Displaying Final Product Prices in Shopify: A Journey of Price-Taming

Once upon a time, in the vibrant realms of e-commerce coding (a fancy term for website wrangling), we faced a quirky little challenge. Our mission was simple but essential: ensure the actual price of any product, including discounts, was emblazoned on the product page. This quest was akin to finding a magical artifact—legend whispered it was called {{ item.final_price }}, but as all good tales go, this mystical variable worked only in cartlandia, leaving us with empty parentheses elsewhere. Oh, the horror!

The Great Variable Fiasco

I remember when we first stumbled upon this peculiar riddle. We attempted the old trick of borrowing from our trusty cart. You know what they say: "If it works there, why not everywhere?" But alas, Shopify had its twisted humor. It turns out that item.final_price was a cart-exclusive sorcerer, refusing to leave its comfortable domain. Our product page was left longing for this lovely number.

Step One: Embrace Liquid Logic

Before diving into code, let's pause. Imagine we're sipping our favorite brew, pondering the beauty of Liquid, Shopify's template language. This is our paintbrush, our magic wand. We must wield it wisely. With variable item being reluctant to exist outside the cart, we turn our gaze to the product object. Let's code a bit of magic ourselves.

{% assign discounted_price = product.price | minus: product.compare_at_price %}

Here, we harness this assign spell to manipulate numbers. We subtract the compare_at_price from the original price, channeling any discounts directly into our grasp. But sometimes, whispers speak of further complexity in the discount dance.

Step Two: The Script of Magic Discounts

Next, our journey guides us into deep discounts—those that are automatic, elusive. Their ways are cunning, often hidden within JavaScript. So, into the world of JavaScript we must peer. Do not fear the syntax; embrace it!

var productPrice = {{ product.price | json }};
var discounted = productPrice; // We'll work with this

// Assuming some_discount is computed elsewhere or fetched dynamically
if (some_discount) {
    discounted = productPrice - some_discount;
}

// Eventually, we assign this value somewhere visible on the page
document.querySelector('.product-final-price').innerText = discounted;

With a bit of JS sorcery, we extract the number, weave it with evocations of discounts, and summon it onto our product page. May it reign visible and true!

Step Three: A Tale of Additional Apps

Our journey might still encounter obstacles—hidden discounts, spontaneous sale spells. Sometimes, direct coding isn't the only path. Shopify, a marketplace of its own, offers discount apps like King for more robust solutions. Pause to browse, consider, choose wisely. Their roles might weave intricate tales onto your pages with little effort from your fingers.

Step Four: Testing in the Wild

Finally, we stand on the precipice of our tale, gazing at our code. It must be tested—dragged into every scenario imaginable. We wield our Shopify store as the proving ground. Edge cases lurk in corners; find them, face them. Have friends, foes, even pets test it, if they can read and click.

A Conclusion of Tangled Code

Our expedition across product-page-land, where prices once hid shyly, ends with knowledge. {{ item.final_price }} may remain cart-bound, but we fashion alternatives and make our discounts dance the dance of visibility. By wits, code, apps, and liquid logic alike, we ride triumphant.

We found joy—however convoluted the path—in unlocking visibility for all those discounts. Our journey was tangled but enlightening, and now, dear reader, we pass the quill (or keyboard) to you. Go forth, write your tale. Share it. As the bard—I've always wanted to know one—would say: forever seek the knowledge hidden in plain sight.

And remember, if all else fails, ask a Shopify expert. Or bribe one with virtual cookies.