Dear community,
I've been searching google and various boards up and down - so far without luck 
What we're trying to accomplish:
- Offer "package" prices when ordering fixed multiples of one item
- the "packages" can only be certain fixed quantities, e.g. 4, 8 or 16 of the same item. The quantities are not simple multiples of one base value (e.g. only in multiples of 4 would not work, because we're not offering 12 items with a special package price - instead the customer would have to order one package 4 and one package 8 to get 12.)
- The package prices should always immediately appear as total prices - not as a discount or reduced price of individual items (e.g. package 4 costs 15 EUR, package 8 costs 28 EUR, package 16 costs 54 EUR)
- The customer should see quantities of Packages in his shopping cart, not quantities of individual items contained in the packages. Hence, when he orders 2 times package 4, he will actually receive 8 individual items, but pays 30 EUR for them.
- Allow customers to define a custom option (custom text to be precise) per item in the package. Hence, when ordering package 4, the customer should be able to enter 4 custom texts. Ideally the custom texts default to the first entered text upon entry of the first one. When ordering package 8, he'll have 8 fields available and so forth.
- Have inventory tracking working on the per-item level. Hence, when a customer orders a package 4, the inventory of the underlying simple product, is reduced by 4 items.
- Scratch shipping costs when the customer orders the 16 pack.
Is any configuration possible with standard features, which would accomplish the above ?
Is there any extension out on the market, which can accomplish the above ?
Is any (small) customization possible, which you could outline on a high level ?
What we have already experimented with:
- bundle products: While we have the inventory nicely pulling through onto the simple individual item, we don't like the fact that the quantity always appears to be limited to showing the number of individual items in the cart, rather than the number of packages
- shopping cart price rules: also here inventory works well, but price rules appear as a discount - we don't want to give discounts, we want to over special package prices (yes, we're absolutely certain about this and no, we cannot live with discounts .. just in case the question comes up
). Yes, we can wipe shipping costs vor the 16 package with shopping cart price rules. - Minimum order quantities respectively multiples of orderable items: since we have 4, 8, 16 but not 12, this is unfortuantely also not working for us. Plus, we don't want to show individual prices and quantities, but package prices and package quantities.
- Separate simple products per package: well - we lose inventory tracking. We would have to track inventory completely separately, which we feel would be a major pain.
- An extension from Aitoc: http://www.aitoc.com/en/magentomods_units_and_quantities.html ... well, almost. But we don't want to show individual item prices, again. Instead, we need package prices.
We're running Magento CE 1.9.2.2
Thank you very much & Best Regards!