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Speed Up with eBay program

eBay launches the Speed Up program directed to Spanish PYME

The Speed Up program makes easier the expansion of the e-Commerce, offering a very useful guide about how to sell on eBay, specialized counselling and a special promo of using an eBay shop for free during 90 days.

eBay, the global trading platform, pretends with this program to help Spanish PYMES to increase their e-Commerce sales (nationally and internationally).

eBay product identifiers and frequent question about SUPI

Here you can find a list with some of the most frequent questions about the eBay product identifiers and SUPI application.

  • FAQ.EN
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  • 1. What are the product identifiers?
     

    The identifier are codes that you can usually find in the label of the product or as an encrypted image in the barcodes of the articles.

    • BRAND
    • REFERENCE NUMBER OF THE MANUFACTURER (MPN)
    • GLOBAL NUMBER OF COMMERCIAL ARTICLE (GTIN)
      • EAN-13
      • UPC-A
      • ISBN
  • 2. Which are the advantages of using the product identifiers?
     
    • They allow the buyers to find faster the products, both on eBay as on Google Shopping.
    • They increase the visibility of the ads in the results of the searches on Google Shopping.
    • They improve the SEO positioning, getting the attraction of more buyers to the ads.
  • 3. Is the EAN national or international?
     

    The EAN is an international number, as an adopted standard all over the world except EE.UU and Canada. The EAN codes are similar to UPC, but the EAN codes have 13 digits. The products on sell out of EE.UU have an standard barcode (EAN), however, the products on sale in EE.UU and Canada need an UPC barcode.

  • 4. Where can I find out the EAN of my product on the Internet?
     

    There are websites and API’s external to eBay (http://www.programmableweb.com/api/open-eangtin-database, http://eandata.com, http://www.decept.co.uk/ean-lookup) where you can search EAN codes from titles or descriptions of products. However, they only contain subsets of the total of existing products, so the best alternative is asking for the information to the manufacturer.

  • 5. How can I generate an EAN and its cost?
     

    EAN standards are managed by GS1 (formerly known as International EAN) and UCC (Uniform Code Council). If you don’t have yet the EAN of your products, you can generate them on http://www.gs1es.org/ (we recommend you search some information about the associated costs).

  • 6. If my product doesn’t have EAN or equivalent, how do I indicate it on eBay’s system?
     

    eBay allows the use of some default values when the EAN or MPN are unknown. In the case of Spain, the value that you should use is “No aplicable”.

  • 7. From when is mandatory the insertion of the product identifiers in eBay’s ads?
     

    From 1st March 2016 is mandatory introducing the product identifiers in seller’s ads.

  • 8. Does this norm include the identifiers of second hand products?
     

    No, it doesn’t. The norm should be just applicated to new products ads.

  • 9. In which eBay categories is mandatory the inclusion of the product identifiers?
     
    • Baby
    • Beauty
    • Camera & photo
    • Home & garden
    • DVD & films
    • Video games & consoles
    • Sporting goods
    • Home: Major appliances
    • Business & industrial
    • TV, video & audio
    • Computer & tablets
    • Musical Instruments and Gear
    • Toys & hobbies
    • Books, magazines & comics
    • Motor: parts & accessories
    • Cell phones & accessories
    • Recorded music
    • Watches
    • Fashion
    • Stamps
    • Trips
    • Restaurant & catering

    We recommend to search the details of each category in the eBay’s website.

  • 10. What is SUPI? How can SUPI help me as eBay seller?
     

    SUPI is an eBay’s tool that helps the sellers to:

    • Identifying what active products need to be updated, indicating the field (brand, MPN, GTIN).
    • Identifying finalised products that didn’t have an identifier.
    • Updating articles with product identifiers.
  • 11. What cost does Supi have?
     

    It doesn’t have any cost. SUPI is free.

  • 12. Does SUPI allow the uploading of catalogs through excel/ CSV file with the same options, number of photos, sizes, as the same way as they are allowed at the manual uploading?
     

    The tool doesn’t offer those functionalities, but its purpose is obtaining the ads list of an eBay’s seller which don’t comply the norm about the identifiers of the product (EAN, UPC, ISBN, MPN y/o marca) and make possible the specific update of the fields associated to the identifiers.

  • 13. Is it possible with SUPI importing products in XML format?
     

    No, it isn’t. SUPI just allow importing data through CSV files.

Introducing product identifiers in eBay ads

From 1st March eBay has a new rule: it is mandatory introducing the product identifiers in the major part of the categories.

eBay’s Official Web

What is SUPI?

With the purpose of helping the sellers, eBay has developed SUPI (System Update Product Identifiers). This tool is free and counts with the following characteristics:

  • Inventories checking.
  • Automatic updating.
  • Updating files for File Exchange, Magento and MIP 2.
  • Recommendations about product identifiers of the active and listed ads in Germany, Spain, France, Italy and United Kingdom.

Prestashop integration with eBay

eBay is one of the biggest marketplaces in the world. Taking advantage of this website as a new sales channel may allow us increasing the sales of our eCommerce.

The integration of Prestashop with eBay makes possible the expansion of our products all over world and also a significantly increasing of the number of potential customers. In addition, eBay help us to potentiate our visibility through the improvement of the SEO positioning.

How to integrate Prestashop with eBay? Steps to follow

You can use the Prestashop official integration module for eBay, which makes easier the synchronization of products and orders.

Step 1: Installation of the Official module of eBay Marketplace

You have to access in the configuration area and select the option “Modules” in the left menu. Then you have to introduce the key word “eBay” in the search box.

Step 2: Registration in the Official Module of eBay Marketplace

In this step the eBay’s module will be registered in Prestashop. You should fill the following fields:

  • eBay’s pseudonym: Our eBay’s user name.
  • You have to choose the eBay site where you want to sell your list your products.
  • You have to choose the language in which you want to list your products: language used in the descriptions of the products.
  • After filling the form you have to click on the button “Link your eBay account”, then you will see the eBay’s login where you will have to introduce your credentials, user and password.

Step 3: Account configuration

Account details

In this section we are going to configure our eBay account. We should fill the following fields:

  • Paypal email: Your email linked to our Paypal’s account, we need it to complete your payments.
  • Currency: Currency used in your sales.
  • Location of the article: Postal code where your warehouse is located.
  • Country of the article: Country where the articles are.
  • Immediate payment: You should indicate if you are going to establish the option “Immediate payment”.

Returns policy

You have to configure your return policy filling the following fields:

  • Specify your returns policy: You have to select if the return of products is allowed or not.
  • Returns in: You need to specify the max number of days in which the buyer can return the product: 14, 30 or 60.
  • Who pays: Specify who pays the costs of the return.
  • Other information: Test that is shown together with the return policy, used for giving additional information, just if it was necessary.

Synchronization of the orders from Prestashop to eBay

Here we configure how the plugin should behave in the synchronization processes. These are the fields to fill:

  • Send tracking number: You can select if you desire to send the tracking number of the orders.
  • Status to indicate that we product has been sent: It indicates the states that can take the article once is shipped. The updating process is automatic and could adopt the following states: Cancelled, delivered, sent, payment error, remote payment accepted, payment accepted, payment by check pending, payment by PayPal pending, payment by bank transfer pending, order processing, item out of stock, refund.

Duration of the ad

You should select the time you want for the product to be listed:

  • Good Till Canceled: In this case eBay will list the product again after 30 days.
  • List again the article automatically: You can select this option if you want Prestashop to list again the products automatically once they are finished.

Categories and prices

We can associate our categories of our Prestashop with the categories of eBay by using the “listboxes”, selecting our categories and their counterparts in eBay.

Step 5: Configuration of item Specifics

The itemSpecifics are details about the listed products that help the buyers to identificate the product and make it more visible in the searches. These values are specific for each category and they change depending on what category are being listed. The values of EAN, ISNB, UPC, MPC and Brand are specific values that are defined for each product. For a little while is mandatory in eBay to incorporate that information, we can define a correlation between this data and the tags or specific fields to which are related in the screen.

Step 6: Shop details

To sell articles in eBay you may select the correlation between the categories of Prestashop and the categories of eBay. If you don’t make this selection, the products of the categories with products on sell will be listed in “Others” category.

Step 7: Shipping configuration

This eBay’s module allows to configure different methods for national and international shipping. Each method should be assigned to a shipping method of Prestashop. When a sale is generated in eBay, an order is created in Prestashop. Then it would be also possible assigning a carrier. The shipping costs in eBay are calculated based on the carrier od Prestashop: Prestashop has some rules about the shipping costs (heigh, total price…). The shipping price is sent in eBay after having been calculated before in the Prestashop module.

Docommerce

DoCommerce team has a lot of experience in the integration of eCommerce shops with eBay. If you need help don’t hesitate in contacting us.

Fitment: compatibility of vehicle spare parts

This is one of the ultimate tools of eBay: Fitment. Fitment is a technique that makes easier the sales of vehicle spare parts by allowing the association of each part to a specific model of vehicle. That way, the searches of the buyers are automatically associated to the compatibility of the parts that they are looking for, independently of the title of the ad.

What are the advantages of Fitment?

Between others advantages, the sellers get a higher visibility of their products and at the same time they reduce the negative opinions due to the more accurate information the buyers receive. Besides, the use of this instrument it allowed in the major part of subcategories of the spare parts and accessories for vehicles.

To add this information, eBay offers us a manual process through the web interface, but this method is very tedious for big inventories. That is why FastFitment is born: a tool from where the sellers are able to update their inventories of products in a massive, fast and efficient way.

How does Fitment work?

Fitment is based on the KTypes identifier that defines the brand and model of vehicle on eBay. This way, you can match compatible parts to each car.

How can I use Fitment in my seller account?

  1. Download the master list of vehicles, where the KTypes appear for each model.
  2. Log in to Fast Fitment using your eBay login.
  3. Download the item store and open it in the program used to handle files in this format (e. g. Notepad, OpenOffice).
  4. Include the KTypes of compatible vehicles for each item.
  5. Log in again to Fast Fitment and upload the file to add or update the compatibilities.

Click here for more information on Fitment.

Online stores integration on eBay

Offer your products on new sales channels and enhance your business profitability.

DoCommerce offers multichannel tools to connect your business with eBay and Amazon

catálogo

CATALOG

Our tools allow you to create, publish and update your products on Nuestras herramientas permiten crear, publicar y actualizar tus productos en eBay y Amazon.

pedidos

ORDERS

Centralized management of orders from all sales channels. Integrated payment and tracking information.

stock

STOCK

Automatic synchronization of all stock levels.

diseño

DESIGN

  • Home customization, product sheet and catalog for each marketplace.
  • Customized filters to facilitate the navigation.
  • Campaign management: price updating.

Thanks to these tools, multichannel selling will be simpler and conversion figures will be a lot better.

Multichannel sales improve the business

The evolution of sales channels and the attention to a digital and multichannel model constitute the base of the retail approach of European Telcos to be able to increase their profitability and guarantee their survival. That way is told by the research made by Business Consulting, the consultancy division of Indra, under the title “Quantum Retail: digitalization and multichannelization for Telcos’ sales channel and customer support strategies”.

In this document we analize the strategies that Telco companies must follow to face digital changes in the market and the new shopping dynamics of current customers with the goal of balancing the decrease of income generated by traditional mass consumption products

As the report notes, saturated Telco markets – as it is the case of Europe – nowadays face really complex challenges to guarantee their survival. The reduction of market potential by the high penetration rates, the customer migration to the new low cost operators, the decrease of voice traffic demand or the poor regulatory framework are some of the factors that are leaving their mark in the income statement of operators through important drops of EBITDA margins.

In this regard, the report echoes collected data from diverse studies that alert about the challenges of EBITDA which European operators are facing. It is estimated that between 2008 and 2012, European operators lost profitability of up to 12,000 million euros and the EBITDA margins are falling by three percent each year. Furthermore, new actors like Google and Microsoft are taking over 35% of Telco business.

To face these challenges and the new market requirements, Indra experts establish a new retail point of view of Telco in parallel to the Quantic Theory. It means that one has to evolve and exist in as lots of variations at the same time, so the limits between channels are reduced to the minimum to attract, delight, and at the end, turn visits into sales. In this regard, the Indra study advocates to include selective multichannel mechanics (online channel, call centers and monobrand shops) as well as a digitalization of stores capable of increasing customer satisfaction, sales and reduce total catchment costs in all the channel ecosystem. Likewise, the monobrand shop is key as the tip of the spear of these channel because it’s the most tangible pont for the user experience.

Customized customer support and joint incentive of channels

Among all the customer catchment recommendations that the report gathers, the “total” access inside the physical store and the possibility to give support in an individual manner are highlighted. And so, there are gathered actions such as the development of new channel forms: social networks, online chat or mobile applications that reward visits to the physical store, store showcases for 24/7 shopping, or virtual stores at the subway. It also includes introductory courses as examples for new generation mobile phone newbies, ad-hoc promotions in channels based on the customer data knowledge or digital discounts for visiting the store.

Likewise, the digital approach must extend to the sale and to customer support. Operators must work to remove barriers between channels, so a customer can consult or make a transaction on different channels without the need of starting from scratch on each of them, something that, according to the study, is currently still far from the truth. It’s also necessary a system and an adequate organization structure that accurately defines the positions, responsibilities, incentives and flow of information between channels (when a customer knows an offer from a phone call, he investigates the benefits on the Internet and buys in a physical store). The review of the operational processes and support tools is the key of this new vision.

Finally, experts establish a series of guidelines to remove the conflicts between channels and turn interactions with users into sales. This way, all channels must be incentivated, in a way that the local sales targets and customer support reflect the transfer of customers between channels and their conversion. Defining clear business rules between sales channels and support and the recruitment of salesmen depending on their abilities/experience that translate to empathy and connection with the customer, are some other capabilities that the new Telco retail approach requires.

Build over a solid base

The Indra study also advises that before evolving the sales channels and attention to a digital and multichannel approach (the Quantum challenge), it’s essential to make sure that there is a solid base on which to build over. It means that the capabilities of the channels must be reviewed in order to reinforce them with the goal of enduring the evolution to the new digital format and generating programs that that improve sales and attention. It’s also fundamental to develop a digital strategy, taking advantage of examples of good international practices adapted to the local reality of the operator to finally end with the implantation of the project plan that will direct the transformation, with the tools, executors, work teams and well defined milestones.

Indra

Indra is one of the main consultancy and technology multinationals of Europe and Latin America. Innovation is the base of its business and sustainability, having dedicated more than 550 million euros to research and development in the last three years, a number that puts it between the first European companies in their section by investment. With approximate sales of 3,000 million euros, near 60% of the the income comes from the international market. It has 42,000 professionals and customers in 128 countries.

Meet Magento

Meet Magento, the annual community conference for the open source platform Magento, brings its program of international success to Spain for the second time on October the 28th at the center of Madrid.

This conference gathers a diverse community of Magento professionals to innovate and collaborate. Benefit from this unique chance to trade knowledge and experiences.