Dropbox Shop Preview/Thumbnail confusion

[Stew88]

I'd seen previous discussion indicating that Shop creates a thumbnail of an item being sold. Either that was incorrect or settings have changed. I've been uploading images to sell and see the Product name (I'm just using the image file name, which I've customized), but there appears to be no automatic thumbnail generated. In the Shop directions, it notes:
Under Preview, click Upload from device or Add from Dropbox. 
I do see the option for that under "Additional details" for a product. Is there anyway to automatically generate a Preview from the uploaded product, when it's a digital image? It would be ideal if there was a checkbox, for example, to "Create preview from product image." I tried the "Add from Dropbox" using the link provided to "Share" a product image, but Dropbox didn't recognize that for this purpose.
I actually do have watermarked versions of all my images available for sale, but uploading those as a Preview image would double the storage use, unless I also first reduce the resolution and/or image size - and I don't know what resolution/size might be recommended for a preview/thumbnail. This is all for a local fund-raiser, so I'm trying to get away with using my Basic plan. (Uploading a second image for preview would put me over my storage limit.) Suggestions/Thoughts?

[Hannah]

Hey @Stew88, thanks for joining our Community.

Would you mind guiding me through the steps you followed to create your listing, to make sure we're not missing something?

Also, what are the file types of the files you are listing?

And if you click on the 'Preview product page' at the top of the window during the process of creating your listing, do the files appear to have thumbnails?

Keep me posted.

[Stew88]

Hi Hannah,

I've got a laptop folder open with .jpg images, and Dropbox Shop is open in a window next to that. I click the "+ Add product" button, drag a drop a desired image (Upload from device) to the appropriate space in the Shop window. I adjust the price, accept the product name, and click the "Publish" button. When a share link appears, I copy that and paste it into a spreadsheet in a column next to my filenames. I close the link box and repeat the process for the next image.

When I select "Preview product page," it just provides text information, with no thumbnail.That said, under the "Additional details" of the product page, I see: 

Preview

Add up to 10 image, audio, or video files to your product page. Give potential buyers a preview of the product you're offering.

I'd understand the need for that if someone was selling a non-photographic item and wanted to share a photo of the product. But my products ARE .jpg image files. I wasn't sure if a thumbnail would appear automatically (not seen, in my case), or if I could put the product's Share link under "Add from Dropbox" (which didn't work), or if I'd have to upload a second copy of my image (maybe smaller) for Preview purposes - but that would consume a lot more storage capacity.

For your review, I created a .jpg from a screen-grab of a Preview window as I see it, and put it into my shop, marking it as "free." I tried posting the link for that but saw an error message, "Your post has been changed because invalid HTML was found in the message body. The invalid HTML has been removed. Please review the message and submit the message when you are satisfied." I was surprised by that, because just above this text box are editing icons, including a "link" icon that says "Insert/edit link" when you mouse over it. Below the text box, I see "Hint:  @ links to members." But I'm not familiar with that and didn't see an example, so maybe: 

@shop/l/n6lYhwF55bxD6YAo

For what it's worth, I'm using the latest Firefox browser. I don't know if that would make a difference to me (or customers) in being able to see the Preview thumbnail. Thanks for any tips/help!

[Megan]

hi @Stew88, could you try to click on the camera-like icon when you respond back to me, in order to attach a few screenshots of the behavior you described? 

Thank you!

[Stew88]

Let me try another browser, as I don't see a camera icon anywhere above or below this text/reply box. The options are for Bold, Italic, Insert/edit link, Numbered list, and Bullet list. I'll try Chrome instead of Firefox.

[Stew88]

I tried the Product Preview in Bing and Chrome but saw no difference from Firefox. However, responding here in Chrome does yield more editing options, including the camera icon. So I'll attach some images for you. There are three here. The first is for adding a product (with my folder of images to the left for quick drop-and-drag after I click the "+ Add product" button).  Second is an image to Edit the product, where a dropdown for Additional details shows where a thumbnail could be uploaded, but there's no option that I can find to select the original image. It's as if I'd have to upload it a second time to appear as a Preview. The third shows the current Preview window - essentially the same across 3 browsers, with just text info about the image for sale.

[Megan]

Hi @Stew88, thanks for the screenshots! 

Your feedback regarding our new Shop beta feature desktop application has been very valuable and I will endeavor to make sure your voice is heard.

If you need anything else, give me a shout!

[Stew88 · Accepted solution]

Thanks for the feedback. I guess for now, the only option is for me to upload a second image for preview purposes. I'm taking my watermarked versions and reducing the image size to upload for preview purposes. This will be quite a time-consuming task, so if Dropbox can somehow automate the process of generating a thumbnail from an uploaded image file, it would be a great convenience. Perhaps programmers could take any uploaded image and reduce the size or resolution by half to 2/3 (anticipating most uploaded images for sale would be reasonably high resolution). That would be fantastic. Even if a prospective customer just grabbed a screenshot, they'd only have a lower-res version. It would save creators significant time and storage capacity - both of which could help increase your satisfied customer base.