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Product Management FAQ

Updated

Quick answers to frequently asked questions about product management, pricing configurations, and display settings. Each question addresses specific scenarios for different merchant types.

Related Articles: For comprehensive guides on product creation and management, see How to Create Products Manually, How to Import Products, and How to Manage Product Inventory.

Backend OMS Questions (All Merchant Types)

These questions apply to all merchants, whether you use the storefront or only the backend Order Management System.

💰 How do I set up quantity-based discounts for products?

Quantity discounts automatically reduce the unit price when customers purchase multiple quantities. You can apply these discounts to individual products or create discount groups that apply across multiple products.

For complete setup instructions including both single-product and multi-product discount configurations, see How to Set Up Product Quantity Discounts.

Note: These are product-level discounts, not promotional coupon codes. For cart-wide promotions, see the Discounts and Coupons section.
📦 How do I set up a product-specific shipping surcharge?

Add shipping surcharges to products with special handling or shipping requirements (oversized items, hazardous materials, refrigerated shipping, etc.).

1Navigate to Products → Product Catalog Manager

2Click Edit for the product requiring a surcharge

3Under the Simple tab, enter the surcharge amount in the Shipping Surcharge field

4Click Update

The surcharge will be added to the shipping cost at checkout when this product is in the cart.

📐 What is dimensional weight and why is it important?

Dimensional weight (also called volumetric weight) is how freight carriers calculate shipping costs for large, lightweight packages. Carriers charge based on the greater of actual weight or dimensional weight to account for space used in delivery vehicles.

In Pulse Commerce, the Weight field should contain your product's shipping weight (the greater of actual or dimensional weight). Each carrier calculates dimensional weight differently:

Example: Calculating UPS Dimensional Weight

For a package measuring 9in × 10in × 1in with an actual weight of 1 pound:

Dimensional weight calculation: (9 × 10 × 1) ÷ 194 = 0.46 lbs
Actual weight: 1 lb
Enter into Pulse Commerce Weight field: 1 lb (use the greater value)

Since the actual weight (1 lb) is greater than the dimensional weight (0.46 lbs), enter 1 lb in the product's Weight field.

Note: Dimensional weight primarily affects large, non-dense objects (pillows, lampshades, large boxes). For normal-sized items with average weight, the difference between actual and dimensional weight is minimal. Consider adding a small handling fee to cover potential differences.
❌ What should I do if I get an error when trying to delete a product?

If you cannot delete a product, check these items in order:

1Verify all warehouse quantities are 0 (Product Editor → Inventory tab)

2Check for references in these reports:

  • Pending Receipts
  • Pending Fulfillments
  • Inventory Adjustments
  • Incomplete Orders
  • Inventory Transfers

3Check if the SKU or product name was previously changed - search for old names

4Go to Products → Reallocate Item Commitments and search the SKU to see if there are any item commitments for this item

Once you locate the blocking record, resolve it and the product should be deletable.

📊 Is there a limit to the number of products I can sell with Pulse Commerce?

No, there is no known technical limit to your product catalog size. Pulse Commerce software is fully capable of handling high traffic sites and thousands of products. Review the Pulse Commerce Subscription Plans to determine which plan best meets your needs based on order volume and features.

Note: Use the bulk product import/export to add or update products in bulk rather than creating thousands of products manually.

Storefront-Specific Questions

These questions only apply to merchants using the Pulse Commerce storefront. If you only use the backend OMS, you can skip this section.

🔒 What Backorder Options can I apply to my SKUs?

Pulse Commerce allows five options for managing your SKU's backorder settings, found under Products → Product Catalog → Edit → Simple tab:

  • Allow backorder without any message (default)
    This option allows customers to purchase the item and will not let them know that the SKU is out-of-stock. Note that you must have inventory to ship the SKU after the order is placed.
  • Allow backorder but display out-of-stock message
    This option will allow the customer to add the SKU to the cart, but will also display your out-of-stock image. Note that you must have inventory to ship the SKU after the order is placed.
  • Disallow backorder and display out-of-stock image
    This option will not allow the customer to add the SKU to cart if out of inventory and will display your out-of-stock image.
  • Disallow backorder and hide from navigation and search
    This option will prevent the SKU from being added to cart if out of inventory and will prevent the SKU from being accessed via navigation and search.
  • Hide product and disallow backorder
    This option hides the SKU completely and prevents access to the product page when the SKU is out-of-stock.
For Backend-Only OMS Users: Leave the default setting "Allow backorder without any message." The other backorder options control storefront display and navigation behavior, which only applies if you use the Pulse Commerce storefront.
💬 How do I setup a product with "Call for Price" display?

Display products with custom pricing messages such as "Call for Price," "Contact for Quote," or "Price Available Upon Request" using Product Groups.

1Navigate to Products → Product Catalog Manager

2Click Add New Product Group

3Enter a Product Group SKU and Product Group Name

4In the Short Description field, enter your custom message

Examples:

  • "Call for pricing: 1-800-XXX-XXXX"
  • "Contact us for volume pricing"
  • "Request a quote"

5Click Add New

The product group will display your message instead of a standard price.

🚫 How can I prevent customers from purchasing more than one of a single item?

Limit customers to purchasing only one unit per order by hiding the quantity selector on the storefront.

1Navigate to Products → Product Catalog Manager

2Click Edit for the product you want to limit

3In the Simple tab, check the Hide Qty checkbox

4Ensure Min Qty is set to 1 (default value)

5Click Update

This hides the quantity box from the Product Details and Shopping Cart pages, limiting customers to adding one unit at a time.

Important Limitation: The Hide Qty setting is a display control only. It does not prevent multiple quantities from being added if customers use custom buy-button snippet codes or click the buy button multiple times. For strict quantity enforcement, consider using inventory controls or custom checkout validation.
👁️ How can I display products without a BUY button so they cannot be purchased?

Display products for informational or preview purposes without allowing customers to purchase them (useful for coming soon items, display-only products, or discontinued items you want to keep visible).

1Navigate to Products → Product Catalog Manager

2Click Edit for the product you want to display without purchase capability

3In the Simple tab, set Back Order Option to Disallow backorder and display out-of-stock image

4Click Update

The BUY button will be replaced with an OUT OF STOCK indicator. The product remains visible for browsing but cannot be added to the cart.

Important: This setting only works for SKUs with zero quantity on hand. If the SKU has inventory, you must first remove it or transfer it to a warehouse not connected to front-end inventory (such as the Zip City virtual warehouse configured as backend-only).

This setting can also be changed in bulk via Import/Export using the backorder options column.

✏️ How can I edit a product review before publishing it?

Review and moderate customer-submitted product reviews before they appear on your storefront.

Note: Product reviews must first be enabled in Settings → General Settings → Display Settings by setting Display Customer Reviews on Product Details Page to Yes.

1Navigate to Products → Product Reviews

2Click the Title link for the review you want to edit

3Edit the review content in the popup window (Product Reviews → Manage Review)

4Click Update to save your changes

5Click Publish to make the review visible on your storefront

To mark a review as Read without publishing, click Mark as Read.

💭 What is Product Feedback and how is it different from Product Reviews?

Product Feedback allows customers to send private suggestions and comments directly to administrators without publishing them publicly. This differs from Product Reviews, which are displayed on the storefront for other customers to see.

When to Use Each Feature

  • Product Reviews: Public ratings and reviews displayed on product pages to help other customers make purchasing decisions
  • Product Feedback: Private communication channel for customers to suggest improvements, report issues, or ask questions about products

Enable Product Feedback

1Navigate to Settings → General Settings → Display Settings

2Set Display Product Feedback on Product Details Page to Yes

3Click Update

When enabled, a feedback link appears on product detail pages. Customers can click the link to access the Product Feedback page, fill in their comments, and click Send Feedback.

Review Customer Feedback

Navigate to Products → Product Feedback to view all submitted feedback. Administrators receive email notifications when feedback is submitted.

Use this feedback to understand customer requirements, improve product descriptions, update specifications, or make product modifications to increase sales.

Note: Product Feedback is integrated with CAPTCHA technology to prevent spam submissions.
🎨 How do I add promotional text like "On Sale" or "New Arrival" to products?

Use the Product Name Enhancer Label field in the Product Editor (Simple tab). This field adds eye-catching text above the product name to highlight special items. Common uses include "On Sale," "New Arrival," "Clearance," or "Limited QTY."

You can control the color and font for this label through Settings → Colors and Fonts → Site Wide Fonts → Product Name Enhancer Label.

Note: This displays with Display Format 1.
📝 How can I add custom content or descriptions near the product SKU and price?

You have several options for adding custom content to product pages:

  • Product Name Enhancer Label: Promotional text above product name (Simple tab)
  • Short Description: Limited to 1000 characters, appears above price (Simple tab)
  • Long Description: No character limit, detailed content (Simple tab)
  • Product Attributes: Custom fields created under Products → Custom Product Attributes, then added in Advanced tab
  • Detail Description label: You will need to locate image Product_Detailed_Description.gif and replace this image with the desired one. For changing this image, we recommend selecting a different display format for products since with format 2 the label is not visible and it displays the product information in a different way.
Note: Product Attributes can be used for internal organization, SKU management, and for integrations, like eBay and Amazon.
🖼️ What are the different product display formats available?

Pulse Commerce supports 5 display formats that control how product information appears on your storefront. Change the format in Product Editor → Simple tab → Display Format:

  • Format 1: Text layout with product name, SKU, weight, qty, options, and descriptions
  • Format 2: Table layout with short description at top, product details in table, long description at bottom
  • Format 3: Text format with short description immediately below product name
  • Format 4: Add-on module with swatches, option images, and mandatory option selection (additional fees apply)
  • Format 5: Text format with tabbed area for long description and product reviews
Tip: Hover over each format option in the Product Editor to preview examples of the layout design.
⚙️ How do I customize the overall layout of product detail pages?

Product page layout is controlled by three factors:

1. Site Settings: Go to Settings → General Settings for basic display settings, or Settings → Colors and Fonts for typography and colors

2. Product Display Format: Select Format 1-5 in the Product Editor (see question above)

3. Product Information: Content you enter in the Product Editor (descriptions, attributes, options, personalization)

🖼️ How many images can be added for each product?

Pulse Commerce supports up to four image sets per product. Each set includes three sizes:

  • Thumbnail image (small preview)
  • Medium-sized image (product listing pages)
  • Large image (product detail page, zoom view)

Add images via Products → Product Catalog Manager → Product Editor.

Adding More Than Four Images

To display additional images beyond the four standard sets, embed images directly in the Product Long Description field using the WYSIWYG editor or HTML.

Tip for Bulk Uploads: When uploading many images, use FTP (access details in your Pulse Commerce Welcome Kit) instead of the Image Manager for faster bulk uploads and better performance.
📸 What are the best practices for product image sizes?

For optimal performance and customer experience, provide three image sizes for each product:

Image Type Dimensions (pixels) File Size (KB) Use Case
Thumbnail 50-150 2-15 Product list pages, cart previews
Medium 200-400 40-100 Product detail pages
Large 450+ 100+ Zoom functionality, high-detail viewing

Alternative: If you only have large images, enable "Use Large Image as Medium and Thumbnail" checkbox on the simple tab.

Note: Under Settings → General Settings you can adjust the "Width of the Resized Medium Image (Pixels)" and "Width of the Resized Product Thumbnail in Shopping Cart (Pixels)." The system will auto-resize dimensions (but not reduce actual file size). For best performance, manually create optimized thumbnail and medium images. There are many great free tools on the internet that allow you to create great thumbnails and medium resolution images from high resolution images very quickly, easily and efficiently.

Important: Use relative image paths (no http: or https: in URLs) to support SSL without errors.

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