Adding Attributes to Subcategories ?

I searched and cant find the answer.. (Newbee)

I sell office supplies. I need to be able to give a customer a choice as to the product they need.

Example Office Supplies
Binders & Binding Supplies
Binders (here I need to be able to create options)
Size: 3"
4"

                                                            Color:  Black
                                                                      Red
                                                                      Maroon
                                                                      White

                                                            Brand:  Avery
                                                                       Universal
                                                                       DayTimer etc..

I don't need attributes at the product page because by the time they get there the above options are already figured out.

I cant just Copy the attributes to the Category or Subcategory if there are no products.

Any help would be appreciated.

Sorry, Zen Cart doesn't work that way. Attributes are only available on products.> I don't need attributes at the product page because by the time they get there the above options are already figured out.And, by the time they got to the product (IF they don't stop first) they'll be so frustrated that they may not want to purchase anything.
When deciding how to do something like this, we try to find a way that the customer can get to the product as quickly as possible AND see all options when they get there.
I.E., why would you need a category for office supplies? Kind of redundant, don't you think? Maybe a main category of Avery with subs of Labels, Binders, Folders, etc. Then, under binders you could group them all or have a sub cat to separate things like Legal, three-ring, two-ring, etc. Then the customer is at the product in three clicks. The binder product would have option values of size and color so that a customer could select 3" black and be left there to select 4" white if they wanted that too.
Just suggestions on options but remember, people now stand in front of a microwave and holler, "Hurry UP!" Quick and easy means better conversion rates.

dbltoe

I appreciate your response. However I disagree. I carry over 40,000 products. Only one category is called Office Supplies. Maybe what I am looking for are NOT called attributes. Maybe I am using an incorrect term.
Let me show you an example http://www.newegg.com On the left side click on Electronics- Then click on car electronics. Now look at the left side again-Notice the Sub-Sub categories Then let say you select Car Speakers. Notice now you have attributes related to the products (Price -Manufacturer-Type-Speaker Size.) This is exactly what I need to.. Are you saying that ZEN CART does not let me do this? When someone on my site clicks on binders they need to be able to decide the color, the capacity, the manufacturer. Or they click on batteries they need to decide if they want AAA.AA C, D, 9V . what brand (Duracell, Energizer, Eveready, Rayovac- Do they want Alkaline, Vs Lithium etc..

Another example. Amazon Click on books-then children's books. Then you have choices Age Range-Featured-Popular Categories. etc...
.

Technically, those are sub-sub-categories on the New Egg site. You can certainly create as many category levels as you want in Zencart. Having them display the way they do on that site would require custom coding.

The needed custom coding could be added easily to Categories Dressing, as a new case in the switch which controls which kinds of categories display. See the mod's support thread if you want to discuss the possibilities of that.

To create the filters you are talking about at the various lowest levels would require significant custom coding specific to your site. There is a mod for such filters in Plugins, but I believe it only applies to the whole site, not different sets of filters depending on what category you are in.

gjh42

Categories Dressing you say will work for me? Is this something you developed?

Also You say "There is a mod for such filters in Plugins, but I believe it only applies to the whole site, not different sets of filters depending on what category you are in" Do you know the name of the plug in i should search for.? Where do I find the mod support thread?

Thanks in advance..

[QUOTE=dlwwalton;1137833]There is a mod for such filters in Plugins/QUOTE]

http://www.zen-cart.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=1141

Thank you for your help. I really need to be able to do what I mentioned on my original post. Are there any other solutions. Does someone want to write a script for me that can do that?

What you want will be complicated enough to code that you will most likely need to hire someone to do it. It's not something that anyone will write on a whim.

dlwwalton:

Thank you for your help. I really need to be able to do what I mentioned on my original post. Are there any other solutions. Does someone want to write a script for me that can do that?

This "script" is likely to be several php files (possibly more than 20 or 30), along with database alterations and additions. Only someone with a high level of understanding of ZC functionality and the dbase schema should tackle it.

A competent developer would charge quite a bit. You're looking well into four figures...

Jamie at JSWEB developed a DRILL-DOWN product finder - largely for the Motor Industry - and you can see an EXAMPLE of how it works HERE.

Yes I saw the drill down. I just think I have too many variables to make that work for me. Can I create as many Sub categories as needed..? Other than ZenCart are there any other open source e-commerce programs that can do what I need?

I highly doubt that any general-purpose e-commerce platform, free or paid, will fit your special desires out of the box.

You can use as many subcategories with linked products as you want, to organize your products by all desired criteria.

There are scores (if not hundreds) of stationery retailers using zencart, and other OpenSource platforms - (just do a quick search on google).

Of course, the "big boys" develop their own platforms (deep pockets), so they will have whatever functionality they want.

If you are UK-based, then you could talk to an organisation like GROUPTREE who develop bespoke CMS platforms for high-end retail environments.

The functionality you are looking for is not CORE to the behaviour of any Opensource eComm system I know (not even Magento).

It is no doubt possible to construct what you want in any platform. You just need to find someone who is competent enough to do it, and who is prepared to work within whatever budget you can throw at it.

I am finding out it cant do it out of the box. I just need to find someone who is capable of doing what I need or maybe using some other type of e-commerce such as a MS based application. I am in the US.

dlwwalton:

I am finding out it cant do it out of the box. I just need to find someone who is capable of doing what I need or maybe using some other type of e-commerce such as a MS based application. I am in the US.

No "generic" system will have such a bespoke function. I had a chat with the fellows at Grouptree and they indicate a cost of between 15,000 and 20,000 (UK pounds) if they were to do it. (and that is just for the FUNCTION... not the full CMS)

They build high-level stuff for medium to large retailers, so they are not shy about charging these sorts of prices.

But it may give you an indication of what sort of numbers are involved.

How "rigid" - (determined) are you to have this functionality?

Sometimes (for business reasons) you are better off just adapting to what is available - and there are quite a few options in zencart.

What you are after will definitely be costly to develop - and could take months to get right - and that's "downtime" as far as selling online is concerned.

OpenSource platforms are free, and they can get you trading online in a couple of days. Sure... you have limitations, but at least you have a store that's selling online.

I would adapt to what is available if it would work. If a customer is at my site and looking for binders and they have 20 pages to look through whats going to keep them from getting frustrated before they get to the right page. That's my concern. If there is a way to narrow done there possibilities then they wouldn't have 20 pages to look through. Here is my site in progress. http://www.usaofficesupplies.com/shopping. From what I understand about attributes and Zen Cart is that the attributes are only useful at the product level. So if I was selling a binder I could then give the customer a choice between. Black Red Yellow - 3" 4" or 5" - plastic vinyl or leather etc But that's no the case for me and my product line..

If you look at my site and search CRD11652. You will see it does me no good to have attributes there. The product already meets the specs of the attributes.

So is there not a way to put the product attributes at the sub sub category levels. This way I think it would work.. I can't believe that there is not a way to do this or is there something else I should be doing to adapt to this situation.

Interestingly, we had a situation not too dissimilar to yours this week...

A printer of CR80 Laminated Plastic offers:

Blank Cards (in white, gold and silver), with or without Mag Stripe, and the Mag stripe can be HiCo or LoCo...

Cards that can be printed in 4-colour, with or without Mag Stripe, and the Mag stripe can be HiCo or LoCo...

Customer needs to be able to select valid variables FIRST, which then takes them to the product in question.

Selection of non-valid criteria, will throw out an error message.

We built a SELECTOR FORM in raw html, that was placed in the category's description field. Accompanying Javascript controls the selectors, and when the customer has made (valid) selections, the SUBMIT button (onclick) takes them to the product page matching their selection variables.

We then used a category-specific stylesheet to HIDE the Product Listings, so that all the see is the selector form.

SEE IT IN ACTION

Schoolboy's concept sounds very promising.
I do have to say that your description of why your products can't use Zen Cart attributes is self-defeating: If you have the "products" each being one specific variant of the line, of course you can't add attributes. > If you look at my site and search CRD11652. You will see it does me no good to have attributes there. The product already meets the specs of the attributes. Making attribute selections would involve having the "product" be something like a brand and style of binder, with attribute combinations giving the specific version such as a blue 3" binder. This would probably require support for SKU by attribute combination, which has been the subject of much discussion and work, but I don't know that it is fully available yet in mod form. It is supposedly going to be built into v2.0.