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Greetyings to everyone from a new seller to eCrater
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NikkiDesignerfabric



Posts: 7

PostPosted: Wed Sep 02, 2015 9:07 am    Post subject: Greetyings to everyone from a new seller to eCrater Reply with quote

Hello everyone, I'm Nikki of Nikki Designer Fabric,

I'm new to eCrater & trying to set up a store here. I'd really appreciate any & all help I can get from you seasoned pros !

My husband & I are retired & to augment our retirement we sell fabric for womenwear & menswear on Ebay. We decided it was time to have our own website. ECrater just looked like the right solution for us.

1. I just imported my items from my Ebay & have 1570 items out of the 1700 I have on Ebay. Should I delete these & try importing them again ?

2. Is there a mass edit feauture that I can use to sort & place items into my Category & sub categories ?

3. It assigned "Used" to all the items can I mass edit that on all my items as they are all new.

4. I'd also like to mass delete sections that I put in specifically on Ebay, any way to search & replace or delete words & phrases ?

Sorry for all these questions, I just can imagine having to go through each of thr 1700 items to make changes !

All help will be greatly appreciated !

Thanks,
Nikki
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tigercreekgifts



Posts: 6293

PostPosted: Wed Sep 02, 2015 9:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Welcome!

As for the ebay import, do NOT delete what you have already imported!!!

You can only import a particular item from ebay ONE time so if you delete what has already been imported and you try it again, the 2nd time only the items that did not get transferred with the first import will be moved over and you will have to manually transfer all of those others items again, one by one.

Example: You have 500 items to import, but the import tool makes a mistake and only transfers 300 of your items here to ecrater. Run the import tool again, and this time it will attempt to locate the 200 products it initially skipped over on accident and pull those 200 items over to ecrater too.

However, delete all 300 items that were transferred first and run the importer again and it will still only pull over the remaining 200 items that did not get transferred on the first try and will tell you that it cannot re-import the other 300 items because you already imported them once before and each item can only be imported ONCE. So if you do it this way, you will basically be trading the 300 items currently transferred over with the 200 newest items it grabs on the 2nd try and will end up having to move those original 300 items back over here manually, one by one. I hope for your sake that you did not already delete the products that were already transferred? Just run the ebay tool once more but don't delete anything. I think you can keep running the import tool until everything is transferred over but if it happens too many more times, only pulling over a few items at a time, contact ecrater.

No, there is no mass edit feature for what you are trying to do. The global editor can change prices and a few things for multiple times at a time, but for ebay imports you have to go thru each item manually. Add characters to your titles because ecrater allows way more characters than what ebay does (you can add more keywords to your titles), remove anything in your descriptions about auctions, bidding etc. as we don't have auctions here ecrater is set up for buy it now only and buyers don't have the option to wait around several days before paying so having any ebay-like info in your descriptions will confuse buyers here. Also, you will need to assign each item, one by one, to a category within your store and also check to make sure the items were assigned to the correct assumed global marketplace category. Some of the categories here on ecrater are different from ebay's so it's not uncommon for an imported item to be placed in the wrong global marketplace category by ecrater during the transfer.

You also need to edit your shipping info because the import tool does not usually pull your shipping info over as well, so many times, imported ebay items will show as having free shipping. PUT YOUR STORE ON HOLD until you can go thru each item and edit these things or else you may end up having sales and find that every single item you sell that you imported from ebay, is being sold with free shipping.
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SheilaDeesPostcards
moderator


Posts: 4614

PostPosted: Wed Sep 02, 2015 9:55 am    Post subject: Re: Greetyings to everyone from a new seller to eCrater Reply with quote

Welcome to eCRATER. I agree with every thing Tiger said about deleting and then trying to import again. This is not an action you want to take.

NikkiDesignerfabric wrote:
3. It assigned "Used" to all the items can I mass edit that on all my items as they are all new.

4. I'd also like to mass delete sections that I put in specifically on Ebay, any way to search & replace or delete words & phrases ?


In your admin section, check out the Global Editor. You can use the "Set product Condition" to change all listings to new. You can also use it to change all items in a store category. If you have a block of text that is the same in every item, that block of text can be deleted and/or replaced using the Global Editor. Again, this would either be a storewide action or an action applied to every item in a store category.
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AtMemoryLane



Posts: 510

PostPosted: Wed Sep 02, 2015 10:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hello and welcome.

Interesting shop. I will let others that are experienced eCratites give you the heads up on your questions. I just wanted to say - welcome aboard and good luck.
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NikkiDesignerfabric



Posts: 7

PostPosted: Wed Sep 02, 2015 10:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you !

I will follow your instructions to the letter and run the import tool again.

So to make sure I understand , I will start editing my items, place them in the correct category & get rid of everything I don't need relating to Ebay.

I do have everything on hold. Can I activate the store once I have hit the 500 item mark & then keep on working on the rest , adding them as I get them edited or do I need to wait till I get them all done before I can have them active & available for sale ? In other word can I activate certain items & still have the rest on hold ?

Thanks again,
Nikki
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NikkiDesignerfabric



Posts: 7

PostPosted: Wed Sep 02, 2015 10:08 am    Post subject: Re: Greetyings to everyone from a new seller to eCrater Reply with quote

That is exactly waht I was hoping for !!!

Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know.

This is such a welcoming & helpful community.

What a pleasure !

Thanks again.

Nikki



SheilaDeesPostcards wrote:
Welcome to eCRATER. I agree with every thing Tiger said about deleting and then trying to import again. This is not an action you want to take.

NikkiDesignerfabric wrote:
3. It assigned "Used" to all the items can I mass edit that on all my items as they are all new.

4. I'd also like to mass delete sections that I put in specifically on Ebay, any way to search & replace or delete words & phrases ?


In your admin section, check out the Global Editor. You can use the "Set product Condition" to change all listings to new. You can also use it to change all items in a store category. If you have a block of text that is the same in every item, that block of text can be deleted and/or replaced using the Global Editor. Again, this would either be a storewide action or an action applied to every item in a store category.
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NikkiDesignerfabric



Posts: 7

PostPosted: Wed Sep 02, 2015 10:11 am    Post subject: Thanks ! Reply with quote

Thanks for taking the time !

I am thrilled to have found & decided to go with eCrater. The community here is so kind & welcoming !

Thanks again,
Nikki


AtMemoryLane wrote:
Hello and welcome.

Interesting shop. I will let others that are experienced eCratites give you the heads up on your questions. I just wanted to say - welcome aboard and good luck.
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tigercreekgifts



Posts: 6293

PostPosted: Wed Sep 02, 2015 10:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You can have some items on hold while others remain visible but this is also something that has to be done manually. If you place your entire store on hold, your items will remain visible in your store but instead of a buy it now button, the button will say on hold with a big X indicating that the items are available but cannot be added to your shopping cart and the items will disappear from the marketplace and be hidden from buyer's views. So a complete store hold is not the option you want for that but the only way to hide items individually is to do this manually.

I doubt you want to go thru each item, hide it one by one, then go back thru each item again to edit and unhide them one by one. Unless the global editor has a function to hide all items, but last I checked I don't think it does. So your best option is to place the entire store on hold. I wish they had an easier work around for the ebay import tool as this can be frustrating but at this time, there is no easier way to do this. But try to get everything imported over quickly because after so many days on ebay if you are not relisting your items over there, ebay deletes them from your unsold items history so get it moved over quickly or you may find that you're stuck relisting every item from scratch.
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SheilaDeesPostcards
moderator


Posts: 4614

PostPosted: Wed Sep 02, 2015 10:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nikki, I just took a few minutes to look over your store. You REALLY need to put your store on hold until you work out some of the basics. Under "More Options" just click on On Hold. At this moment you could have an international sale with $0.00 shipping to be sent COD. I'm sure that is NOT what you wanted. The COD is the eCRATER default until you set a payment method.

PayPal Direct will require "instant payment". PayPal Standard will work more like PayPal on eBay except you don't have to chase non-paying buyers. Also, items are not removed from sale here until the customer pays, assuming you have inventory control set, otherwise, the item is available for sale until you hid the item.

Your store is showing the default USPS calculated shipping. If this is the method you want to use, you'll need to make sure you have correct shipping weights added to each item and you need to select the type of shipping you want to allow your customers to use. NOTE: this will apply to every item. Unless every item can be shipped in a small flat rate box, don't give the customer that option! You can use that option, but don't give the customer that option. If you would rather add the shipping to each item, that is an option (However, when the postage rates change, you're going to have to manually change each one.)

You will get there, but I didn't want your first sale to be a problem for you.
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NikkiDesignerfabric



Posts: 7

PostPosted: Wed Sep 02, 2015 10:43 am    Post subject: Oh WOW ! Reply with quote

I just put the store on hold ( I thought I had, but obviously I hadn't !)

So I would need to set shipping weights for all items for International sales ? I had them in the Ebay listings but maybe that doesn't import.

I also see that it only imported 1 picture per item even though I had several pics on most Ebay items. Did I miss something ?

I will also take off COD as a payment option ! Can't afford that.

I use calculated shipping for International buyers & do free shipping for items over $100 or flat rate of either $3.99 or $5.95 for Domestic. basicly depind on th eprice of the item or size. I think I can use Global editor for that.

I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help !

Thanks.

SheilaDeesPostcards wrote:
Nikki, I just took a few minutes to look over your store. You REALLY need to put your store on hold until you work out some of the basics. Under "More Options" just click on On Hold. At this moment you could have an international sale with $0.00 shipping to be sent COD. I'm sure that is NOT what you wanted. The COD is the eCRATER default until you set a payment method.

PayPal Direct will require "instant payment". PayPal Standard will work more like PayPal on eBay except you don't have to chase non-paying buyers. Also, items are not removed from sale here until the customer pays, assuming you have inventory control set, otherwise, the item is available for sale until you hid the item.

Your store is showing the default USPS calculated shipping. If this is the method you want to use, you'll need to make sure you have correct shipping weights added to each item and you need to select the type of shipping you want to allow your customers to use. NOTE: this will apply to every item. Unless every item can be shipped in a small flat rate box, don't give the customer that option! You can use that option, but don't give the customer that option. If you would rather add the shipping to each item, that is an option (However, when the postage rates change, you're going to have to manually change each one.)

You will get there, but I didn't want your first sale to be a problem for you.
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SheilaDeesPostcards
moderator


Posts: 4614

PostPosted: Wed Sep 02, 2015 11:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Your store is now on hold! Check this link in the FAQ section of the forum http://community.ecrater.com/viewtopic.php?t=2461 and scroll down close to the bottom on page 1. There is a chart to convert ounces to decimal pounds that will help with the shipping weights. In other words, if something weights 5 ounces you'll need to enter it as 0.3125 (Note the leading zero). If it weights 1 lb 11 ounces you would enter it as 1.6875. I keep a print-out of the chart by my computer for quick reference.

Using the USPS calculated shipping for international works great, just select the international methods you want to use. Your US shipping will require a little thought. You could just omit all domestic shipping methods in the USPS chart. That would cause the system to default to either the shipping matrix or the item page rate. There you could add shipping for higher dollar items and leave blank for free shipping, BUT you would have a problem if they bought $100 dollars total worth of multiple lower cost items. You may want to think about this a little bit. Hopefully I've pointed you in the right direction and now I've got to leave to run errands.
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NikkiDesignerfabric



Posts: 7

PostPosted: Wed Sep 02, 2015 11:24 am    Post subject: Thanks so ver very much ! Reply with quote

You have really got this all down pat !
I'm so lucky to have you look at the post when you did.

Thanks again.
Nikki

SheilaDeesPostcards wrote:
Your store is now on hold! Check this link in the FAQ section of the forum http://community.ecrater.com/viewtopic.php?t=2461 and scroll down close to the bottom on page 1. There is a chart to convert ounces to decimal pounds that will help with the shipping weights. In other words, if something weights 5 ounces you'll need to enter it as 0.3125 (Note the leading zero). If it weights 1 lb 11 ounces you would enter it as 1.6875. I keep a print-out of the chart by my computer for quick reference.

Using the USPS calculated shipping for international works great, just select the international methods you want to use. Your US shipping will require a little thought. You could just omit all domestic shipping methods in the USPS chart. That would cause the system to default to either the shipping matrix or the item page rate. There you could add shipping for higher dollar items and leave blank for free shipping, BUT you would have a problem if they bought $100 dollars total worth of multiple lower cost items. You may want to think about this a little bit. Hopefully I've pointed you in the right direction and now I've got to leave to run errands.
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thelivesandlovesofmaggiethecat



Posts: 10158

PostPosted: Wed Sep 02, 2015 8:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Welcome to eCRATER. You have some lovely fabrics and laces.

I noticed that you run a lot of your words together. This will bring search engines to an abrupt halt because they can't read it. This will not produce sales.
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SheilaDeesPostcards
moderator


Posts: 4614

PostPosted: Wed Sep 02, 2015 10:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

thelivesandlovesofmaggiethecat wrote:
. . . I noticed that you run a lot of your words together. This will bring search engines to an abrupt halt because they can't read it. This will not produce sales.
Maggie, she did an import and she was using an HTML template on the other site. The eCRATER import doesn't handle HTML templates well and causes the run on words. When templates are imported, the listings require a lot of cleanup. This was why I strongly feel we need a catagory hold and this seller's situation was what reminded me of the real need we continue to have for this feature.
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tigercreekgifts



Posts: 6293

PostPosted: Fri Sep 04, 2015 4:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nooe, I mentioned earlier that the shipping does not usually get imported over so you need to fill that out or you will be required to ship the items as is with free shipping as we are not allowed to contact the buyer after they pay and ask for more money because what they paid was not enough for shipping, even if it wasn't intentional.

However, I have refused international orders because I had a glitch once and somehow an international buyer was able to place an order, two actually and I have never accepted outside U.S. orders so I just refused them and refunded them because they were charged U.S. shipping rates. Ecrater confirmed it was a glitch because I have never had anything set up in my store for international orders and I did not change anything when that happened so I felt I wasn't responsible to eat $23 worth of shipping and not make a dime on my order by accepting an order to a country I didn't even have on my matrix as an accepted country.

But yes, only one picture imports too, you have to re-upload all the others. They really did not make the ebay tool easy to use by any means.
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