Merchant Integration Platform
User Guide
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Document Information
Version: 0.18 Date: January 2014
Company Information
eBay Inc. 2145 Hamilton Ave. San Jose, CA 95125 USA phone: 408.558.7400; fax: 408.558.7401
Contents
Introduction...5
Document purpose...5
How to use this guide...5
How to interpret text styles...5
Overview...6
Purpose and benefits...7
Requirements and implementation...7
Roles and responsibilities...8
Components and workflow...8
Getting started...10
Sign up for an eBay account ...10
Join the Developer Program ...10
Sign up for a Sandbox user account ...11
Subscribe to MIP Admin App...11
Open the Admin App ...12
Connect to the MIP file server using SFTP...12
Understanding MIP file server structure and feed processing...13
Testing the sample files...15
Download the sample files...15
Upload sample policy and transformer configuration files...16
Upload sample product, image, and inventory feeds...16
Verify the sample files uploaded successfully...17
View sample listings...17
Best practices...19
Feed processing overview...20
Product feed best practices...21
Express feed best practices...22
Image feed best practices...22
Inventory feed best practices...23
Order feed best practices...24
Order Ack feed best practices...25
Shipment feed best practices...25
Using the eBay metadata files...26
Modifying a Store Policy file...28
Upload the modified policy and transformer configuration zip files...29
Modifying the transformer configuration script files...31
Requirements of the MIP transformer configuration processor...31
Open the Transformer Configuration sample file...34
Creating In Store Pick-up listings...35
Creating eBay Now listings...36
Using Fulfillment processing...37
Reference Information...38
Store Policy fields...38
Item Location — Policy fields...39
Payment Options — Policy fields...40
Return Policy — Policy fields...41
Domestic Shipping — Policy fields...42
International Shipping — Policy fields...44
Product script fields...47
Script fields for Product feeds without variations...52
Script fields for Product feeds with variations ...54
Script fields for product feeds with parts compatibility information ...56
Express script fields...58
Image script fields...59
Inventory script fields...59
Order report reference...60
Order script fields...62
OrderACK script fields...67
Shipment script fields...67
Store Locations script fields...68
Store Inventory feed fields...70
Introduction
To help you experience a successful implementation, read the following information to better understand this document’s purpose, how to use it, and the style conventions used to highlight important information.
Document purpose
This guide explains how to set up and test the Merchant Integration Platform (MIP) to transform your retail management system data files, or feeds, into listings on eBay. This document explains the concepts and procedures the MIP programmer needs to know to first set up and test sample feeds, and then explains how to transform a merchant's actual feeds into eBay listings with MIP.
How to use this guide
This guide is designed to be used with the procedures and feed files provided by eBay. This document explains how to set up the sandbox environment where you first test sample files, and then explains how to test your actual feeds in the sandbox environment before posting actual listings in the live production environment.
How to interpret text styles
The text in this document use these text styles in sentences to imply specific meanings:
• Bold signifies objects clicked to perform a function, such as menu commands, buttons, and keyboard keys. Bold is also used to highlight a term or phrase before its explanation.
• Italic denotes names of pertinent objects, such as application windows, field names, hyperlinks, and introductory terms.
Overview
The Merchant Integration Platform (MIP) enables merchants to reduce integration and maintenance costs while reaching millions of potential buyers through one sales channel. MIP allows merchants to upload and download their existing retail management system feeds directly with eBay. Using MIP, most merchants can begin to offer their products for sale on eBay in about four weeks.
A merchant begins by working with an eBay account manager to get the needed eBay accounts, and then subscribing to MIP in order to get credentials that allow access to the MIP file server.The credential, or token, is the password used to access the MIP file server.
Important: Changing your eBay account password invalidates your credential; if you change
your eBay password, you will need to generate a new token in order to access the MIP file server.
Next, a merchant recruits a MIP programmer to perform the integration. The business analyst (or merchant) works with the MIP programmer to determine how to transform merchant data into eBay listings. Merchants are then able to test how their products will appear in a sandbox environment before they go live on eBay.
Once testing concludes in the MIP sandbox environment, merchants request access to the MIP production environment. Merchants can go live at any time by moving their files in the MIP file server from the sandbox to the production environment.
Note: Aspects of this Beta release are subject to change. As a result, post-beta migrations may
be required.
In order to use MIP, you need the following:
• Feeds (data files) from your retail management system in CSV or XML format
• A set of store policies, such as preferred shipping options and accepted payment methods
• A plan for mapping your proprietary product categories to eBay categories (refer to the eBay Categories page)
These standard eBay features are supported by MIP: • Fixed price good till cancelled (GTC) listings
• Flat rate domestic and international shipping • Shipment tracking
• Multi-quantity listings
• Using one account for the main eBay site and the eBay Motors site • Store categories
• Up to 12 self-hosted pictures (multiple self-hosted pictures can be added to the item description) • eBay Motors Parts and Accessories compatibility information
• Item specific attributes • Multiple order processing
These standard eBay features are not yet supported by MIP: • Auction or scheduled listings
• Calculated shipping • Best Offer and Get It Fast
• Real-time price and quantity updates
• Cross-border trade • Third-party checkout
For the latest release information, refer to the Release Notes on the MIP home page.
Purpose and benefits
MIP is designed to provide merchants with an easy way to use their existing retail management system's product data files, or feeds, to create product listings on eBay. After a sale occurs, the merchant retrieves order information to ship the product to the buyer.
MIP enables a merchant to:
• Leverage existing investments to simplify the process of expanding sales revenue • Send and receive product files to and from eBay using standard data file formats • Securely exchange data on an eBay-hosted file server
• Use a MIP (or staff) programmer to implement and maintain how store merchandise is transformed into eBay listings
• Perform manual or automated product data file processing between retail management systems and eBay.
MIP is ideal for a merchant who:
• Uses retail management systems that manage product, price, quantity, and orders information in XML or CSV file format
• Sells multiple variations of the same and similar products, like clothing and electronics • Wants to increase sales quickly while reducing integration and maintenance costs.
MIP allows merchants to begin using the eBay marketplace as a channel more rapidly at a low cost.
Requirements and implementation
MIP supports these types of internet browsers, operating systems, network protocols and file formats: • Browsers: Internet Explorer (version 7.0 or later), Firefox (version 3.5 or later), and Safari (version
3.0 or later)
• Operating systems: Windows XP or 7 and Linux • Network protocols: SFTP
• Feed file formats: XML and CSV.
Important: Feed files must be UTF-8 encoded
To use MIP, a merchant needs:
• Data feeds from the retail management system that define item price, quantity, and product information, such as a stock-keeping unit (SKU) code, and image URLs.
• Store policy data, such as payment methods, shipping cost and service, return policy, and handling time information.
• A MIP programmer that can work with your business analyst to determine how to best transform your product data into attractive listings on eBay.
When these initial requirements are ready, then the merchant and MIP programmer work together to complete the implementation:
1. Get the needed accounts and connect to the MIP file server.
2. Test the default sample files to get acquainted with how MIP processes files. 3. Work with a MIP programmer to transform merchant data to eBay listings.
4. Upload your feed, policy, and transformer configuration files to test them in the sandbox environment. 5. Debug the inbound (to eBay) feed, policy, and transformer configuration files in the sandbox
environment, including the outbound (from eBay) order feeds pulled from MIP for fulfillment processing.
6. Move working feed, policy, and transformer configuration files to the production environment.
Roles and responsibilities
The skills needed to implement MIP may only require a few people, or several, depending on your resources and their skill levels. The roles presented below are not exclusive to one person, but do represent the expertise required to integrate MIP.
The roles and responsibilities required to implement MIP are: Responsibilities Role
Defines and owns the business goals for the merchant's integration with eBay.
Merchant
Understands the merchant's existing systems, data formats, and semantics related to their products, quantity, pricing, and orders.
Business Analyst
Given a merchant's data formats and semantics, creates the required transformer configuration for MIP.
MIP Programmer
Helps customers with technical questions or issues with MIP. For technical support, visit the Developer Support page. eBay Technical Support
Before the implementation begins, the merchant needs to determine who will perform each of the first three roles.
Components and workflow
MIP provides access to a file server where merchants place their product data files, much like transferring files between computers on the same network. The MIP file server is a secure file server that is accessed using a Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) client.
The MIP file server contains these types of files:
• Data feeds: Defines the inbound product information, quantity, and price, and the outbound orders information
• Store policy files: Specifies global options to use, such as postage, payment, return policy, and other merchant information displayed in the eBay listing
• Transformer configuration files: Specifies how a merchant's data files and store settings are transformed into eBay listings
In addition to the MIP file server, merchants are given access to the MIP Administration Application (Admin App) console. Merchants use the Admin App through a standard browser window via the internet.
Merchants upload the store policy and transformer configuration files, and then data feeds, directly into cloud storage using an SFTP client. After sales occur, order information is retrieved by the merchant's retail system(s) from the MIP file server.
The basic processing stages are:
1. Merchant routes new or revised store policy, transformer configuration, product feed files from the merchant's retail system(s) to the MIP file server.
2. Merchant uses the Admin App to manage credentials and the files used by MIP.
3. MIP transforms the inbound files in the file server into listings, which are then posted on eBay. 4. After sales occur on eBay, order information is sent back to the MIP file server.
5. Merchant retrieves the outbound order information back into the merchant's retail system(s) for order fulfillment and inventory updates.
Getting started
These are the prerequisites to using MIP.
Create accounts
• Create a new or use an active eBay account, and then join the Developer Program, which allows you to sign up for a sandbox user account.
• Sign up for a sandbox user account, which allows to test the sample and your actual feed in the sandbox environment.
Get the Admin App
• Subscribe to MIP, which grants you access to the MIP Administration Application (Admin App). • Open the Admin App, which allows you to upload the sample store policy settings and transformer
configuration files used by MIP.
Establish a MIP file server connection
• Connect to the MIP file server to upload the sample and actual data feed files • Connect to the MIP file server to retrieve order feeds
Sign up for an eBay account
If you have not already registered with eBay, you must create an account for your business before proceeding. An eBay account is required to post your product listings on eBay.
To sign up for a eBay account:
1. Open an internet browser window, go to the eBay Registration page.
2. Complete the instructions on the page, and record your eBay user ID and password for later reference.
3. Next you need to create an eBay Store. To create an eBay Store, go to the How do I open an eBay Store page, review the requirements, and then follow the instructions to open an eBay Store. 4. When you are finished, proceed to the next section.
Join the Developer Program
After you have an eBay account, you need to join the Developer Program in order to create a sandbox user account, which enables you to test the MIP Admin App in the sandbox enviroment.
To join the Developer Program:
1. Open an internet browser window, go to the eBay Developer Program page. 2. Click Join Now.
3. Follow the instructions on the page to enter your information. Note your user name and password for later reference. When your are finished, then click Join Now.
After about 15 minutes, you will receive an email from the eBay Developer Program.
4. When you receive your confirmation email, open it and click Activate Account to confirm your registration.
After you have activated your account, close the Developer Program browser window, and proceed to the next section.
Sign up for a Sandbox user account
When you have joined the Developer Program, you can sign up for a sandbox user account, so you can subscribe to MIP. Your sandbox account allows you to test the sample files in the sandbox environment.
To sign up for a sandbox user account:
1. Open an internet browser window, and go to the eBay Developer Program page. Click Sign In at the top, enter your new developer user name and password, and then click Sign In.
2. On the Developer Program page, select Resources > Development Tools. 3. On the Development Tools page, click Sandbox User Registration Tool.
4. Enter a user name and password (these can be the same as or different from your developer program user name and password). Notice that the user name is prefixed with testuser_. Note the user name and password for later reference.
5. Enter a valid email address, and leave or change the remaining default entries.
Note: Do not change the default Registration Site default setting of US. If you list products on eBay in the United Kingdom, Germany, or other regional sites, you will have the opportunity to specify your listing site when you open the MIP Admin App.
6. Click Create User. A Success box will appear on the page. Now you are ready to subscribe to MIP.
Subscribe to MIP Admin App
When you have an eBay account, and have signed up for a sandbox user account, you can subscribe to MIP.
Note: Beta Users must contact their MIP representative to get their testuser account qualified
to use the MIP Admin App.
To subscribe to MIP:
1. Sign in to eBay using your sandbox user name and password. 2. Hover over the Applications tab, and then click MIP Admin. 3. Click Subscribe.
4. Read, and then agree to the terms and conditions. When you are finished, click Confirm
Subscription.
5. Activation takes a few minutes. After activation, you are ready to start using the MIP Admin App. Click Manage Applications.
Open the Admin App
After you subscribe to MIP, you can get access to the Admin App. The MIP Admin App enables you to:
• Acquire and update the credentials needed to access the MIP file server • Upload transformer configuration, store policy, and feed files
• View file upload status and timestamp, upload response files, and process logs. You must be signed in to eBay to open the Admin App.
To open the Admin App:
1. Go to your My eBay page, and click on the Applications tab.
Tip: If you hover over the Applications tab, you should have the option to click MIP Admin,
which achieves the same goal as the next step.
2. In the Your Apps section, locate the Admin App, and then click Start.
3. Under MIP Admin Tool preferences, select the display language and target listing site from the drop-down menus, and then click Submit.
4. On the Merchant Integration Platform Sandbox page, you will see these tabs:
• Account Management: Allows you to upload the transformer configuration file to the MIP file server • MIP Store Management: Allows you to upload the policy file and access the response and process
log files for the product, inventory, order, and shipment zip files.
• Preferences: Allows you to acquire and update your credentials, and enter the email addresses where MIP notifications will be sent.
5. Leave this browser window open, and proceed to the next section.
Connect to the MIP file server using SFTP
After subscribing to MIP, you can establish an SFTP client connection to the MIP file server. This allows you to put your store policy, transformer configuration, and product (and other) feed files into the MIP file server.
If you do not already have an SFTP client on your computer, install one before proceeding. To install the SFTP client, use the instructions provided by the manufacturer. When you have the client installed, follow the steps below to connect to the MIP file server.
The MIP file server has been tested with these SFTP clients: • FileZilla • WinSCP • WebDrive • PuTTY • Cygwin • gFTP
Before proceeding, copy your credential from the Admin App Preferences tab. You will need this credential to complete this procedure.
To connect to the MIP file server: 1. Open the SFTP client.
2. Use these parameters to establish a connection: • Host name:mip.sandbox.ebay.com
Note: Later, when you use the Production environment, use mip.ebay.com
• Port:22
• Protocol:SFTP
• User name: Use your sandbox testuser_~ user name.
• Password: Use your MIP credential (available in the Admin App).
Note: For best results, increase the default timeout value to 40 seconds.
3. When finished, connect to the MIP file server.
When connected, you will see the store directory, which expands to show multiple folders. Leave the SFTP client window open, and proceed to the next section.
Note: Feed files uploaded to the MIP file server should not exceed 4 MB. Files larger than
4 MB greatly increase the processing time.
Understanding MIP file server structure and feed processing
After connecting to the MIP file server, read this section to better understand its structure and how files are processed. The MIP file server is a Storage as a service (StaaS) file server, and should be used for automating inbound and outbound feed processing.The MIP file server store directory contains these root folders:
• config-spec: Contains the transformer configuration files that transform the data feeds. Use the SFTP client to put files in this folder.
• policy: Contains the store policy settings files. • product: Contains the product feed files. • image: Contains the image feed files. • express: Contains the express feed files. • inventory: Contains the inventory feed files. • order: Contains the order feed files.
• order-ack: Contains the order-ack feed files. • shipment: Contains the shipment feed files.
Tip: The Admin App console can be used to upload files to these folders, but we recommend
that you use the SFTP client to upload files to the MIP file server.
All of these folders, except for orders, are used to process inbound (to eBay) data feeds, policy files, and transformer configuration files. Most of the folders contain subsequent folders, such as inprocess, output, log, and archive.
When inbound data feeds are put into the MIP file server, the feed file is automatically moved to the inprocess folder to be transformed. After transformation is complete, the transformed data feed is then copied to the output folder. A log file is generated in the log folder as each data feed is processed. After several new feeds are processed, the old data feeds are moved into the archive folder. The inprocess, log, and output folders contain timestamped folders that show when specific feeds were processed.
The config-spec folder structure is as follows:
Permission Description
Folder
Read, Write Merchant will drop the config-spec under
this folder /config-spec
Read System will move the incoming
config-spec to this folder with timestamp /config-spec/inprocess
and raise an event. The timestamp -dd-MMM-yyyy HH:mm:ss will be appended to the original file.
Read Script log files
/config-spec/log
Read Config spec output files
/config-spec/output
Read Config spec archive files
/config-spec/archive
Read Symbolic link to the active config-spec file
/config-spec/active_config_spec
The policy folder structure is as follows:
Permission Description
Folder
Read, Write Merchant will drop the policy file under
this folder /policy
Read System will move the incoming policy file to this folder with timestamp and raise an /policy/inprocess
event. The timestamp -dd-MMM-yyyy HH:mm:ss will be appended to the original file.
Read Reserved for future use.
/policy/log
Read Reserved for future use.
/policy/output
Read Processed policy files
/policy/archive
Outbound (from eBay) order feeds only have log and output folders, and also differ in one other respect. When retrieving the order feed from the file server, merchants have two options:
• Point scripts to the latest folder to retrieve the most recent order feed
• Point scripts to the order-latest symbolic link to retrieve the most recent order feed. The order-latest link resides in this location: /store/order/output/.
Testing the sample files
When you have set up a connection to the MIP file server, and have access the MIP Admin App, you are ready to use the sample files to simulate transforming your policy, transformer configuration, and feed files into eBay listings.
To test the sample files, follow the instructions in these topics: •Download the sample files
•Upload sample policy and transformer configuration files •Upload sample product, image, and inventory feeds •Verify the sample files uploaded successfully •View sample listings
Download the sample files
After you have established a connection to the MIP file server, and have access to the MIP Admin App, you are ready to download the sample files to test uploading them from your local computer to the MIP file server.
The zip files need to be accessible, if not stored, on the computer that has the MIP Admin App access and the MIP file server connection. Do not unzip the sample files before performing this test.
Note: The MIP Beta Documentation and Sample page is password protected. You will need to
get the password from your account manager in order to access this page.
To download the sample zip files:
1. Open an Internet Explorer® browser window, and go to the MIP Beta Documentation and Sample page.
2. Download the sample test files to your computer. The sample files with -*- in the file name are available in both CSV or XML format. Select the format type that matches the file format of your native retail management system data feeds. Click the links on the page to save the zip files to a known location on your computer:
• Transformer-*-Sample.zip: Contains the javascript files that transforms the product data files into eBay listings, and then order data used to ship products to buyers.
• PolicyFeed-Sample.zip: Contains the store settings information, like shipping and payment information.
• ProductFeed-*-Sample.zip: Contains the product data files that define the items you want to sell on eBay; available in CSV and XML formats.
• ImageFeed-*-Sample.zip: Contains the image data files used in your eBay listings; available in CSV and XML formats.
• InventoryFeed-*-Sample.zip: Contains the quantity and price data files used in your eBay listings; available in CSV and XML formats.
• OrderAckFeed-*-Sample.zip: Contains the order acknowledgements for items that sold on eBay that has been retrieved by the merchant's order system; available in CSV and XML formats. • ShipmentFeed-*-Sample.zip: Contains the postage tracking information for items purchased on
3. Do not extract (unzip) the sample files. Proceed to the next section to begin uploading some of the sample zip files.
Upload sample policy and transformer configuration files
When you have the sample zip files, you can upload the policy and configuration files from your computer to the MIP file server using the SFTP client (recommended) or the Admin App console. The Admin App is used to upload the files that only periodically change, like the store policy settings and transformer configuration JavaScript files. The SFTP client is used to upload regularly manually or with automated scripts. When you upload files, MIP knows to use the latest version of the files to generate eBay listings.Note: The Admin App is described in this procedure. To upload these files to the MIP file server
using an SFTP client, refer to Upload the modified policy and transformer configuration zip files.
To upload the policy and transformer configuration zip files:
1. In the Admin App browser window, click the MIP Store Management tab. Make sure Store Settings is selected (on the left), and then click Browse. Navigate to the policy file you downloaded, select it, click Open, and then click Upload. When you see the message stating the file was uploaded successfully, click Close.
The transfer process may take a few minutes to complete.
2. Click the Account Management tab, scroll down and click Upload Configuration file. Click
Browse, navigate to the configuration files you downloaded, select it, click Open, and then click Upload. When you see the message stating the file was uploaded successfully, click Close.
The transfer process may take a few minutes to complete.
3. Proceed to the next section to upload the product, image, and inventory feeds.
Upload sample product, image, and inventory feeds
When you have the sample zip files, you can upload the product, image, and inventory feed zip files from your computer to the MIP file server directory. This section explains how to manually upload the file, but eventually, you will want to create scripts to perform this task.
The MIP file server is used to upload the files that frequently change, like the product, image, inventory, and shipment files. When you upload files, MIP knows to use the latest version of the files. In this procedure, you will only be uploading the product, image, and inventory data files.
You must have the SFTP client open to complete this procedure. To upload the product, image, and inventory data zip files:
1. In the SFTP client, locate the product feed zip file you just downloaded. Drag and drop the product feed zip file into the product folder in the MIP file server directory.
The transfer process may take a few minutes to complete.
2. In the SFTP client, locate the image feed zip file you just downloaded. Drag and drop the image feed zip file into the image folder in the MIP file server directory.
3. In the SFTP client, locate the inventory feed zip file you just downloaded. Drag and drop the inventory feed zip file into the inventory folder in the MIP file server directory.
These file are extracted in the inprocess folder to be transformed. As each file is processed, a log file is generated in the log folder, and the transformed data is placed in the output folder.
You are now ready to verify the uploaded files were processed successfully.
Verify the sample files uploaded successfully
After uploading the sample files, you want to make sure the files were uploaded successfully. You must have the Admin App open to complete this procedure.
To check uploaded file status:
1. In the Admin App window, click the MIP Store Management tab.
2. To verify the configuration file upload was successful, click the Account Management tab (on top). The configuration file you uploaded should be the file at the top of the list. If you see Active in the
State column, this means the transfer was successful.
3. To verify the policy file upload was successful, click Store Settings (on the left). This page shows you the status of the profiles zip file you uploaded using the Admin App. You should see a log with the same name as the profiles file in the Process Log column. If the upload was successful, the adjacent Status column will show Complete.
4. To see if the product feed zip file upload was successful, click Product (on the left). This page shows you the status of the product data file you dragged and dropped in the MIP file server. You should see a log with the same name as the product file in the Process Log column. If the transfer was successful, the adjacent Status column will show Complete.
5. To see if the image feed zip file upload was successful, click Image (on the left). This page shows you the status of the image data file you dragged and dropped in the MIP file server. You should see a log with the same name as the image file in the Process Log column. If the transfer was successful, the adjacent Status column will show Complete.
6. To see if the inventory data file transfer was successful, click Inventory (on the left). This page shows you the status of the inventory data file you dragged and dropped in the MIP file server. You should see a log with the same name as the product file in the Process Log column. If the transfer was successful, the adjacent Status column will show Complete.
You are now ready to view the sample listings in the sandbox environment.
View sample listings
To better understand how your listing will look on eBay, you can view the sample listing in the sandbox environment. This way you will better understand which modifications should be implemented for your actual listings.
To view sample listings:
1. Sign in to eBay using your sandbox user ID and password. 2. Go to the Summary page (My eBay > Summary)
3. Click Active listings under Listing Activity. You should see new active listing for these items:
• Oster Kettle
• Nikon CoolPix Digital Camera • Bose Home Theatre System • Clock Radio and iPOD stand
Best practices
Follow these best practices to improve your experience with MIP. As with all best practices, these recommendations may or may not always apply to you, but if they do, adhere to them as much as possible. In some instances, you may have to slightly alter the basic strategy to fit your implementation.
Managing your eBay listings
Merchants should not attempt to modify items managed through MIP using other eBay listing tools, like Selling Manager Pro, or third-party listing management tools. Doing so can create duplicate listings and processing problems.
Important: Merchants should not create new or revised existing listings outside of MIP. If you
have already done so, please contact MIP Customer Support.
MIP Merchants should not use the automatic relist functionality available in the Unpaid Item Assistant; the next Product and/or Inventory Feed will automatically initiate this action on your behalf. To turn off the relist functionality in the Unpaid Item Assistant:
1. Sign in to My eBay and click the Account tab.
2. Select Site Preferences (this link is also on the left navigation panel).
3. Click the Show link to the right of Unpaid Item Assistant, and then click the Edit link.
4. If No thanks - I'll use the standard unpaid item process as needed, opening and closing cases manually is selected, no further action is necessary. If Yes - I want Unpaid Item Assistant to open and close cases on my behalf is selected, select No under Automatically relist the item when case is closed with no payment.
5. Click the Save button.
Uploading files
Policy settings and transformer configuration files must be uploaded using the Admin App console. Feed files should be uploaded into the MIP file server directly, ideally, using automated scripts.
Important: Always upload the transformer configuration file before uploading feed files. The
transformer configuration file must be Active (as displayed in the MIP Admin App console) before feed files can be processed.
Before you place a file into the /{root} folder of a specific feed, confirm that the root directory does not already contain a file. If the /{root} folder contains a file, wait for it to be moved to the /inProcess
folder before a new feed. For example, if you upload a product feed, do not upload a second product feed until after the first one has completed processing.
When creating a zip file, do not compress the parent folder; instead, compress the primary folders together. For example, to compress the policy setting files, select all of the Basic, Item Location, etc., folders, and then compress those folders into a zip file.
Important: Zip files must not contain any hidden system files, such as a .DS_Store (Desktop
Services Store) file, which is a hidden file created by Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X operating system.
When naming the zip files to upload, factor that not all characters are supported in the file name. The table below shows which characters are supported and not supported:
Not supported Supported + a-z A-Z ? $ 0-9 / ) ( \ _ -: & # | ~ ' < , . > = % " ! @ * blank spaces
Feed processing overview
The purpose of this section is to help you validate that your implementation addresses the needs and expectations of each merchant. Data is uploaded to and from MIP in different types of feed files, all of which have feed specific best practices that are described in detail in these sections:
•Product feed best practices •Image feed best practices •Inventory feed best practices •Order feed best practices •Order Ack feed best practices •Shipment feed best practices
Read this section to review how the feeds are queued, how often they should be uploaded, how many SKUs can be uploaded at one time, and how long feeds take to be transformed. By reviewing these factors, you can ensure these functional areas are addressed before going live.
Before you begin the implementation, consider these factors:
• Product feeds should be uploaded before image and inventory feeds. Product, image, and inventory feeds cannot be processed simultaneously.
• MIP currently supports a maximum upload of 4MB per zip file. If your feed files exceed this size, split your feeds into multiple 4MB~ zip files.
• MIP processes one feed at a time per feed type in order to make sure that MIP has the latest product data.
• Each feed type forms a single queue of feeds for that type, and all feed queues are processed in parallel.
Important: Price and quantity data must be uploaded together in one file, not split between the
feed files.
Use the following image as a guideline for how often feeds should be uploaded to MIP. We recommend that merchants upload the feeds at regularly optimized intervals in order to get maximum MIP
throughput. Check the feed processing times per feed type below to help you determine the optimal uploading intervals.
In order for your data feeds to be processed in a timely manner, please factor these recommended time allocations for processing your feed files, based on number of SKUs per file. The 90th percentile time means that 90% of the feeds may be processed in less time.
Max. turnaround time 90th Percentile Total SKUs Feed type 90 minutes 60 minutes Up to 50,000 Product 60 minutes 30 minutes Up to 50,000 Inventory 60 minutes 30 minutes Up to 1,000 OrderAck 60 minutes 30 minutes Up to 1,000 Shipment
Product feed best practices
Data in the Product feed flows from the merchant's system to eBay and contains new items to post as well as changes made to existing items already posted.
Product feeds should contain all product information about your merchandise, and are primarily designed for adding and revising your listings. Because values for Price and Quantity can be uploaded in the Inventory feed, thereby reducing the upload processing time, they do need not be to defined in the Product feed.
Important: Price and quantity data must be uploaded together in one file, not split between the
eBay recommends that the product feed be uploaded once or twice each day, but not more frequently than once every half hour. Product feed files must not be larger than 4 megabytes in size, and if multiple feeds are required, upload one at a time. Wait until the first feed moves into the /inProcess folder before uploading a second feed file, and then proceed using this method.
Express feed best practices
This is an optional feed; a merchant must opt-in to use Express feeds. Data in the Express feed flows from the merchant's system to eBay and updates the quantity and price information for existing stock based on SKU. Only include SKU, price, and quantity data in an Express feed.
Express feeds can be scheduled to occur as often as once every 5 to 10 minutes, but should only be updated as often as necessary. For example, as prices for commodities change, use Express feeds to frequently update the price and quantity in your listings.
Note: Keep in mind there is a limit to how often a listing can change every 30 days. Listings
that are frequently updated should use a low listing duration time.
Express feed files must not be larger than 4 megabytes in size, so if multiple feeds are required, upload them one at a time. Only one Express feed can be processed a time. If multiple Express feeds are uploaded at the same time, then the second feed will be processed after the first one has completed. Consider these factors before uploading Express feeds:
• Express feeds can only apply to Active listings.
• Express feeds do not support the use of OriginalRetailPrice and MinimumAdvertisedPrice. • Express feeds do not support the use of the category mapping and look-up services.
• Express feeds do not support grouping. For example, getGroupColumnKey and Group variable in the transform function will not work.
Image feed best practices
Data in the Image feed flows from the merchant's system to eBay and contains new image URLs to apply to new and existing listings. Images are uploaded onto the eBay picture server, which enable features, like applying multiple main pictures for an item.
Note: Image feeds should only be used if you have multiple images for a single SKU, like with
variations. Otherwise, use the product feed to assign an image to an item (SKU).
Image feeds should contain the image URLs and corresponding SKUs or GroupID for your items, and are primarily designed for adding up to 12 images per item. Because images may change on a periodic basis, new image feeds purge and replace any existing images per SKU or (product) GroupID. Each listing should display a product image, and image files must meet these requirements: • Images should be more that 500 pixels
• Images should not have graffiti
• Stock images cannot be used when listings use catalog information and requires item condition values.
Important: Do not change the image URL unless the image changes. Doing so may cause
your listing to be blocked.
eBay recommends that the image feed be uploaded only when adding or changing images for the SKUs or products. Image feed files must not be larger than 4 megabytes in size, and if multiple feeds are required, upload one at a time. Wait until the first feed moves into the /inProcess folder before uploading a second feed file, and then proceed using this method.
Image feed files must meet these requirements:
• Image URLs per SKU must not exceed 3900 characters
• Image size (height by width) must be at least 20 pixels, but no more than 9000 pixels
• The HTTPS protocol must not used for image URLs; HTTPS is not supported in the target URL • When replacing images, change the URL for the new image. When you resend the product feed and
image feed with the new URL(s), it will appear in the listing.
• An image feed must be uploaded only after the product feed upload has been completed. Once the product feed upload has been successfully completed, upload the image feed. Once the image feed upload has been successfully completed, upload the inventory feed.
Note: In order for the images to be applied to a listing, an item's SKU must be processed by
MIP, which is why the inventory feed needs to be uploaded last. In the event the item's price and quantity is the product feed, you must upload the product feed again after the image feed upload has successfully completed.
Important: If Picture Pack is used for your images, fees will be incurred. For more information
about Picture Pack fees, go to the Fees for Selling on eBay page, and review the eBay picture hosting fees section.
Inventory feed best practices
This is an optional feed. Data in the Inventory feed flows from the merchant's system to eBay and updates the quantity and price information for existing stock based on SKU. Only include SKU, price, and quantity data in an Inventory feed.
Important: Do not use Inventory feeds to submit data for items that have not previously been
listed on eBay through MIP. Doing so can lead to a build-up of error messages in the log files, which can slow processing time.
Inventory feeds can be configured to occur as often as once an hour. Inventory feed files must not be larger than 4 megabytes in size, so if multiple feeds are required, upload them one at a time. Only one Inventory feed can be processed a time. If multiple Inventory feeds are uploaded at the same time, then the second feed will be processed after the first one has completed.
Important: Price and quantity data must be uploaded together in one file, not split between the
Order feed best practices
Data in the Order feed flows from eBay to the merchant's system and lists all orders placed on eBay during the past 30 days that have not been acknowledged by the Order Acknowledgment feed. This is the only feed sent from eBay to the merchant (all other feeds are uploaded by the merchant and submitted to eBay). This feed occurs every 30 minutes and this frequency cannot be changed.
Important: All order feeds must be in UTF-8 format.
Here are some factors to consider about the Orders feed from MIP:
• The Orders file retrieved from MIP will contain all orders from the last 30 days that have not already been acknowledged (via an Order ACK file).
• Make sure your scripts can handle multi-item orders as well as single item orders.
• Log every order you receive from MIP in a local database. You can use this database to check if any subsequent Order files contain an order that you've already received (maybe because the original Order ACK failed). This will help safeguard against processing duplicate orders.
If an unacknowledged order is entered into a merchant's system, it is likely done to determine if the order has been previously entered. If so, update the order. If not, create a new internal record. If the order's status is paid (or has been changed to paid), then the order can be packaged and shipped.
Acknowledging orders
Pocess and acknowledge only those orders for which you have been paid. Paid orders contain an entry in the PaymentClearedTime, BuyerPaymentTransactionNumber, and Shipping Address nodes in the Orders file.
Unpaid orders from new buyers do not contain information for the recipient name and recipient address fields (which are confirmed at final checkout). However, it is possible to obtain the buyer's eBay registration name through the Order feed for unpaid orders.
Note: Because the eBay registration name and shipping recipient name can differ, it may appear
as though the buyer's name changed between the commitment to buy and payment. However, his is not the case. This occurs because you now have the buyer's confirmed shipping address after the payment has been processed.
Unpaid orders contain no values for PaymentClearedTime, BuyerPaymentTransactionNumber, or for the name and address fields, because these fields can only be confirmed during final checkout. If there are no orders to process, you receive an empty file. However, when using an XML format file, MIP may send an order file containing only this error message Order Report is not available. Make sure you can handle an empty order file and also this intermittent message.
Important: Refunded transactions may reappear when orders with CheckoutStatus.PaymentMethod and CheckoutStatus.eBayPaymentStatus combine to indicate an incomplete order. In this case, build logic to ignore orders that have been processed by your order management system.
Determining CheckoutStatus
When you accept payments from PayPal, ship an order only when the following statement is true:
CheckoutStatus.Status == "Complete" && CheckoutStatus.eBayPaymentStatus == "NoPaymentFailure" && PaymentClearedTime != null/empty
Note: This statement does not include an entry for PaymentHoldStatus.
For more information on CheckoutStatus, see the eBay API Reference.
Handling single-item versus multiple-item orders
Order reference numbers differ for single-item and multiple-item orders (order reference numbers appear in the Order, Order Acknowledgment, and Shipment feeds).
Paid orders that contain multiple items will have an OrderID in the format nnnnnnnnnnn (where nnn..
is a number). Each item will belong to an OrderLineItemID that will be in the format
xxxxxxxxxxx-yyyyyyyyyyy (where xxx... and yyy... are different numbers).
Single item orders and unpaid multi-item orders have OrderIDs in this format xxxxxxxxxxx-yyyyyyyyyyy
(where xxx... and yyy... are different numbers). There will be one OrderLineItemID that will have the
same format and numbers as the OrderID, i.e.xxxxxxxxxxx-yyyyyyyyyyy.
Note: When an unpaid multi-item order becomes paid it's OrderID will change from this format
xxxxxxxxxxx-yyyyyyyyyyy to this formatnnnnnnnnnnn, but the OrderLineItemID will remain in this format xxxxxxxxxxx-yyyyyyyyyyy.
If a customer buys two items, but does not use checkout, each item will have a separate OrderID code, like 1234-8888 and 2222-3333. The OrderLineItemIDs will also be 1234-8888 and 2222-3333,
respectively.
When the items are paid for together, eBay packages them up in a single OrderID (44887), but the OrderLineItemIDs of each individual item will still be 1234-8888 and 2222-3333
Order Ack feed best practices
Data in the Order Acknowledge feed flows from the merchant's system to eBay and confirms the paid orders that have been imported into your order management system. Once you acknowledge an order, it never again appears in the Order feed. eBay recommends that this feed be scheduled to occur whenever orders are imported into your (merchant) systems.
Shipment feed best practices
Data in the Shipment feed flows from the merchant's system to eBay and flags items on the My eBay pages of the respective buyers and sellers as shipped.
The Shipment feed must contain a value for tracking reference, such as SHIPMENT.ShippingCarrier. If you enter a value for SHIPMENT.TrackingNumber, you must include a value for
SHIPMENT.ShippingCarrier.
eBay recommends that this feed occur whenever items leave your warehouse. For example, once per day.
Using the eBay metadata files
Some of the policy files and product feeds have fields that require predefined metadata values. eBay provides these field values in site-specific compressed files that can be extracted, and then opened using a spreadsheet application. Download and extract these files before you begin working on your policy and product feed files.
Using the general metadata files
After extracting a metadata file, open it in a recent version of a spreadsheet program (like Excel 2007 or later). The general metadata file contains these worksheets:
• Category Specific Metadata: Provides supported values for the Product feed PRODUCT.Category and PRODUCT.Condition script fields. This file also provides category-specific information about Item Specifics, Variations, Product Creation, Max Flat Shipping Cost, Immediate Payment support, and accepted Payment Methods.
Tip: Not all worksheets are initially visible; use the arrow buttons to horizontally scroll to the
right to see the subsequent worksheets.
• Country: Provides supported eBay site values.
• Currency: Provides supported values for the Basics policy Currency field.
• Payment Method: Provides supported values for the Payment Options policy Payment Method fields. • Return Policy: Provides supported values for the Return Policy policy fields.
• Handling Time: Provides supported values for the Domestic Shipping policy Handling Time field. • Domestic Shipping Service: Provides supported values for the Domestic Shipping policy Shipping
Service fields.
• International Shipping Service: Provides supported values for the International Shipping policy Shipping Service fields.
• Exclude Shipping Location: Provides supported values for the International Shipping policy Exclude Shipping Location fields.
• Shipping Location: Provides supported values for the Item Location policy Item Country field, and the International Shipping policy Shipping Location and Include Shipping Location fields.
To download the eBay general metadata zip file for your region, click the appropriate link below: •eBayGeneralMetadata-AU.zip •eBayGeneralMetadata-CA.zip •eBayGeneralMetadata-DE.zip •eBayGeneralMetadata-ES.zip •eBayGeneralMetadata-FR.zip •eBayGeneralMetadata-IT.zip •eBayGeneralMetadata-UK.zip •eBayGeneralMetadata-US.zip
•eBayGeneralMetadata-Motors.zip
These values must be entered in the policy file and product feed exactly as they appear in the worksheets.
Using the item and variation specifics metadata files
After extracting a metadata file, open it in a recent version of a spreadsheet program (like Excel 2007 or later). The item specific metadata files are organized in category-based files, not worksheets. Open the file that best matches the category of your product(s).
To download the eBay item and variation specific metadata zip file for your region, click the appropriate link below: •eBayItemVariationSpecificsMetadata-AU.zip •eBayItemVariationSpecificsMetadata-DE.zip •eBayItemVariationSpecificsMetadata-FR.zip •eBayItemVariationSpecificsMetadata-UK.zip •eBayItemVariationSpecificsMetadata-US.zip
These values must be entered in the policy file and product feed exactly as they appear in the worksheets.
Modifying a Store Policy file
The PolicySamples.zip file contains samples for the following policy types:
• Basics: Defines basic information, such as the currency, whether to use a tax table. • Item Location: Defines the location from where the product will be shipped.
• Domestic Shipping: Defines the domestic shipping options and their associated costs. • International Shipping: Defines the international shipping options and their associated costs. • Payment Options: Defines accepted payment methods, and payment instructions and restrictions. • Return Policy: Defines your policy for returning items
The International Shipping policy is optional if you do not wish to ship orders to different regions and/or countries.
To modify a policy file, simply open it in a text editor and make the necessary changes. For example, a Payment Options policy file looks like this:
{
"Policy Type": "Payment Options", "Policy Name": "PayPalOnly", "Payment Method #1": "PayPal",
"Immediate Payment Required": "true",
"PayPal Email Address": "[email protected]" }
No two policies can have the same name, regardless of whether they have different Policy Types. For a list of fields and applicable values for the various policies, refer to:Store Policy fields.
Policy file structure
All policies have two fields in common: the Policy Type and Policy Name. The Policy Type indicates the type of policy. The Policy Name is the unique name that defines which policy file to use in the Product transformer configuration javascript file. For example:
PRODUCT.Policy.PaymentOptions = "PayPalOnly";
You can have more than one policy (~.json) file per policy type. Some policy files, like payment methods and shipping services, can have multiple options, like Payment Method #1, Payment Methd #2, etc. within the same policy file.
Synchronizing the Policy File changes with the Product transformer configuration file
When you modify or add Policy files, the Product transformer configuration files may also need to be modified. For example, let's say you change the Item Location policy file Policy Name from "Fresno" to "London". In the Product transformer configuration javascript file, the ItemLocation value to "London" as well. //Adding Profiles PRODUCT.Policy["Basics"] = "SiteDefault"; PRODUCT.Policy["ItemLocation"] = "London" ; PRODUCT.Policy["PaymentOptions"] = "PayPalOnly"; PRODUCT.Policy["ReturnPolicy"] = "ReturnsOKWithin30Days"; PRODUCT.Policy["DomesticShipping"] = "FlatShipping"; PRODUCT.Policy["InternationalShipping"] = "MyInternationalShipping";
Overriding Policy file information
If you have one or more products that have unique shipping costs, handling times, item locations, and postal codes, you can override the policy-defined information for certain products. At this time, only overrides to domestic and international shipping costs (Cost, Additonal Cost, and Surcharge Cost), handling time, item location and postal code are supported.
Policy overrides need to be defined in the Product feed file. The policy override code string must follow this format:PRODUCT.PolicyOverride[<PolicyType>][<PolicyField>] = <Value>;
For example, lets' say you want to increase the domestic shipping cost for one of your products. In the product feed entry for that item, add this code string:PolicyOverride["DomesticShipping"]["Shipping Service #1 - Cost"] = 9.99;
If you have multiple shipping policies which have a different number of shipping services in each, there is one factor to consider. Let's say you have two shipping policies, Policy 1 and Policy 2:
Policy1 specifies two shipping services: • Shipping Services #1
• Shipping Services #2
Policy2 specifies three shipping services: • Shipping Services #1
• Shipping Services #2 • Shipping Services #3
If a Product feed has override values for 3 Shipping Services, then the override will not apply to Policy 1.
Upload the modified policy and transformer configuration zip
files
Once you have completed making changes to your policy and transformer configuration files, perform these tasks before uploading these zip files:
• Zip the policy folders: When you zip these folders, zip the primary folders together (Basic, Item Location, etc.), and then rename the zip file for easy identification. Do not zip the individual folders.
Important: Do no zip the parent folder (PolicyFeed-Sample.zip) that contains these primary
folders.
• Zip the transformer folders: When you zip these folders, zip the primary folders together (product, image, inventory, etc.), and then rename the zip file for easy identification. Do not zip the individual folders.
Important: Do no zip the parent folder (Transformer-*-Sample.zip) that contains these primary
In order for policy and transformer configuration updates to occur, a product or inventory feed needs to be subsequently uploaded, even if they have not been changed. To begin, open your SFTP client and establish a connection to the MIP file server.
To upload the policy and transformer configuration zip files using an SFTP client:
1. In the SFTP client, expand the store folder. Drag and drop the transformer configuration zip file into the config-spec folder on the MIP file server.
The upload process may take a few minutes to complete. Before proceeding, make sure the file has been copied to the /config-spec/inprocess folder.
2. In the SFTP client, drag and drop the store policy zip file into the policy folder on the MIP file server. The upload process may take a few minutes to complete. Before proceeding, make sure the file has been copied to the /policy/inprocess folder.
3. Go to the Summary page (My eBay > Summary). 4. Click Active listings under Listing Activity.
Modifying the transformer configuration script files
Using the javascript files that you upload to MIP, you provide instructions to the MIP transformation engine. The end-results can include listings on eBay and updates to those listings. The template files on which your transformer configuration is based are located in Transformer-Sample file, which includes commented code.Note: Please review all of the commented functions in the files in Transformer-Sample file.
The MIP transformation engine transforms your feeds into listings and other data on eBay. As shown by the folder structure in Transformer-Sample file, the javascript files are used in the following types of operations:
• Product: Transforms your product feed into eBay listings • Image: Transforms your image data in your eBay listings
• Express: Transforms your price and quantity data in your eBay listings, much like inventory, but more rapidly.
• Inventory: Transforms your price and quantity data in your eBay listings
• Order: Processes order information received from eBay (every 30 minutes, eBay provides a feed of the orders that you have not yet acknowledged using an OrderACK feed
• OrderAck: Provides the information necessary to acknowledge that you've received an order from MIP
• Shipment: Updates orders with shipment tracking information.
Requirements of the MIP transformer configuration processor
After you upload your transformer configuration (e.g., a modified version of Transformer-Sample file), the MIP transformation processor can use your transformer configuration on your feeds. For example, when you upload a product feed, the MIP transformer configuration loads the main.js file located in the product folder of your transformation configuration.As shown by the main.js file in each folder in Transformer-Sample file, for each type of transformation (product, image, inventory, etc.), you must have a main.js file.
As shown by the mapping-base.js file in each folder in Transformer-Sample file, the functions must be implemented in your Javascript files, and are called by the transformation processor for all the feeds.
Important: The javascript functions have been improved and updated in the sample files. Refer
to the sample files on the MIP home page for function reference implementation information. The retired functions will continue to work, as the transformer configuration processor is backwards compatible, but using the new functions are recommended.
JavaScript libraries are also automatically loaded and available for use by merchants in their scripts. These provide different utilities that would be hard to write from scratch:
•http://lodash.com/
•https://github.com/epeli/underscore.string#readme •http://momentjs.com/
Look-up Service functions
The look-up service function provides merchants with a way to determine multiple key and value correlations. For example, a merchant's clothing size values are Small, Medium, and Large, but eBay's size values are S, M, and L. The look-up service function enables merchants to define how their keys and values correlate to the eBay equivalents.
Key and value sets are used to correlate the two sets of keys and values. For example, a merchant has product category keys and values, and wants to match them to eBay's product category keys and values. A table of these correlations would look like this:
eBay category ID eBay category name
Merchant category ID Merchant category
name
51188 Cell Phones and accessories > Cell
Phones and Smart Phones 2315 Smart Phones ... ... ... ...
Column 0 (first column) correlates to column 2, and column 1 correlates to column 3. The methods used and specific examples are provided later in this section.
Keys and values can be defined in a delimited file or an Excel workbook, and must adhere to these requirements:
• All sheet names must be unique across all workbooks
• Within a given sheet or delimited file, keys must be unique. For example, the following sheet would fail because the keys in the first and third rows are not unique.
Value 2 Value 1 Key 2 Key 1 2 1 b a 4 3 d c 6 5 b a
To use the lookup service, the column numbers should be defined in the Javascript config() function.
Note: The keyColumns/valueColumns are 0 index-based.
The following methods are available on the global instance of the LOOKUP_SERVICE: • For loading Excel-based files (with sheets), use:
void loadAllSheets(String fileName, int[] keyColumns, int[] valueColumns); void loadSheet(String fileName, String sheetName, int[] keyColumns, int[] valueColumns);
Note: loadAllSheets assumes key/value columns for all sheets are the same.
• For loading delimited files (CSV), use:
void loadDelimitedFile(String fileName, char delimiter, int[] keyColumns, int[] valueColumns);
• Once a sheet/file is loaded, the Getters return the values with associated key(s):
String[] get(String sheetOrFileName, String[] keys); String[] get(String sheetOrFileName, String key);
The following code samples provide information about the category, item specifics, and variation methods.
Category example
Example filename: CategoryLookup.xls, with SheetName Categories:
eBay category ID eBay category name
Merchant category ID Merchant category name
627 Clothing>Women's>Shoes 892 Women's shoes 688 Clothing>Men's>Shoes 893 Men's shoes ... ... ... ... function config() { ... LOOKUP_SERVICE.loadSheet(“CategoryLookup.xls”, “Categories”, [1], [3]); } function transform() { ... PRODUCT.CategoryID = LOOKUP_SERVICE.get( “Categories”, PRODUCT_INRECORD.MyCatId.toString()); }
Item Specifics example
Example filename: ItemSpecificsLookup.xls, with SheetName ItemSpecifics:
eBay Item Specific Value eBay Item Specific Name
Merchant Item Specific Value Merchant Item Specific Name Merchant category ID Merchant category name S Size (Men's) Small Size 627 Clothing>Women's shoes M Size (Men's) Medium Size 627 Clothing>Women's shoes ... ... ... ... ... ... 30x32 Waist Size (Men's)
30x32 Size 695 Clothing>Men's pants ... ... ... function config() { ... LOOKUP_SERVICE.loadSheet(“ItemSpecificsLookup.xls”, “ItemSpecifics”, [1,2,3], [4,5]);
//Note how Column 0 and Column 6 are not loaded }
function transform() { ...
var itemSpecific = LOOKUP_SERVICE.get( “ItemSpecifics”, [catId, name, value] );
PRODUCT.ItemSpecifics[ itemSpecific[0] ] = itemSpecific[1]; }
Variations example
Example filename: SpecificsLookupTwo.xls, with SheetName VariableValues:
eBay Value#3 eBay Value#2 eBay Value#1 eBay Name Merchant Value Merchant Name Merchant category ID Merchant category name Mini-DVI HDMI Audio/Video inputs HDMI+MiniDVI Inputs 917 Consumer Electronics > TVs S-Video Audio/Video inputs SVideo Inputs 917 Consumer Electronics > TVs ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Browsing Home Streaming Downloadable Apps Smart TV features InternetPlus Video Extras 917 Consumer Electronics > TVs ... ... ... ... function config() { ... LOOKUP_SERVICE.loadSheet(“SpecificsLookupTwo.xls”, “VariableValues”, [1,2,3], [4,5,6,7]); } function transform() { ...
//Returns [“Audio/Video Inputs”, “HDMI”, “Mini-DVI”, "null"]
LOOKUP_SERVICE.get(“VariableValues”, [“917”,”Inputs”,”HDMI+MiniDVI"] );
//Returns [“Audio/Video Inputs”, “S-Video”, "null", "null"] LOOKUP_SERVICE.get(“VariableValues”, [“917”,”Inputs”,”SVideo”] );
//Returns [“Smart TV Features”, “Downloadable Apps”, “Home Streaming”, “Browsing”]
LOOKUP_SERVICE.get(“VariableValues”, [“917”,”Extras”,”InternetPlusVideo”] ); }
Open the Transformer Configuration sample file
Previously, when downloading the sample files, you should have downloaded the Transformer-Sample file.You can use this file to create your custom transformer configuration. The transformer configuration file contains these primary folders:
• product: Contains the JavaScript files used to process your product CSV and XML feeds • image: Contains the JavaScript files used to process your image CSV and XML feeds • inventory: Contains the JavaScript files used to process your inventory CSV and XML feeds • order: Contains the JavaScript files used to process your order CSV and XML feeds
• order-ack: Contains the JavaScript files used to process your order acknowledgment CSV and XML feeds
• shipment: Contains the JavaScript files used to process your tracking information CSV and XML feeds
• template: Contains the description.html file used to provide supplemental information in your eBay listings
To modify the transformer configuration template:
1. Extract the XML or CSV Transformer Sample zip file to a known location on your computer. 2. In each of the folders, there is a feed-type.js file (like shipment.js in the shipment folder). These
are the files you will use to customize the transformer configuration. Each feed-type.js file contains the code for transforming feed data. For example, in the product product.js file, the
CONFIG.FileFormat = variable must have the value "CSV" or "XML", depending on the type of feeds (CSV or XML) uploaded.
3. Use the commented code in the feed-type.js files in the Transformer-Sample file, or those in the sample files, to determine how to customize these JavaScript files for your feeds.
Creating In Store Pick-up listings
MIP enables you to sell products online and have customers pick up the items in your store. In order to do this, you first need to:
• Have MIP fully-integrated with your product inventory system
• Have working product feed files that provide all the title, description, SKU, price, etc. information for the items you want customers to be able to pick up in your store(s)
• Contact Developer Technical Support (DTS) and request to be opted in to the In Store Pick-up program. In the United Kingdom, the program is called Click and Collect.
Note: Perform this procedure in the Sandbox environment for testing and verification before
uploading the files into the production environment.
To create product listings that enable buyers to pick-up the items in your store, follow these steps: 1. Open the transformer configuration folder, which contains the product, inventory, etc. folders. 2. Open the transformation configuration product script file (in the product folder), and add the In Store
Pick-up flag. For example:
Example / Values Description
MIP Field
PRODUCT.PickupInStore = "True"
For items that can be picked up in a store. This field may be used alone or with PRODUCT.eBayNowEligible. PRODUCT.PickupInStore
Note: For more information about Product feed script fields, refer to Product script fields.
3. Open the StoreLocations folder in the Transformer Configuration folder. The StoreLocations folder contains main.js and mapping-base.js files.
4. Using the mapping-base.js file, map your StoreLocations feed file data to the mapping-base.js
file following the instructions in Store Locations script fields.
5. When you are finished, zip the complete Transformer Configuration folder, and upload it using the MIP Admin App console.
6. Zip the Store Locations feed file, and upload it to the Store Locations folder on the SFTP server. 7. Create a Store Inventory feed file following the instructions in Store Inventory feed fields.
Note: The Store Inventory feed must be in .CSV format, and the file must be gzipped.
8. Gzip the store inventory feed file, and upload it to the Store Inventory folder on the SFTP server. 9. Update your Order feed file following the instructions below .
Example / Values Description
MIP Field
InStorePickup or for UK only, ShipToStore
How the buyer picks up the item. PickupMethod
1 Designates this item has priority
PickupPriority
10. Zip the Orders feed file,
