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To be able to integrate eBay into xentral, several steps are necessary. xentral always connects external shops, even if they offer extra APIs, via an xentral shop importer. This is the standardized interface for xentral. In this interface the real API of the shop is accessed. Communication with xentral is always done via the importer.

Connection

Here you can learn how to connect your eBay shop to xentral.

Create developer account in eBay

Note: Since for some customers no orders could be imported via the eBay interface, we have changed the interface for picking up orders in our eBay module to the new Rest API to be able to solve the problems with the old interface sustainably. Please follow the instructions for the alternative API. Normally you should follow the steps described here.

Below you can see the main steps for the connection:

• Create a developer account at eBay
• Take the following key sets from the account to enter them into the eBay importer:

• In addition to the key sets you have to search for the RuName (eBay Redirect URL name). To do this, click on User Tokens. The RuName is then located in the Get a Token from eBay via Your Application section.

Create interface in xentral

Under Administration → Shop Interface → Overview → NEW you can create a new shop and select the eBay module.

Note: Up to version 21.1 under Administration → Online Shops / Marketplaces → NEW.

• Now please enter App ID, Dev ID, Cert ID and the runame into the interface of xentral
• Afterwards click once on the button Check Connection. Now you will see a link in a message with a red background, which you can open in a new tab. Here you have to log in to eBay and confirm the following messages
• As soon as you have confirmed everything, press the button Check connection again. Now you should enter the "userTokenShop" into the "Token" field. 

 

Afterwards you can pick up the first orders via the button Pick up orders depending on the import mode. Please note the following points when picking up orders:

• A too early selected pickup time with a very large amount of requests can lead to the fact that the pickup process fails, since the script reaches the server-side timeout limit and is aborted. In practice, this may result in no order being reported back after several minutes of searching
• When fetching via demo mode, a maximum of one order is fetched and the fetch time is not changed
• The maximum time period for picking up orders is limited to 30 days on eBay's side. As a consequence, if the pickup date is set too early, or if there are no orders for a longer period of time, the importer will run into a bottleneck and will not be able to pick up newer orders even if they are available. In such a case you have to change the pickup date manually.

Note: The phone number of an end customer must necessarily be entered in the store order or specified by the end customer if the delivery is an export delivery, i.e. a delivery to (non)EU countries. The number is transferred from eBay to xentral during the order import and is then clearly visible in xentral.

Quick start

To get started as quickly as possible, only a few settings and actions are required. What is necessary for a quick start with order import, stock number comparison and confirmation of tracking numbers you can find out here.

Shop settings

In this section you will learn about the possible settings in the shop interface.

Interface

When you open the eBay interface settings, you will first land in the tab Details → Interface.

Settings:

• Designation → Name freely selectable for the shop (will be displayed e.g. in the product and in the import menu)
• Active → Check the box to make the interface active. You can set interfaces that are no longer needed to inactive
• Project → Link the shop to a project. In the project you can make the logistic settings
• Pickup mode → You can pick up from eBay from a certain date
• Date from → From this date orders will be picked up, updated when you use the pick up orders function
• Import mode → Determines whether the orders from the shop should be imported manually (by pressing a button) or automatically
  • Demo (for testing) → The order status in the shop is not changed, no products or stock numbers are transferred
  • Manual (with import center) → The orders will only be fetched when the button Fetch orders is clicked
  • Automatically (via process starter) → The orders are picked up automatically from the shop on a regular basis. The Shopimporter process starter is required for this purpose
• Only 1 order per request → Only 1 order per request is transferred from the shop
• Orders in intermediate table → When picking up the orders, the orders are not created directly, but are first stored in an intermediate table for review. Here you can decide which orders should be created and which should be imported later
• Logging in the logfile → Creates entries in the logfile when activated. This makes it easier to find the cause in case of an error afterwards
• Setup mode → When checked, always exactly one new order will be picked up, already picked up ones will be ignored (unlike demo mode)
• Ignore shipped orders → When importing orders, ignore orders that have already been shipped. Prevents orders that have already been shipped from being imported again and shipped twice when the importer is used after trading on eBay
• Use Sandbox → This is a test environment that allows you to test features without being live
• Apply eBay name of buyer to order → Apply eBay name of buyer to order
• Use framework → Use framework
• Issue warnings → Issue or swallow warnings about auctions. Warnings are messages that do not prevent an auction creation, but indicate a circumstance that should be adjusted
• Pick up orders with unfinished checkout process
• End listing with no inventory automatically → End listing with no inventory automatically
• Automatically reactivate ended listings when new inventory is available → Listings ended due to lack of inventory are automatically reactivated when new inventory is available.

Action:

• Check connection → Checks the connection between both systems. In addition, the validity of the token is checked
  
• Fetch orders → Fetches the orders from your shop
• Shop import intermediate table → Jumps to the intermediate table of orders from the shop. The intermediate table is filled only in manual import mode and if the 'Orders in intermediate table' option is enabled
  
  In the intermediate table you choose in the left column between "Import", "Garbage" and "Later".
  • Import: Job is imported directly
  • Trash: Job ends up in the trash and cannot be imported a second time.
  • Later: Order can be imported at a later time.
• To the eBay App → Redirects you to the eBay App

Settings

Information about this tab can be found here.

Payment methods

Information about this tab can be found here.

Shipping methods

Information about this tab can be found here.

Free fields

This tab has no function for eBay.

There are free fields only for the product description, for which you can create templates for products in the eBay app.

Subshop

Subshops are currently not available for eBay.

Language/supplier country

Information about this tab can be found here.

Group mapping

Group mapping is currently not available for eBay.

Smarty

You can learn more about using Smarty in this helpdesk article: Smarty at Shopimporter.

Workflows

Synchronize stock numbers

How to synchronize stock figures, you can find out here.

Stock numbers on eBay

It is important that you have activated the "Out of stock" option in the eBay account settings. If the stock count of a "valid until cancelled" offer on eBay reaches zero, the offer remains active. However, it will be hidden in the search results until the quantity is increased.

Import orders

Importing orders from online shops is described in this article.

Special cases / Other information

Renew eBay token

For security reasons, the eBay token is only valid for 18 months and should therefore be renewed in good time before it expires. It is best to schedule an appointment shortly before the token expires. Please proceed as follows:

1. Delete the existing eBay Token
2. Save the changed settings
3. Click on Check Connection
4. In the dialog that opens in an extra window (you may have to deactivate the popup blocker) please reconnect eBay with xentral.

Call limit of eBay's API

eBay has a daily limit of 5,000 calls per day. If you need more, we recommend you to raise this limit via eBay support. With this you verify the application with eBay and get up to 1.500.000 calls per day. This is especially important for larger sellers. To get the certification at eBay without problems and faster, please refer to the following sample case at eBay. The case number that serves as a reference is 190319-000002.

eBay App

The eBay App is located in the App Store and is provided along with the eBay Importer. It may be mandatory for using the importer, but it definitely includes useful features for using the importer.

In the eBay app, you can find various features, from an overview of all auctions to various settings for general conditions and the like, to information about the stock. More details can be found in the eBay App article.

eBay settings in the product

If an item is linked to eBay, a gear button for the eBay settings is displayed under Master data → Item → Select item → Details → Online shop options.

The primary category is needed to place the product into the respective eBay category. To list the product for the first time via auction, you need to select the primary category by clicking Search.

When opening the search, category suggestions generated from the default category name of xentral are displayed. If no suitable category is displayed, a manual search is possible:

After clicking on the correct category, the category-specific parameters are loaded:

The category-specific parameters are composed of the most selected properties of the other products in this category. If available, additional information will be displayed. You can set the payment method and shipping & returns in the importer settings. There you can deselect payment methods and shipping methods that are not desired.

The templates show the active templates that you have created in the eBay app. If you do not select a template, only the standard online shop text of the product will be transferred as the product description. If a template that uses an item is deleted or deactivated, the product will be changed to "No Template" and only the online shop text will be transferred. If you have only set the template to inactive and reactivated it, the template will be assigned to the product again.

Note: Additional options like Gallery Pictures Plus or Private Listing will cause additional costs.

At least one image is required to list a product. The images that are provided for the listing are composed of the files of the respective product, which are stored as "standard product images", or "store image" (as well as from 18.3 "image", "print image", "group image" and "label image"). You can set up to twelve images, after that there will be additional costs. The images are uploaded to eBay's own Picture Hosting Service and kept there as long as the auction lasts. Additionally there is a buffer time of 30 days.

If an image does not meet the required parameters, a hint message is displayed for the image. In such a case, the article export will fail if you have selected the image for transfer.

Foreign numbers in the product

Relist/Revise: If a product has been successfully set, its unique identification number is entered in the foreign numbers of the article. This number makes it possible to assign the product uniquely.

It is important at eBay that the correct designation is used. This is for eBay inventory units SKU or inventory unit. For the eBay product number it is eBayListing.

As a customer who already has products in their shops, you can download old listings via the eBay app and link them to the products in the system. This way you can take over ratings from existing listings.

Use

Specify item category

Item category search: You can directly enter category IDs. These are used to search for categories. To do this, you enter the corresponding number in the search.

eBay name of the buyer

The eBay nickname will be stored in the field "internal name" during the order import and will be displayed in the "store import intermediate table" in the remark.

Termination or relisting of offers directly on eBay

When you relist products in eBay, they are not known to the xentral ERP system at the first moment. This happens in the eBay App module. There you have to switch to the tab Settings and select the sub tab Assignment.

After that you have to update the product list in the first step and assign the products automatically in the second step.

Product Matching

In order for products to be automatically assigned to eBay listings and for the correct products to be linked in orders, it is necessary to assign the products to the corresponding listing. You make this assignment in the eBay app.

You can either assign the items manually in the respective listing or automatically. For the automatic assignment to work, one of the following conditions must be met:

1. In the xentral product you have maintained a foreign number whose value is identical to the eBay Listing ID (eBay item number) (the foreign number must have the name "eBayListing").
   
2. In the eBay listing you have maintained the inventory unit and ideally it is identical to the item number of a product in xentral. If the eBay stock unit is not the same as the xentral item number, you have to maintain it as a foreign number in the corresponding product. The foreign number must have the name "SKU", or "inventory unit").

For more information, see the Helpdesk article on foreign numbers.

The conditions are arranged in descending priority. This means that if a product has the eBay Listing ID as a foreign number, then this product will be taken as a hit, even if another product would have the matching item number to the listing's inventory unit.

Special case variants

There is a special rule for variants. In the first step you have to assign the "main article" of the staging listing (the listing as it exists in xentral) to a product. This assignment can be done manually or automated (according to the rules above).

If you have assigned the main item of the staging listing to an xentral product, then you can assign the individual variants if one of the following conditions applies:

1. In the eBay listing, the inventory unit is maintained at the variant and is identical to the item number of a product in xentral
2. In the eBay listing, the inventory unit is maintained and identical to a foreign number of a product in xentral (the foreign number must have the name "SKU", or "inventory unit")
3. If the main item of the staging listing is a matrix item and the matrix properties and options are identical to those in eBay

The conditions are again arranged in descending priority. For conditions 1. and 2. it does not matter if the main article of the staging listing is also a "parent article" of the found xentral product.

If a listing has no assignment, then (theoretically) a stock of 0 is transferred for it. However, since the listing has no products, a stock sync is never triggered. For a listing with variants where individual variants have no assignment, no inventory transfer is initiated for the missing variants.

Note: The names of the foreign numbers are not case sensitive, so technically they can all be lowercase. However, it looks better if it is done correctly.

Go-Live Practical Tip

When importing a store from eBay, the last modification date of a completed order (a completed eBay order) is picked up. xentral picks up the orders with status "completed". eBay has the information if the customer has completed the order or not.

Therefore a pickup by status as with other store interfaces is not possible with eBay. Instead, all orders that have the status "completed" are picked up.

Therefore, when going live for the switch to xentral, you have to make a cut between the old and the new orders on the day of the switch. The following points have usually worked well in practice: Do not pick up too long a period, but if necessary pick up the orders exactly from the respective week or day by mouse click in the shop interim table.

In the intermediate table during the store import, you have to post away the overlaps and not delete the table. The table is responsible for the fact that old orders still come in.

Goods and Services Tax Disclosure

Since Brexit, you still have the possibility to order tax-free goods from the United Kingdom via eBay. However, the Goods and Services Tax, a tax comparable to VAT, has to be shown on your receipts. With version 21.1 xentral offers you support for this eBay UK Goods and Services Tax via the new field "Sales Tax Product".

First create a corresponding product via Master Data → Products with a unique name:

Then add the product in the eBay interface via App Center → eBay in the "Sales Tax Product" field using the magnifying glass icon:

All orders with a Goods and Services Tax will be recognized and linked by xentral itself. Finally, this tax will appear as an extra line item on your receipt, just like a product.

eBay Marketplace Account Deletion/Closure Notifications

For subscribing to eBay account deletion notifications, xentral needs to provide some additional informations to eBay. You can find these additional values in the eBay shop settings in the "Account deletion options" section:

• Verification token → automatically generated
• Notification URL → automatically generated
• Notification Email → here you can optionally specify an email address to be notified when eBay sends deletion notifications to xentral (note: email notification is not yet in action, it will be delivered in the next iteration)

Click the "Save" button, as the verification token - as long as it has not been saved - will be regenerated each time.

Note: Notification url must be accessible from eBay, it means:

• ssl certificate required
• on-premise customers needs to make this url public to internet
• Any authentication logic must be accepted for this url such as https authentication

All active eBay Developers Program applications are required to subscribe to eBay marketplace account deletion/closure notifications. To do this, perform the following steps:

1. Sign into your developer account
2. Go to the Application Keys page
3. Click on the Notifications link adjacent to your App ID. You will be taken to the Alerts and Notifications page shown below
4. Select the production environment
5. Select the Marketplace Account Deletion radio button under the Event Notification Delivery Method section
6. The email address is required but will only be used to alert the developers when the specified Notification Endpoint URL is not reachable/not acknowledging notifications properly. Once you have input an email address, click the adjacent Save button.
7. Then, you will set the Notification Endpoint URL for receiving notifications. Copy verification URL from xentral and paste it
8. Verification token generated automatically, copy this value from xentral and paste it into verification token field
9. Once you have set your Notification Endpoint URL and Verification token value, click the adjacent Save button
10. After you have successfully subscribed to eBay marketplace account deletion/closure notifications, you can send a test notification to this URL by clicking the Send Test Notification button. Once the Endpoint URL has received the test notification successfully, your setup is complete.Your application should start receiving eBay marketplace account deletion/closure notifications from eBay immediately