Silk Road forums
Discussion => Newbie discussion => Topic started by: Burning Babylon on May 28, 2013, 04:14 pm
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This is most likely covered in some other thread but I'm not exactly sure what I would search on to find it so here it goes. Now this thread has two meanings, one is either where to find what I'm looking for and if that doesn't exist it's instead a collection of suggestions on how it could work.
We're finally going to put up some listings later today but I have a few questions on how the listing system works in regards to quantities and shipping. Is there a solution to the following problems? :
A) Let's say I have 200 grams of product but I want to put up two separate listings, i.e one cheaper and one more expensive based on how much is ordered. Is there any way to get the two products to share the same "quantity" identifier or am I stuck with one static quantity per product?
B) Is there a way to automatically switch shipping options based on how much is ordered of a specific product? For example the moment I go over a limit of let's say 50 grams it could automatically switch to a different shipping method and will only allow that one to be used, or is it basically static options which will always have to be explained and picked by the customer?
C) Is there any way of setting a max limit of product/grams per order? I might not want anyone to order more than 50 grams at a time even if there's more in stock as I would have to package it in an entirely different manner etc. If there's no limit or setting to restrict this how would one generally handle this if it were to happen, just send two orders, contact the buyer first etc. or ?
D) In the Seller's Guide there's a small note under Postage which reads: "NOTICE: If you use the shipping options for anything other than their intended purpose, your account may be terminated." What does this mean more specifically? Let's say for example the postage is always a fixed 0,012 BTC, am I not allowed to take any extra shipping costs for the purpose of stealth etc., or is it only allowed when clearly explained on the vendor policy page? How far would one have to go to actually cross this line to begin with?
E) Is there an option of (short of just describing it on the vendor page) showing when one is expecting to get new product of any specific product? For example a small tab under/at the side of the product which could say something like "200 more in quantity expected 2013-05-30".
F) Now this is not something I'm interested in myself and will probably never use, but is there an option to reduce the total cost of any order automatically if they Finalize Early? This I would understand if it weren't implemented even if it was possible, but still I could see how some vendors could have use of a 1-5% discount in exchange to them getting the money instantly.
G) Is there any way to customize prices based on users or discount codes? I could for example create a group which I add users into and if they're part of it they get a set percentage off the order when placing the order.
That's all I can come up with now, if anyone has any links to threads of a similar nature that would be interesting before we put anything up later. :)
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Coming pack to post some answers/thoughts in this thread since I've found out a few from being an active vendor now for a short while. I stand by my previous statement that any function that is verified not to exist should exist for that specific function. :P
A) There doesn't appear to be any way of sharing a quantity listing. When a listing is depleted of its quantity it gets automatically removed from view and returns the error message "This item is not currently listed" - it's still viewable however with the "Listed items" option for the vendor by title and will instantly re-appear again if one edits the quantity to anything else than zero.
B) While I haven't experimented anything with this my understanding of it so far is you add one postage option per product, regardless of quantity. In other words, if there are three different products and three different postage options you could end up with all three options theoretically. Unfortunately there is no automatic system for this, so as I suspected the vendors have to create systems and explain them to the customers, who could technically at any time pick the wrong option and end up with higher fees than they should have according to the rules.
C) There is no way of doing this as far as I can see unfortunately, the options are to contact the buyer to make some kind of deal or cancelling the order. Creating rules for a product will make no difference if someone decided to simply not read and order anyway.
D) I'm no closer to this answer.
E) There doesn't appear to be any option like this, and this in combination with the answer to A) where listings get removed from view is not very effective to be honest. You will never know if the quantity is permanently depleted or if the vendor is simply waiting for example a day more for additional product. One could technically add a quantity of 1 and set a temporarily absurd high price so no one orders by mistake to keep the listing up but this is a very low tech solution.
F) Not at all familiar with the Finalize Early concept, although I'm getting a bit worried about a few orders which have been in transit several days now where I have no indication as of yet that there's trouble from the customer - so I see why some might find use of this.
G) There actually appears to be some kind of system for this, it can be accessed through the option Gift codes. It is also possible to create stealth listings where the specific listing is only accessible by entering the correct URL - it won't be viewable by browsing through the listings manually.
For some other random information which didn't relate to the questions listed which I find noteworthy:
* Listings which get removed from view when they reach zero in quantity retain all their feedback, but you can't see them through the product link itself until the quantity is set above zero.
* Images appear to have a maximum dimension of 400x300 pixels, you can only have one per listing.
* A listing can't change names after it's up, one will have to put up a new listing if another name is wanted.
* Usually when one puts up a listing for domestic use only it will get put up on Silk Road itself instantly, but will usually take 10-20 minutes until it appears in the domestic only section - I have no idea why this is the case but can be worth keeping in mind if one gets worried when it doesn't appear instantly after putting a listing up and checking the domestic section.
Might help someone, I'm mostly posting as I get a better memory on how things work when I write about it. :)