Product data file for online marketplace sales channels

Abstract

In an online marketplace environment, a seller of items can provide information relating to items for sale on one or more online sales channels to a connection provider. In one implementation, a method describes receiving a product data file (PDF) from a seller, in which the product data file includes information relating to one or more items for sale by the seller. The method also includes facilitating a sale of the one or more items through one or more online sales channels, in which the product data file further includes one or more data fields for enhanced selling features. The enhanced selling features include selling features in addition to baseline features. The baseline features include providing online listing capabilities for the one or more items being sold.

1 . A method comprising: 
 receiving a product data file (PDF) from a seller, the product data file comprising baseline information describing one or more properties of one or more items for sale by the seller and enhanced information corresponding to one or more enhanced selling features associated with the items for sale;    facilitating a sale of the one or more items through one or more online sales channels based on the baseline information in the received PDF; and    providing at least one enhanced selling feature associated with the items for sale based on the enhanced information in the received PDF.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein an item comprises a good or a service or a combination of goods and services.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the product data file further comprises information to specify item listing preferences on the one or more online sales channels.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3  wherein the item listing preferences further comprise preferred images and text for the listed items.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the product data file comprises one or more data fields in a tabular format.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the enhanced data fields are adapted to enable the seller to track a progress of the items being sold.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the product data file is adapted to delineate the one or more items at a SKU level.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the information describing the one or more items for sale by the seller are included in one or more reports to the seller, wherein the one or more reports enable the seller to assess a progress of the one or more items for sale.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the enhanced data fields are adapted to cross-merchandise items for sale and generate sales activity from buyers.  
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the enhanced data fields further comprise product reviews for presentation on the one or more online sales channels.  
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the product data file further comprises any of an anchor price of the one or more items, information associated with the seller, and an anchor flag, wherein the anchor flag indicates whether the anchor price represents any of a price of a next best alternative (NBA) item, a cost of goods sold (COGS), a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP), and a jobber price.  
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the product data file further comprises any of an average sales price (ASP), a percentage of a target price, an anchor price goal, one or more groups of item attributes, shipping and handling information, one or more attributes to indicate previously-used items, and geographic information on the seller.  
     
     
         13 . A system comprising: 
 a product data file (PDF) comprising data that relates to one or more items for sale on an online sales channel;    one or more tools to receive the product data file from a seller of the one or more items and format the received data to be compatible with an online sales channel; and    a list of items on the online sales channel, wherein the online sales channel is configured to list the one or more items for sale in a preferred format.    
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13  wherein the preferred format comprises a format preferred by any of the seller, the online sales channel, and a connection provider, wherein the connection provider is an intermediary between the seller and the online sales channel  
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14  wherein the connection provider is adapted to use the one or more tools to move any of the seller's item data and auction information to the online sales channel.  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14  wherein the connection provider is adapted to receive the product data file from the seller and validate the data in the product data file.  
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16  wherein the validation comprises checking the product data file for errors and missing data, and ensuring an amount of data to enable any of an item listing and an item auctioning.  
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17  wherein the one or more tools comprise a converter tool, wherein the converter tool is adapted to receive the product data file and validate data in the product data file.  
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 18  wherein the converter tool is further adapted to convert the data in the product data file into a text format.  
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 19  wherein the one or more tools further comprise an upload tool to upload the text file into a merchant tool database.  
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 20  wherein the one or more tools further comprise a tool for creating item listings and auction profiles, wherein the item listings and auction profiles comprise any of a quantity, a pricing, and a scheduling strategy.  
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 20  wherein the product data file is adapted to be classified into one or more types, the one or more types depending on one or more characteristics of the seller.  
     
     
         23 . An article that enables a seller to provide information describing an item for sale on an online marketplace, the article being configured for a connection provider that interprets and formats the information for sale on the online marketplace, the article comprising: 
 baseline information describing one or more properties of the item for sale;    enhanced information corresponding to one or more selling features associated with the item for sale, wherein the baseline information and enhanced information comprise data in one or more data fields; and    logic to constrain the one or more data fields to ensure that data the associated with the data fields conform to one or more specifications of the connection provider.    
     
     
         24 . An article comprising a machine-readable medium storing instructions operable to cause a machine to perform operations comprising: 
 receiving a product data file (PDF) from a seller, the product data file comprising baseline information describing one or more properties of one or more items for sale by the seller and enhanced information corresponding to one or more enhanced selling features associated with the items for sale;    facilitating a sale of the one or more items through one or more online sales channels based on the baseline information in the received PDF; and    providing at least one enhanced selling feature associated with the items for sale based on the enhanced information in the received PDF.