How Store Imports, Bulk Edits and Bulk Adds Changed, Our New Categories, Participate in Cyber Week Promos, & More
More on Store Imports, Bulk Adds & Bulk Edits
Plus, see our new categories & opt in to our Cyber Week promos
There are lots of changes going on for the holidays:
Do you import your products directly from Shopify, Etsy, Bigcommerce, or Big Cartel? Perhaps you use the Generic CSV?
Store imports have changed. Now they can edit your pre-existing products. And with new product data requirements, you might find old listings showing up as Drafts after your next import.
There are lots of new and updated product categories, too. Be sure to check them out before you edit or add more products.
Finally, see how to get included in Cyber Week promotions. (More exposure = more sales!)
Store imports, bulk adds and bulk edits now work differently
Last week we told you about our changes to imports from Shopify, Etsy, Bigcommerce and Big Cartel, also known as store imports. We also mentioned the updates to bulk adds and bulk edits. The changes caught some off guard, so here’s a little more info.
The changes mean 4 things:
1. Store imports: We’ve added an “auto-edit” feature to store imports. When you import products from Shopify, Etsy, Bigcommerce, Big Cartel or the Generic CSV options, we’ll check to see if any of them are already listed on OpenSky. If so, we’ll update your OpenSky product listings to match the information on the other platform.
2. Store imports: All of your products must now include the following information when you run an import:
Product name
Type
Inventory
Category
Shipping Price
Return Policy
Customization Prompt
Estimated Shipping Days
Images
Weight
Publish Status
If you don’t, our system will unpublish products with missing info and save them as Drafts. If that happens, you’ll need to enter the missing info on your “Products” page in your Merchant Toolkit and republish the product(s).
Notice that weight is a new requirement, so some of your published products might not contain that information.
3. Bulk adds: If you perform a bulk add and your CSV file does not include the required information noted above when you run the import, the products will be added to OpenSky as Drafts and will not display on Opensky.com until you add that information.
4. Bulk edits: If you perform a bulk edit using the Full Product File and include the field name, you must include the required information noted above when you run the import. We’ll revalidate every product you edit, so if a product doesn’t contain a weight, you’ll have to add that info or we’ll unpublish the listing.
Duplicate SKUs bug rears its head
The changes noted above made us aware of a bug in our system, which we’re working to fix ASAP. The bug allowed duplicate SKUs to be created when some of our merchants added new items.
Our new validation rules now catch this error, so some of you may have seen an error message telling you you have duplicate SKUs. If you have, please update your products to correct this, and please accept our sincerest apologies for the mistake. We’re working hard to make this right.
We’ll roll out a fix and run an automatic update to de-duplicate SKUs as quickly as we can.
Introducing new categories
Now, let’s get to a big change we made this week: On Tuesday we reworked our categories. The updates make these more detailed and make your products easier to find.
For instance, we changed the way you categorize women’s jeans. You used to use this category and subcategories: womens-apparel/bottoms/denim. Now you’ll use these: apparel/womens-apparel/womens-pants/womens-jeans.
You can view our new categories here. But don’t worry; you don’t have to do a thing.
We categorized products added since September with the new categories, so you don’t have to edit your items. However, you should review them to ensure they appear the way you’d like them to.
You should also refer to our new categories as you add new products or edit existing items to avoid problems.
Be part of our Cyber Week promos
Lastly, let’s talk Cyber Week, the week leading up to Cyber Monday, one of the busiest shopping days of the holiday season!
It’s less than 2 weeks away, and historically, this week has been big for online sellers. We expect lots of traffic during Cyber Week this year, so we’re running Credit and Sitewide Coupon Code Events every day that week, starting November 23 and going through Cyber Monday, November 30.
As we run these, we’ll email shoppers to tell them about our promos and remind them of all the great deals they can find on OpenSky. We’d love to include your products in our events, potentially placing them in dedicated promo emails and landing pages!
All you have to do is ensure you’re opted in to Credits and Sitewide Coupon Codes by November 15.
To do that:
Visit the “Settings” section of your “Marketing” tab.
Set your Credit ceiling to at least 30% to ensure your products are eligible for all our Cyber Week Credit Events.
Set your Sitewide Coupon Code ceiling to at least 40% to be included in both our 30% off Coupon Code Events and our huge Black Friday 40% off Coupon Code Event. (Note: Setting your limit to 40% means your products will only be 40% off for our Black Friday Event, not any time before or after that during Cyber Week.)
Save your settings.
See all the promos we’ll run below and get more details on our Merchant Blog.
November 23: Sale on Sale Credit Event
November 24: Flash $31 Credit Event
November 25: Half Off Sale. Items 50% off MSRP or more (when Credits are applied) will be included in this sitewide event
November 26, Thanksgiving: 30% Off Coupon Code Event
November 27, Black Friday: 40% Off Coupon Code Event
November 28, Small Business Saturday: 30% Off Coupon Code Event
November 29, Cyber Sunday: $150 Credit Event
November 30, Cyber Monday: $250 Credit Event
From Auctiva EDU & The OpenSky Merchant Blog
Personal Expressions
Jewelry biz leads mom to ultimate goal.
By Brad and Debra Schepp
Linda Funk, the owner of Amelia’s Expressions, wanted to be an entrepreneur. Already working in direct sales through Pampered Chef, she felt frustrated by running a business that wasn’t really her own. So she did some research and carved a path to online selling. Read Story
Sell Your ‘Turkeys’
Move the inventory that’s not selling.
By Dennis L. Prince
Let’s face it: Sometimes our eyes get so big that we eagerly gorge ourselves on everything in front of us. I’m not talking about a plate of half-eaten turkey and picked over trimmings. I’m talking about inventory. See how to put these “turkeys” to good use. Read Story
Get more selling tips on Auctiva EDU and the OpenSky Merchant Blog.
We Want to Hear From You!
Did you find this info helpful? Want us to explore another topic, like shipping, sourcing or something else? Send us a message at editor@opensky.com, so we can cover topics that matter to you.
Merchant Newsletter | November 13, 2015