Multiple "sub-items" on a main item page

[Kibb]

Hello, and thank you in advance for helping me. I am using the latest version of Zen Cart, and I am trying to emulate the layout of another website. I'll try to explain what I'm going for:

We have some items that have many versions that customers will want to order from the same main item page. For example, we have paints. These paints have many colors, but aside from that difference, they are all exactly the same, so one description for all of them is desired. A customer would want to go into the main product page, and be able to order varying quantities of various colors, and then add the lot to the cart at once. Each color would need to be a unique item in the cart.

Here are screenshots to help explain:

1) The category listing, showing the main items: (note that one item can be added to the cart right from this listing)


2) The main item page, showing all the colors and the quantities boxes:


3) The cart, showing that each color is its own unique item:


Based on the info shown here, do you think that Zen Cart is able to emulate this way of doing things?

Thank you so much!

-Ethan

PS. please let me know if you need further info or clarification :)

[mamasylvia]

That is exactly what Attributes are for. I got tired of writing out detailed instructions in the forum, so check out this page: http://www.steigerfamily.com/zencartinfo.html

[Kibb]

Thank you Sylvia, for your response. I have read and followed your great walkthru, it really helps one to understand the process of setting up Attributes, however I remain unable to achieve the desired result. With the Attributes, I am able to make a list of colors and select one from a drop-down. I am also able to have a list of colors, each having a checkbox so each color can be selected individually.

Here's where I run into trouble:
1) With a dropdown, the customer can only select one color.
2) With the checkboxes, the customer can select each color they want, but they can not select varying quantities of each color. But this method is closer to the desired result.
3) Also with the checkboxes, if the customer checks/selects multiple colors, each color selected shows up as an Attribute of one item in the cart, rather than each color showing as an individual item in the cart.

Any ideas?

Thanks again for your help! :)

-Ethan

[mamasylvia]

It sounds like you may be wanting the customer to be able to select differing quantities of different colors with a single "add to cart" click. If so, I don't believe ZC can do that. (But one of the gurus may jump in and say I'm wrong.) Your customer can purchase a gallon of peach with one click (and "gallon" and "peach" will show as attributes of the item "paint" in the order, while 1 will show as the quantity), then go back to the same product page and order 2 gallons of blue (again, the order will show quantity 2 and attributes gallon and blue), then go back again to order a quart of coral (quantity 1, attributes quart and coral).

The checkbox system would probably give you an incorrect total price, as the customer would likely think he was ordering one gallon each of peach, blue, and coral, whereas if he left the quantity as 1, he would actually be ordering a gallon of mixed peach/blue/coral (yuck).

[Kibb]

Thank you again, Sylvia! Your responses have been most helpful, and I truly appreciate the time you took to respond to my questions.

Have a wonderfully prosperous 2009!

-Ethan

[gjh42]

What that site has looks like a category index page with some additional info about the products each contains, followed by a subcategory page with the detailed subcat description and a customized layout of the individual products into two columns.

This could be done with Zen Cart, but would require some custom coding by an expert.

Using attributes, if you have only one size per "main product", you could have each color as a dropdown with quantities (defaulting to 0), and priced by attributes so that the cost would depend on how many of each color were selected. This would give a notation for each color with its quantity in the shopping cart, and the total price.

It should be fairly simple to modify the shopping cart display to hide attributes with a qty of 0, for clarity.

You would need to set the main product to a maximum qty of 1 so people wouldn't mark it as 3 and get 3x3 of two colors - you can bet somebody would do that if the option is there.

[mamasylvia]

See, I knew one of the gurus would have an answer. Not that I understood anything he said after "custom coding" but then I rarely do. I am strictly an end user. But it kind of sounded like you could do what you wanted if you wanted it badly enough to pay an expert.

Decision, decisions! ;)

[Kibb]

Thank you Glenn, this is a great idea. I will implement it and see how it works. This should provide the customer with the ease of use that we're attempting to achieve. I appreciate your time and expertise. :)

@ Sylvia, You were right, and thanks again for your help.

Have a great and prosperous 2009, everyone!

-Ethan