Support Articles » Getting Started #4 - Adding Digital Inventory To Your Store

How to Create a Digital Inventory Item

To learn about creating other Inventory Product Types (Tangibles, Services, Gift Cards) please visit the "Inventory Management" area located on the main Support Articles page.

To Create a Digital Inventory Item click on Sell (1) then click on the Add Inventory Item (2) tab.

Step 1 of 6 - Categorization

You'll be required to populate all of the fields shown.

Product Name - This field represents the name of your product.

Listing Status - This field represents the status of your inventory item. Setting your product's listing status as visible will allow this product to appear in the shopping search results of your store. Setting your product's listing status as hidden will hide this product from appearing in the shopping search results of your store. Hidden products can also be used for one-to-one sale transactions.

Product Type - This field represents the type of inventory item you are setting up. Each choice will provide the appropriate fields that are relevant to the product type chosen.

Product Sub-Type - The Product Subtype is used to assist in tax calculations in the European Union (EU). If your product's subtype is not listed, simply choose the one that most accurately describes your product.

Store - The store drop down choice represents the store that the inventory item is being created for. If managing multiple stores you'll want to make sure you are choosing the correct store.

After choosing the Store additional areas will appear as shown in Steps 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.

Step 2 of 6 - Pricing & Tracking

This area allows you to set the pricing and tracking for your Digital Inventory Item. There are several pricing methods as well as several tracking methods. All of these fields are present in the sales reports.

Field explanations.

Pricing Method - The radio buttons for pricing represent the pricing methods that can be used for the inventory item being created. The Regular Price is the standard everyday price. The On Sale Price is a discounted price. Pricing Options allow for unlimited prices with option name and option price. Options are a great feature if you are offering types of licensing or sizes.

Tax Class - The tax class is the directions for charging tax to the inventory item you are setting up. Tax settings can be found in the store settings tax area.

ISBN Code - The isbn code is used for tracking purposes within reports.

UPC Code - The upc code is used for tracking purposes within reports.

Tracking Name - The tracking name is used for tracking purposes within reports.

Tracking Royalty - The tracking royalty is used for tracking purposes within reports.

Regular Price - The regular price of the item is always required unless you have selected options pricing.

Availability - This field represents that availability status of the inventory item being created. Choices include Available, Backordered and Preorder. Digital Files are not required if your item is marked as Preorder or Backordered. If Backordered or Preorder is chosen sellers will have the ability to notify buyers when the inventory item becomes available. For more information on notifying buyers when an item becomes available see How Backorders and Preorders Work.

Step 3 of 6 - Inventory Images

The Show Image Manager/Hide Image Manager (3) - By choosing to show the "Image Manager" you'll see all of the images that are loaded to the system.

You can choose to associate as many images to an inventory item as you want. Just choose the Plus Icon to each image you desire and the image will be added to the list Selected Images (4) area.

For information on how to load images to the system see Add (Upload) Inventory Images.

Learn about Inventory Image Sizes see Inventory Image Size Overview.

Step 4 of 6 - Description

In this section there are 2 types of descriptions available.

The Short Description is used in the product listings of all Themes (Legacy) and Store Modes. It's also used for the store search and text is seen in the buyers dashboard.

The Long Description is used in the detailed product listings of all Themes (Legacy) and Store Modes. Text formatting is available.

Step 5 of 6 - Content

The Show File Manager/Hide File Manager (5) - By choosing to show the "File Manager" you'll see all of the digital files that are loaded to the system.

You can choose to associate as many digital products to an inventory item as you want. Just choose the Plus Icon to each digital product you desire and the digital product will be added to the list Selected Files (6) area. Note that if you want the buyer to receive a free sample choose the check box labeled "Free Sample".

Once you have chosen files and they are in the Selected files area you can then select begin to select the Content Attributes.

Stream Host - Here you can choose what streaming service to use for media delivery. If you choose "Content Shelf", all video and audio files will be streamed via ContentShelf.com's internal network. If you choose a supported third party streaming provider, all video and audio streams will be loaded from their servers into ContentShelf.com's own media players.

Third party streaming services are most commonly used to delivery live video and audio broadcasts and pod casts to your customers. The actual media players will look the same for all of your customers, regardless of what streaming provider you're using.

License Type - Timed Access will allow the buyer to access the files for a certain time period. Metered Access allows the buyer to access by a certain number of downloads.

Dropbox® Settings - This feature allows or disallows subscribers to send files to their Dropbox® account.

PDF Protection - This feature operates as four separate attributes. These settings do NOT apply to free sample files and will not work on PDF's that have already been encrypted.

• Password Protect - This setting will password protect all PDF files with the user's email address as the password.
• Disable Printing - This setting will disable printing on all PDF files.
• Disable Copying - This setting will disable copy and paste on all PDF files.
• Digital Fingerprinting - This setting will print the buyer's order info at the bottom of every page in a PDF.

Video & Audio Settings - This setting allows you to choose how users can access all attached audio files. This setting also applies to free sample files.

For more information on how to load digital content to the system see Add (Upload) Digital Content.

Step 6 of 6 - Related Products

Up-Selling is done by showing related inventory items that are similar to the one you are setting up. Just use the drop down box and choose a product and click Add To Selection. On the items details page these "Related Products" will appear.

Once you have completed all the information for this inventory item click Add Inventory Item (7) and your newly created inventory item will appear in the inventory item list. All inventory items can be edited after saving.

Learn about how Related Products work see How Related Products Work.