[Default order of products in frontend]

"The problem with using the product list is that we would have to go into each product and alter the sort one at a time."

That's not how I see it. As I described it above, that should suffice. Are you running CC6 as yet?

If so, in admin, Store Settings, Layout tab, Product List Sorting, select Retail Price / DESC (most expensive products listed first).

On the storefront, when viewing any category of products, you should now see that category's most expensive products listed first. This default sort is used regardless of what category is chosen.

So, please describe in step-by-step detail, the steps you are trying to avoid to achieve the storefront effect.

"If we could somehow get one of the product list sorting options into a column of the product list, editable on the list rather than having to click edit on each product, then that would do the trick."

This seems to describe a default sort on the admin's listing of the Product Inventory.

"Custom Product Sort, which is editable from the product list view, so you could easily sort your products in one go per category."

This seems to describe an arbitrary sort per category. There is this: http://www.cubecartforums.org/index.php?showtopic=19191

While it is possible to filter the Product Inventory listing to show only products assigned to a particular category, in a stock CC6, the Product Inventory listing does not have the ability to record an arbitrary sort.

There is a way to set a chosen sort from a set of possible sorts on a per category basis. See: http://www.cubecartforums.org/index.php?showtopic=18555

​Thanks a lot for your help :-)

This was what we were looking for: http://www.cubecartforums.org/index.php?showtopic=19191

Thanks again!!

[Default order of products in frontend]

With CC3,  we used an Estelle plugin called "custom product sort" which is editable from the product list view, so you could easily sort your products in one go per category and then click update. 

The problem with using the product list is that we would have to go into each product (hundreds of them) and alter the sort one at a time, which is a much slower process. 

If we could somehow get one of the product list sorting options into a column of the product list, editable on the list rather than having to click edit on each product, then that would do the trick, but I'm assuming this isn't possible without custom coding?

Thanks