Our Changes To Multi-Vendor In March 2020 And How They Can Help Your Business

Hello! We've decided make a video about what we did last month (March 2020), and what our plans are.

This one is from the Multi-Vendor angle, but CS-Cart users may find parts of it interesting. Especially the easier configuration of shipping rates, and the plans for making interface easier to work with.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AUiXAoFhHQ

What changed in Multi-Vendor and CS-Cart

  • 0:34 — easier configuration of shipping rates
  • 4:44 — communication between vendors and marketplace admins
  • 7:32 — returns and order creation/editing for vendors
  • 9:21 — search of vendor admins by vendor
  • 10:03 — other improvements
  • 13:01 — bug fixes

What changed in the mobile app

  • 13:41 — new look for categories without images
  • 14:08 — product rating in categories
  • 14:22 — other improvements and some plans

Plans for the future

  • 15:13 — product variations and feature creation for vendors
  • 16:06 — vendor debt payout overhaul
  • 18:37 — new vendor panel
  • 19:33 — where to find info about our plans

How to contact us

  • Leave your feedback in this topic. I check the forums pretty frequently and reply when I can.
  • For a guaranteed reply: use the contact form at https://www.cs-cart.com/send-message.html. It will get your message to someone best-suited to answer it.

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P.S. See other recent changes and plans for Multi-Vendor at our website.

Great to see that you got back to posting videos in english with the development progress!

It looks really great and professional! :-)

I hope that the next video will be about cs-cart!

Keep up the good work & good luck!

Thank you for the feedback and the kind words! Glad that you liked it. We'll be looking at the feedback we get to see where to take these videos next, so I can't speak about the topics of future videos just yet. But there're a couple of things I'd like to say.

Even one video like this takes quite a while to make (this one took me about a week). We picked Multi-Vendor for 2 reasons:

- To limit the scope of the video.

- Because a change good for Multi-Vendor (that makes it easier for vendors, who we assume should have an even easier time to work with the marketplace) is usually good for CS-Cart.

For example, if vendors have an easier time creating and managing variations in Multi-Vendor, so will the owners of single-seller CS-Cart stores. Vendors also need easier import, etc., if you catch my drift ;)

good update thx

For example, if vendors have an easier time creating and managing variations in Multi-Vendor, so will the owners of single-seller CS-Cart stores. Vendors also need easier import, etc., if you catch my drift ;)

Yeah, I catch your drift.

Btw, you didn't take into consideration the scenario when the user imports the products first to the store (from ready xml, csv or othe file) and later links the products into variations.

There is a selection mechanism on product list in admin panel. I see the process like this:

1) User first imports all of the products without changing the structure of the import file

2) He selects the products from the products list via available mechanism

3) The user clicks action button -> Group products as variation

4) The user is transfered to a page where he can assign all of the feature variants for each of the product -> clicks save

5) The product variation is created

This is the workflow I use in my store. I believe that many new vendors when they get on the new marketplace they want to first import the products from some kind of ready import file. In the next step they want to optimize the offer on the marketplace.

Another reason is that oftentimes the manufacturer of the goods adds new colors or sizes to existing products. Doing this via import/export or from scratch by disbanding the group requires much more work then via "select & merge" mechanism I've described above.

Pleas consider this input while you're at making changes in product variations.

@Ikoshkin,

one more thing. You're adding new features but you didn't fix the problems with buy together addon working with product variations.

Please take a look at the ticket in helpdesk system number: #102613842

We've discussed product variations working with buy together before product variations were released in december 2018. Below are the topics.

1,5 years went by and the product variations doesn't work with buy together at all.

https://forum.cs-cart.com/topic/48272-introducing-a-new-prototype%E2%80%94product-variations-a-better-implementation-of-product-option-combinations/page-4#entry310088

https://forum.cs-cart.com/topic/48272-introducing-a-new-prototype%E2%80%94product-variations-a-better-implementation-of-product-option-combinations/page-4#entry310142

If you set a catalog promotion for common product, child products doesnt effect.



So if you set same promotion for vendor child product then doesnt show discount at catalog with common product



I dont want write to bug tracker , because no one worry there:-)

Are there any video training of the Variations functionality? I've been trying to use it, but it's confusing between Features, Feature Groups, Variations, etc.

I've read the materials, but a training video showing how to use Variations would be super helpful.

Etsy has the best vendor on-boarding that I have seen. At first login it asks all the information seller needs to add in 6-7 screens and seller is done. Might want to check out or I could document if you need but know that vendor on-boarding is very..very..important.

BTW, I suggested both on-boarding, shipping and vendor panel improvements like two years ago, thanks for finally getting to it, better late than never.

Piece of advice for shipping and on-boarding - try to copy a big player, nothing is wrong with it but try NOT come up with unique ideas like the lite checkout..

know that e-commerce world is very mature in terms of design ideas, anything that can be improved has been improved there is a little chance for you guys to come up with unique/new ideas..

All this features are 2019 must :)) So go ahead and add them in the MV in 2020.

Some UX both for buyers and vendors would be good.. CSCMV looks so old fashioned and we need to spend even more to get a graphic designer plus a developer to make the front and backend more user friendly.

As other mentioned, there's nothing wrong in getting inspired by big marketplaces. See Vinted for peer-to-peer. See how easy it is to onboard a seller and how they can start selling in no time.

I'm really disappointed of the platform and I haven't even launched yet!

CSCMV looks so old fashioned and we need to spend even more to get a graphic designer plus a developer to make the front and backend more user friendly.

i told them a lot time. cs-cart will use same terrible ui look. until cs-cart V10. later will change some css colors and they will use same design again until v15

cs-cart just going to trash step by step. check mobile app planned features. direct customer to vendor payments. but you cant sell feature varianted products.

Russian demo.cs-cart.ru runs alex branding theme for some time ... Maybe cs-cart is abandoning en department ? Bug tracker looks also dead..

There is no activity from CS-cart for two months in bug tracker..what is going on? sounds like some transition or restructuring going on..