Product Specification for Product Variant

Sometimes one Product Variant has a different specification from another Product Variant. In my case, energy bars come in different flavours (Variants), and each flavour has different specifications depending on wether or not it contains nuts, caffeine, etc.

For this use, Product Variant Attributes are not the solution since they give the customer a choice, whereas I want to inform the customer of the ingredients.

Product Specifications only apply to Product (so to the whole range of energy bars), but it seems to me it would be even more useful if a Product Variant was allowed to either override or amend the Product Specification.

it sounds like your different energy bars are not really product variants (like orange flavour or chocolate flavour of the same product) but actually all completely different products

eg,
your Peanut Toffee Buzz is a different product than
your Carrot Cake

(although both would share a category like 'energy bars')

so if you add them to your store as different products, they can all have their own specification

haydie, thanks for replying.

I see your point about adding them as separate products. It would solve the specification issue, but if I were to add other products (e.g. Clif Luna Bars and Builder Bars), I'd soon have a product explosion with several hundred products and no variants.

What I was trying to say was that it seems to me like the store's product model should allow for variants to override/add to the product specification on a general basis. That way, the product model can adapt to the real world rather than force-fitting the real world into the product model.

Also, doesn't it make sense to have the ability to add specification attributes to the SKU (i.e. the product variant)? Isn't that were the specification logically belongs? A lot of the specification would be common, of course, which is why I'm still in favour of adding spec attr to the product, but some would be overridden by the variants.

I agree with "[email protected]" we have several thousand products and 1 to 4 product variants. In our case the variants have identical specifications only different packaging quantity, price an availabilty (in physical store, webshop or both).

I either need speficifations per variant or 2 extra fields; packaging quantity and availabilty (only in physical store, only webshop or both). The first is obviously more flexible.

Anyone else needs this?

more info on SKU (variants): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock-keeping_unit

Yes.  I have the same situation.  I have different specs for product variants.

bradhof wrote:
Specificatioin for variants are not available out of the box. For that you have some options:
1) Include specifications in description, best with bullits. Example
Description......
- spec1= val1
- spec2= val2
etc.

2) Use some non-used fields sucha as:
Description:Picture:  
Admin comment:    
Manufacturer part number:    
GTIN (global trade item number):    

3) Customization

Thank you for the ideas.   I will try them out.    
For future reference, here is my idea for specifications on each product variant and SKU.

http://www.deepblueyachtsupply.com/zinc-anodes/shaft-zincs-inch