Overview
You can copy and clone products in Sellercloud. The difference between both actions is that copying a product transfers its information from a selected SKU to an existing one, while cloning a product ends up creating a new SKU.
These actions are primarily used when the affected SKUs may have changes made to them because they should be similar, but not the same. This is why, unlike with shadows where the SKUs are the same, copied and cloned products have no product relationship.
Copy a Product
To copy specific data from one product to another, follow the steps below.
- Navigate to Catalog > Manage Catalog.
- Select the product(s) whose data you want to copy.
- Select the Clone SKU option from the Action menu.
- In the New SKU box, type the existing product SKU(s) where the copied data will appear.
- Optionally, adjust other parameters to be copied into indicated product(s).
- Click Clone SKUs.
- The products will be updated automatically.
Clone a Product
Sellercloud allows you to change different parameters when cloning a product. For example, you can assign the Fulfilled by and Kit Dependency options for a new (cloned) product. Cloning an item will not copy certain key information, such as inventory, cost, and price. This is to ensure that those values have been updated correctly before being posted to a channel.
To create a clone, follow the steps described below.
- Navigate to Catalog > Manage Catalog.
- Select the product(s) you want to clone.
- Select the Clone SKU option from the Action menu.
- In the New SKU box, type in a new SKU for each item.
- Adjust other parameters to be cloned into the new product(s).
- Click Clone SKUs.
- New products will appear in the catalog. The history of each cloned item will log the SKU as a clone and the SKU from which this new item was cloned.
Import Clones in Bulk
Clones can be created in bulk through a file import. Some attributes can be modified in the file.
- Navigate to Catalog > Tools > Import Product Info.
- Select Import Product Clones.
- You can make your own template or download one directly from Sellercloud. In the Import Product Clones panel, click the Download icon to save a template for further uploads.
- Place the following column headers into the file, and provide the relevant information. Save your data.
COLUMN HEADER DESCRIPTION ProductID Existing SKU that you want to clone ClonedProductID Desired SKU of the newly created clone CompanyID Numerical ID of the company the clone will be added to FulfilledBy Select Amazon to set a clone as an FBA product. Select Merchant to set a clone as an FBM product. CopyUPC If you want to copy the UPC from an existing item to a clone, put True, or else put False, or leave it blank CopyASIN If you want to copy the ASIN from an existing item to a clone, put True, or else put False, or leave it blank - Return to the Import Product Clones panel.
- Select the appropriate file from your computer, and click Import.
Related Client Settings to Copy/Clone SKUs
Sellercloud gives you an opportunity to configure which data will/won’t be copied each time you clone or copy a product. To do that, navigate to Settings > Client Settings > General Client Settings > Advanced.
| CLIENT SETTING | DEFINITION |
| Enable Images Copy On Shadow Product Clone | Copies over images when copying/cloning a SKU. Applicable for shadows. |
| Enable images copy on product clone (simple) |
Copies over images when copying/cloning a SKU. Applicable for regular SKUs. |
| Enable UPC Copy On Product Clone (Simple) | When enabled, always copies over the UPC |
| Persist Shadow Of When Cloning Products | Copies over the shadow relationship |
| Enable Title Copy On Product Clone (Simple) | Copies the product title(s) when copying/cloning a SKU |
| Do Not Copy Product Specifics When Cloning Product | This will not copy the eBay item specifics |
| Set Web Enabled When Cloning SKU | Switches the Web Enabled option ON when copying/cloning a SKU |
| Copy kit properties on product clone | Copies properties of a kit when copying/cloning a SKU |
| Keep channel active status on Shadow clone | Copies over the channel enabled statuses for products (eBay enabled, Amazon enabled, etc.) |
Cloning a product creates a new item that is identical but separate from the original item.
Cloning can save you time and labor when creating similar products, because product information is copied over to the cloned product, and only some changes need to be made.
A similar, but separate, action can copy information from existing SKUs.
However, a cloned product is not the same as a shadow. Whereas a shadow
product’s inventory is tied to that of the parent, a cloned product has no association with the
original product.
Several Client Settings configure which product information will be cloned:
- Enable images copy on Shadow product clone
- Do not copy Product Specifics when cloning product
- Clone N-Matrix configuration when cloning a Product with N-Matrix
- Enable images copy on product clone (simple)
- Enable UPC copy on product clone (simple)
- Enable Title copy on product clone (simple)
- Keep channel active status on Shadow clone
- Copy kit properties on product clone.
To clone a product:
- Open the Manage Inventory page.
- Select the product you want to clone.
- Open the Action Menu and click Clone SKU.
- Enter the new SKU on the next page.
The history of the item will log the SKU as a clone and from which SKU this new item was cloned.
Sellercloud allows you to clone the product and change various attributes. For example, you can adjust the Fulfilled by and Kit Dependency options of the product. The image under Step 3 shows dropdowns for Fulfilled By and Dependency Option. However, when importing cloned items, you can only change FulfilledBy.
Importing clones in bulk
Clones can be created in bulk through a file import. Some attributes can be modified in the file.
See headers below.
Navigate Inventory > Import Product Info> Import Clone Products. Download the template,
populate and import.
Column headers are:
- ProductID– existing SKU that you would like to clone
- ClonedProductID– the desired SKU of the newly created clone
- CompanyID– numerical ID of the company the clone should be created into
- FulfilledBy– entering Amazon will set clone as FBA, entering Merchant will set clone as FBM
- CopyUPC– if you want to copy from existing item to clone put True, or else blank
- CopyASIN– if you want to copy from existing item to clone put True, or else blank