A Seller's Guide to Versla's Bulk Item Importer

Are you looking to bulk import items for your online store or marketplace? This can be a great way to quickly and easily add products to your inventory. In this guide, we'll walk you through the steps of bulk importing.

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How to find the Bulk Uploader

Start by clicking on the "Sell" link in the menu of your platform.
Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the "Bulk Import" button.
In the top right corner of the page, click on the plus button to create a new feed, or select a previously mapped import if the file structure hasn't changed since your last import.

Now it's time to set up your import feed.

Choose your import type, either "Upload File" or "Scheduled Feed." If you choose "Upload File," you can upload a file from your computer to use as your import feed. If you choose "Scheduled Feed," you can enter a URL for our system to fetch the file. This can be from another site you control or another platform.
Set the status of your feed to "Active," "Inactive," or "Complete." "Active" is for feeds that are ready to process, "Inactive" is for feeds that have been disabled by you or stopped due to an error, and "Complete" refers to feeds that have been completed. You can set an inactive or complete status back to active to re-run the job.
Enter a label for your feed to help you identify it in the future. This should be a helpful name for you to be able to see these feed settings in the future, for example "eBay feed" or "MyShopping feed".
Choose the file type, which is currently limited to comma- or tab-separated values. We plan to add more options later, like XML.
Use the "Skip Lines" option to skip any erroneous lines above your data, if needed. Some data feeds come with erroneous lines above your data, and this option allows you to skip a number of lines before your header lines. This saves you from having to manually edit a file before importing. If you are running in scheduled mode, this will happen to every subsequent import.
If you have chosen scheduled mode, choose a schedule. You can do this from hourly onwards, depending on how often you want to fetch the file.
If you are in file upload mode, upload your file; if you are in scheduled feed upload mode, enter a URL to a feed. Once you enter your file, you will see a sample of your data.

Next, you'll need to map your fields.

In the configuration system, map each of the fields as best you can to your sample data. You can do this by simply selecting each one where you have it, or you can click "Advanced" next to each item to either manually enter data or use short codes to merge or add fields. The more you can fill in, the better, but you don't need to fill in all fields.

Adjust your feed as needed.

In adjustments, you can override some of the mapped fields, such as status, condition, weight, quantity, dispatch time, location, postcode, and supplier. This is useful if you want to adjust pricing or quantity on our platform. Again, you don't need to fill in all of these, just the ones you need to adjust.
Map categories. This will only be shown if you have selected a category in the map fields. For each group, you then search for an applicable category using the autocomplete system.
Use the pricing system to set prices based on cost or margin. This will only show if you have selected a price in the map fields. You can base the price on cost or margin. In the default mode, you can add a margin. For example, if you select the mode "cost," then add 40 in the margin to add, this will add a 40% margin onto your cost, so a £10 cost item would be £16.67. Remember, this is a VAT-inclusive price, so make sure to add enough on to cover VAT. In advanced mode, you can use advanced rules, and a guide to the rules is included on the page.
Use the postage section to set advanced rules or use your combined shipping set in your settings. This is an advanced rule system, and the guide is included on the page. If no rules are selected, your item will use the combined shipping set in your settings.
Check the sample of your items and adjust your feed as needed until all fields look good. Once you enter one of these, you will see a sample of your data. Under the configuration system, in map fields, you need to map each of the fields as best you can to your sample data.
Click "Submit" when you are ready to import your feed. You will be shown a message saying the import is processing.

Remember to make any necessary adjustments to ensure your items are uploaded correctly. You don't need to filter all, but if you miss some fields, you may be able to add them later in the adjustments. If not, your items will be uploaded as inactive until you fix the missing requirements.

Bulk importing can save you time and effort when it comes to adding items to your inventory, and following these steps will help you do it quickly and easily.