Things I'd like to see changed/added: Non-available combination problem. Prevent Default Items. Our Cost tracking for parts. Quantity discount options

[KyferEz]

I first want to say that this is a really nice e-commerce shop, and I think the dev team has done an outstanding job. It is quite polished, and for the most part I am happy with how it works. Now, on to what I'd like to see in the future, and why.

I am setting up a shop for electronics parts (resistors, capacitors, voltage regulators, and the like) and in doing so, there have been a few compromises we did not want to make in listing products.

For example, a capacitor has multiple specifications:
Type (Electrolytic, Ceramic, Tantalum, etc.)
Capacitance rating (in uF)
Voltage rating (in Volts)
Temperature rating (in degrees C)
Diameter (in mm)
Height (in mm)
Lead spacing (in mm)
Manufacturer

What I wanted was to make a Capacitor category and then have under that 1 item for each Type of capacitor: Electrolytic, Ceramic, Tantalum, etc. You would then be able to pick the capacitance, voltage, temperature, diameter, height, etc. from the drop-down lists created by the combinations when entering parts into the catalog.

First issue:
It did not work because there were huge numbers of combinations that the end user could select that did not exist, and this occurred because once you chose one item from the drop-down list, the other drop-down lists are not updated to remove options that no longer apply. For example, lets say I have 1 capacitor at 1000uf 16V 8mm diameter, and another at 1000uf 25V 10mm diameter. If the customer chooses 16V first, then they should not be able to choose a 10mm diameter because that isn't available at 16V. However, since they can, it causes a non-available part message when they do. At just 2 parts, it's not a problem, but consider several hundred parts times 7 selections per part equals over 1000 non-available part combinations (because there are usually 2 parts with everything in common except size). To resolve this issue, we have had to limit the combination selections available to only 2 (diameter and temperature) and make individual catalog entries for all the other combinations, which was VERY time consuming and doesn't work ideally, nor is it as "slick".

Second issue:
End users can add an item to the cart without having selected any options, which adds a default item to the cart. This should not be possible for these sorts of electronic parts. I realize this means not allowing users add parts to the cart from the listing page (where multiple products can be seen), and that doesn't matter to me, but if it's considered important, then instead of adding a default part, it could take them to a page where they are forced to select the combination options. I think this would be a fairly easy option to add...

Third:
Since my small company is dealing with many parts with low cost, high quantities, constant price fluctuation, and low per-item profits, it would be ideal if we could also track what we paid for items in the catalog, so that whenever we purchase additional parts to restock, we could see all previous prices paid for past restocking as well as the date the restocks occurred. Of course this also means we need a way to enter the current cost paid for the part and how many were purchased at that cost (and preferably Presta would automatically append the current date to that entry). This also seems fairly simple to add.

Fourth:
Is there an option for setting up quantity based discounts? I haven't noticed one, so if not, I'd like to request one.


Thanks for reading and considering these!

[Patric]

It should be really better to post 1 demand by topic. You'll have more chances to have answers...

[Snol]

I think the attributes filter by name is a much needed one too.

[KyferEz]

Patric: Are you asking that I separate this post into 4 separate ones? If so I will. I did it this way because I've found (in other forums) that some get annoyed and act like I'm spamming if I post one question/issue/suggestion after another in separate topics... So I do it this way to be safe, and also because I'd have to repeat a lot of the explanation in each thread...

[KyferEz]

Yeah! #4 not an issue, I just found quantity discounting options

I also found a bug, but I'm using the stable version, so I'm not sure if I should report it. It has to do with the positioning of the up-down buttons on quantity if quantity is over 99.

[Melinda]

I totally agree with these attribute combinations. So far with 1,800 combinations the product page crashed and could not reload and had to remove them by hand in the database. These need to be individual attributes and not have them in combinations. The color attribute is nice if you are only showing colors but trying to do colors and combinations of other attributes is a nightmare in my opinion.

I have embroidery clients and we need to be able to add a download to an attribute as they have many machine formats to sell and the designs are too large to put in one zip.

I hope these attributes change soon so I can move my clients over to PrestaShop.

Thanks!