Product Options, Variants & Media

Overview

Most real products come in more than one form — sizes, colors, materials. In StretchShop you model this with options (like Size and Color) and variants (the specific sellable combinations, like "Medium / Black"). Each variant can carry its own SKU, price, and stock. This guide also covers attaching and ordering media (images) on a product.

Options vs. variants

• An option is a choice dimension, such as Size with values S, M, L or Color with values Black, White.
• A variant is one purchasable combination, such as M / Black, with its own SKU, price, and inventory.
• If a product has one option with three values, it has up to three variants. Two options (3 sizes x 2 colors) yield up to six variants.

Add options to a product

1. Open the product in Products and find the Options area.
2. Click Add option, name it (for example Size), and enter its values (S, M, L).
3. Add a second option if needed (for example Color with Black, White).
4. Save. You can edit an option's name and values later, or remove an option you no longer need.

Auto-generate variants

Rather than build every combination by hand, use Generate variants:

1. With your options and values in place, click Generate variants.
2. StretchShop creates a variant for each combination of option values (the full cross-product).
3. Open each generated variant to set its SKU, price (in cents), inventory quantity, and low-stock threshold. Variants without an explicit price fall back to the product price where applicable.

You can also add a single variant manually with New variant — a title is required. Editing a variant updates only the fields you change; deleting a variant removes that specific combination.

Manage product media

1. Open a product and go to its Media.
2. Click Add media to attach an image to the product.
3. To change the display order, use Reorder and drag images into the sequence buyers should see — the first image is the primary thumbnail.
4. Edit a media item's details or remove it entirely at any time.

A realistic example

You sell a "Classic Tee". You add option Size (S/M/L) and Color (Black/White), then click Generate variants to create six variants: S/Black, S/White, M/Black, and so on. You give each a SKU like TEE-M-BLK, set the price to 2500, and enter starting stock. You upload three photos, then Reorder so the black tee leads. On the storefront, buyers now pick a size and color, and the correct variant — with its own SKU and stock — is what they add to cart.

Tips

• Decide your options before generating variants; changing options afterward can create or orphan combinations you then have to tidy up.
• Keep variant SKUs systematic (for example PRODUCT-SIZE-COLOR) so inventory and fulfillment stay unambiguous.
• Give every variant that you sell separately its own inventory quantity so stock counts down accurately per combination.
• The first media item is the primary image — reorder deliberately for the best storefront thumbnail.

Troubleshooting

• "Variant title required" — a manually created variant needs a title.
• Generated too many variants — you generated the full cross-product; delete the combinations you do not sell.
• Wrong image leads the product — use Reorder and move the intended image to the first position.
• Bad options input — option values must be provided in the expected format; re-enter them as a clean list of values.