hopeless hope

[john harding]

My primary product is digital download files.

I have an associated secondary product which consists of audio files shipped on a custom-burned CD. Each audio file corresponds with one of the downloaded files, so on the face of it it could be treated, in Actinic terms, as a component.

However, for various reasons, I don't want to do that. I would like to treat the audio part of it as a kind of upselling afterthought after the customer has finished browsing and ordering the downloadable files.

My fantasy is a shopping process going something like this:

The customer chooses the downloadable files he wants, fills his trolley and confirms his order.

He is then given a prompt, which says something like: "CDs are available to ..... would you like to see details?"

If he chooses Yes, he would then go, via an explanatory text, to a list of the items he's just ordered, but this time showing the price of each audio track, plus p&p, and with a minimum charge built in.

He checks the items he wants, and the final overall price is calculated.

He is then required to make choices about format and one or two other things - which again will require some explanatory text.

He then confirms that order and goes through checkout, after which he downloads the .pdf files and waits for the postman to turn up with the CD.

Just to simplify matters even further, there are probably going to be some downloaded files with which there is no associated audio.

Is there any way this could be made to happen. If not, can anyone think of a near alternative, while I go to the launderette?


john harding

[cdicken]

You could do this, but not really as an upsell once the customer has made their selection. But you could make the offer on a track by track basis.

You can use components to create a tick box under each audio file with an 'HTML for Name' fields that reads something like:

Tick here if you would like this on an audio CD for only £x.xx per track. Click !!<<a href="URL">HERE</a>>!! for more details.

Then, any files that the customer would want on a CD would have the component added. You can associate these components with actual products in order to get a shipping weight added.

In order to ask questions about format, you could turn one of the 'General Information' fields in the checkout into a drop down list (there is some commented out code in Act_Order02.html to show you how to do this).

[john harding]

Thanks. That's helpful, if only in confirming my assumption.

I don't think I can go down the component route, for a number of reasons; it's too disruptive of the browsing process, and I would expect customers are more likely to upbuy (if that word exists) a week or two later, after reflection. I certainly need them to be able to do so. So it's a separate section in the catalogue.

Reason I was hoping (against hope) it could be automated is that for the customer it's not going to be easy locating the tracks that correspond with his original purchase. There are many different variations on the same title, titles involve foreign languages, accents, alternative versions of the same product ...

Is there any way that the receipt/invoice could be made to show a reference number that would take the customer straight to the audio track corresponding with each purchase? Without that information cluttering up the catalogue on screen?

[cdicken]

Are you using product references? - because they will appear in the shopping cart with your product short descriptions and can be used to take people straight back to the product they bought.

Check out the section on 'Taking People Straight to a Product' on p48 of the Advanced User Guide for some example code for a form for people to enter product reference numbers to find in the store.