Collection Feature Is A Total Mess!

[Brownielocks]

Not sure whose brilliant idea it was to remove our collections without our permission, but I've had half of mine now removed.  When I try to set up new ones, the software procedure is confusing, has issues and is just impossible to do. It appears Zazzle now expects our collections to be the "same image" on different products?  And, then all under the same theme, i.e. Christmas, Father's Day, etc.

Well, I don't do that.  I make tons of different images for one topic.  For example, Christmas.  I'll have Santas, elves, reindeer, snowmen, etc.  They're all mixed up on different products.  I can't chose one graphic only to feature in a collection.

I know the economy is horrible. I feel it in my sales and this past Christmas I made 50% of what I did the previous year. But, it has nothing to do with how Collections are tagged or created or their contents.  We all have to just ride this out.  Stores are closing, or laying off etc.  Zazzle I'm sure is affected.  But, don't make more work for us Sellers who have been on here for years.  I can't go through all my 5,000 + products and re-organize them to suit a new Collection format.  I seriously doubt this will increase sales anyway.  

[Windy]

Heather from the Creator Team has asked that people contribute their thoughts on search and the new collections here. https://community.zazzle.com/t5/general-zazzle-discussion/cross-sell-cover-collection-images-search-...

[CreativeLeahG]

You can create a cover that states the collection shows a wide variety of themes and select a few items to showcase the different items. Add text that states 'visit collection to view them all'.

[Brownielocks]

Then if it's just a cover we need, WHY REMOVE our collections???  All that needed to be done was to make a new cover?  Are the collections you removed able to be put back?

[CreativeLeahG]

I haven't removed any collections? If you recently updated a collection, that might be why it's currently not showing. It can take a while for them to reappear?

[Brownielocks]

Someone removed collections, if it's not you.  

[CreativeLeahG]

You thought I removed other seller collections? That's not possible, only Zazzle can do that.

[Brownielocks]

I think we're getting our messages mixed.  I was responding to your comment, "I haven't removed any collections."  So I responded to that.  It's like you were saying you could.  But, it's a mute issue. No biggie.  

[Windy]

@Brownielocks Are your collections really gone? None of my collections  were removed, but many of them which were at one time viewable in a shop are now viewable only through my profile page collections tab.

[Brownielocks]

YES!  Poof! Gone.  I have 4 remaining.  I originally had 11.  Remember they required us to have 10 for a Zazzle Rank.  Irritating how they keep changing rules around.  

[Windy]

I see 11 collections on your profile page. 

[Brownielocks]

You do?  I see  5,  I just checked.  I still only see 5 on the store front and also behind in the management of Collections area.  I even refreshed the page.  I only see 5 collections.

[Anne]

I noticed over the Holiday period that a lot of collections were set to "ready to be migrated" whatever that means. Before they were just visible without issues, so surely something is going on that we don't know about. The collections involved were mainly business card collections, but apparently the algorithm does not recognize business cards (any more?). (huh?)
But never mind, in my sunnysites store all but one collection are gone (tech supposedly "aware of the issue" for quite some time now). I can find them however, but only on the product pages.
Guess something broke almost the entire site with so many tech issues.

[Brownielocks]

Really? I didn't notice. I guess because they weren't missing I didn't pay attention to the behind-the-scenes status that was happening.  Funny, you brought up cards.  A few of my collections that got removed were ones about cards such as Ham Radio Christmas Cards, etc.  Different images, but it's about the same holiday = Christmas.  There were a few others that were card specific also.  But, not weddings, business cards, etc.  I'm not touching Collections right now.  And have no desire to create more. 

[Windy]

I can see your Ham Radio Christmas Card collection on your profile page as well as a few other card collections also.

[Brownielocks]

You're kidding?!   I don't see those collections at all.  Not on the store front. Not inside the manage store area either.  

[Badeesie]

---

@Brownielocks wrote:

You're kidding?!   I don't see those collections at all.  Not on the store front. Not inside the manage store area either.  

---

It looks like the answer is something @Windy and @Sara_H had tried to tell you before, but I guess you didn't understand them.

If you go to your store backend, up at the top by your store name there should be a little downward-facing caret. Click it and a menu will appear.

Click on the top link, the one under the heading 'Member'. I believe yours should say your name. That will take you to your member profile. Check the collections listed there.

[Brownielocks]

You're right. I misunderstood the location.  I went there and I see some are listed as "active" while others are not.  The issue I have now is that the Collections area management is so confusing.  There doesn't seem to be a "save new settings" button or anything.  I can click what category (i.e. Holidays - Christmas) and so on, but once you leave the page, it doesn't stay.  The only button that really does anything to a collection is the "delete collection" button.  Collections is a mess with all these options that for me are not being saved and applied to that collection.

[CreativeLeahG]

Thank you for taking the time to explain this more thoroughly and with a screenshot. 

Your efforts are appreciated.

[Windy]

How many collections did you have before?

[Brownielocks]

I had 11.  I now see 5.

[Windy]

I can see your Thank You Business cards and your Coffee Shop business cards too. A minute ago I could see 270 collections on your profile page but now I can't replicate that. @Sara_H gave some info which could very well help solve some of the issue.

[Brownielocks]

Windy, are you looking at MY store?  Because I  don't make Thank You Business cards or have a Coffee Shop.  I never had 270 collections to begin with.  My store is for Holidays and Ham Radio.

[Windy]

I looked at yours and at Anne's and I made responses to the both of you, in separate reply threads.  The business cards and the 270 collections was a message to Anne.  Reply messages sometimes say who is being replied to. I think you will find right above these words, on the upper left, just under the word Contributor II that this particular message is in response to you. @Brownielocks 

[Anne]

@ Windy and @Sarah
Thank you and sorry. It does not help that the subscription seems to be only working sometimes (I get confused with all the functionality that is currently broken).
I wonder how often you have to "re-activate" collections as I had just a month ago updated everything in several collections. I now have 2 showing in my sunnysites store. I guess I need to see that as progress ... sigh ... And apparently staff hasn't had time to check it out (which is understandable with all the emergency breakdowns)

[Sara_H]

@Brownielocks 

I believe there was a bug where some collections got disassociated from their store (don't know how/why but I had a couple that did)

You need to go into edit the collection and check that it has a tick next to the store and that it is enabled. Uncheck it then check it again, press save and it should appear in a day or so once it's been indexed.

If they still don't appear in a day or two, give Tech Team a link to the collections that aren't showing and I'm sure they'll investigate it for you.

They don't have to all be the same image in a collection. For example, if you have christmas ornaments (same product type) in a collection - choose different theme as the type and christmas as the event.

If you have different images on different products for christmas in one collection - choose gift theme.

We all had to go through our collections to optimize them for the great changeover from old style to new style and choosing events/types and making sure there were assigned to the correct store was just part of the game (including collection cover images to showcase what's inside)

https://www.zazzle.com/creators/playbook/collection+types#:~:text=Frequently%20Asked%20Questions

It's pretty quick to create collections by selecting products in the backend then actions dropdown - add to collection (same as before). You can do it by product type by going in the Departments and breaking it down that way.

[Brownielocks]

That's the issue.  I go into my Collections and only 5 show, all active.  The rest are gone.  They aren't even listed to tick any box to enable them.  They just vanished 100% as far as I'm concerned.  The good thing is, all  products in my Collections are also in my store under a Category.  So, even if the Collection is gone, my products are not.  I'm done worrying about the Collections.  

[ColsCreations]

If I go to your Member profile page, I see all 11 of your Collections.
If I instead go to your store, I see only 5.

If I go to a product in any of those 6 Collections missing from your store page, the "other products from this Collection" scroll IS there under them. So your collections haven't been removed, they are still live and accessible from your member profile and the product pages. @Sara_H is most likely right, that you need to go in and re-associate them with the store. If you're saying that you can't see those 6 collections in your backend, then yeah, that's a problem only Z tech support will be able to address for you.

[Brownielocks]

That's my issue.  I can't re-associate the collections that are not shown as "active."  And, I don't see any "save" button to make a new change stick.

[Perelandrian]

I'm also having issues with collections... Figured I'd work on those since my 56 new items I listed this week aren't showing. Now several of my collections are set to "private" when I click on them, even though in the list view they are showing as active. I even did the cover photos and banners for them like they want us to. No option to make them public, either, so I can't even share them on Pinterest. Another odd thing that happened today is my number of items dropped from 578 to 577 mysteriously. 

Singing Mountains Art 

[Scott]

This is a known issue. It was previously reported here: https://community.zazzle.com/t5/technical-issues/collections-not-showing-up-under-shop/m-p/128017

We're working on fixing the issue.