variations

If you want to add more than two variations on a single listing, get creative by combining different attributes into one variant.

3. Utilize Personalization Box

Use the ‘Personalization’ option on Etsy to enable buyers to further customize their orders, effectively creating an additional variation.

4. Balance Variation Quantity

Avoid overwhelming your buyers with too many options. Keep your variations reasonable and easy to navigate.

5. Visibility Management

Learn to manage the visibility of your product variations effectively. You can easily hide a specific variation temporarily without deleting it.

6. Optimize Variation Descriptions

Ensure each variant is clearly described using relevant keywords without keyword stuffing.

7. Link Photos to Variants

For visible attributes like color or style, link photos that accurately depict each variant.

8. Price Your Variations Correctly

When offering price variants, remember the price set for each option is not an additional cost but the total cost of each item version.

9. Monitor and Adjust Strategy Based on Analytics

Regularly review the performance of your listings with variations and make necessary adjustments based on these insights.

10. Use High-Quality Images for Variations

Having high-quality images linked to each variation can help buyers better understand what they’re selecting and increase conversion rates

Key Benefits of Adding Variations to Etsy Listings

1. Increased Listing Visibility

Offering product variations can enhance your listing visibility by appearing in more search results.

2. Improved Buyer Experience

Variations allow buyers to customize their purchase, providing a personalized shopping experience and increasing customer satisfaction.

3. Streamlined Listings

Instead of creating multiple listings for different versions of the same product, variations enable you to consolidate all options under one listing, simplifying your shop’s management.

4. Boosted Conversion Rates

By offering variation options that cater to individual preferences, you can potentially see a rise in conversions and sales.

5. Optimized Inventory Management

With variations, managing inventory becomes easier as you track the stock levels of different versions within the same listing.

6. Enhanced Product Presentation

By linking photos with each variant, sellers can accurately depict what each version looks like - enhancing buyer understanding and trust.

7. Time-saving

It saves time by eliminating the need for creating separate listings for each variant of a product.

8. Competitive Advantage

Offering variations might give you an edge over competitors who sell similar products but without variation options.

Conclusion:

Effectively utilizing product variation functionality on Etsy can significantly enhance your store’s appeal by catering to wider customer needs and preferences. While it might seem complex at first glance, by following our guide, you’ll find that adding and managing variations is simpler than you think. Remember that while offering varied choices caters to broader customer needs, an unorganized execution might lead to confusion instead. So take time to optimize your listings wisely for an improved shopping experience resulting in better business outcomes.

‍