Importing Products with EasyChannel is usually pretty straightforward and simple. However, when issues do arise, it's usually for a reason that many other users before you have encountered. So here we will layout the most common errors that our users come across when attempting to Import Products, followed by our solution on how to fix them.
Incorrect CSV Format
Incorrect CSV File format when attempting to import your products into your catalog can cause the action to complete with Errors, or the Import to be dropped all together.
When you attempt an import, and your CSV is formatted incorrectly you will receive an error message that tells you what the error is.
You can go into your notification center to see whether or not the import was completed with errors or failed completely.
If the error causes a Required Field to be left blank, the import will not be completed. To learn more about mapping your CSV Fields, Click Here.
Illegal Character/String Error
This error occurs for two main reasons. The first, you have incorrectly saved your CSV File as a CSV UTF-8 File. Files must be saved as plain CSV Files.
The second reason is the inclusion of certain UTF-8 characters in your CSV File. Make sure all characters are letters, numbers, or classic special characters found on a standard keyboard ($,%,&,<,* etc).
Item Specifics Issues
Item Specifics can cause issues when importing, especially if there are multiple specifics for a single product. To solve this, we can delineate between specifics with commas.
In order to include a comma in the Item Specific, the entire value must be wrapped in quotes.
CustomSpecific Kit Includes | CustomSpecific Series |
Pen,Notepad,Marker | "Art, Creative", Color Pens |
Note: Some eBay categories do not allow multiple values (for certain Item Specifics). You can enter the most important value first to ensure it is displayed on your storefront.
Auto-Formatting Issues
When you use Excel for your CSV Files, it can sometimes Auto-Format long numbers and values. This corrupts the data, and the CSV is no longer valid for Import. To solve this issue, we have two options. The first option is to manually re-format all the data once we upload it into Excel. First highlight all of your cells.
Using your Home menu, find the Number section, and select Decrease Decimal to re-format your values to a readable format.
Your file should now be ready for import. However, this method must be repeated each time you upload a CSV into Excel. Our second option is to open our CSV file into a workbook. You can create a workbook in your main menu.
Open your CSV in the Excel workbook. Excel should automatically convert to CSV. You can check in the top left corner.
While you may still need to re-format fields such as Item IDs, the data will no longer be corrupt on import.
Missing SKU Field
One of the more common errors is the lack of a SKU Field in CSV files. While not required to list on eBay, SKU numbers are how EasyChannel keeps track of your products and inventory level, so they must be included in product imports.
You can use any SKU numbering system for your inventory you would like, as long as each product as it's own unique SKU. Once you've added the SKU column to your CSV file you can map in the Import Products screen.
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