| CheckIt User Guide
Overview
CheckIt is a BookTrakker Plugin used to make sure that your Amazon
records are consistent in various ways with your BookTrakker Database.
(Amazon records ONLY) Several tools are provided on the Control Panel to help manage and
maintain your Amazon records including the ability to make sure your
ASIN and ISBN numbers are accurate and up to date, your prices are
consistent between the two and that there are no records on Amazon which
do not exist in your BookTrakker database. Most of the new functionality
is only available after purchase of CheckIt, however, there is a
function which will identify any 'holes' in your database where record
numbers jump in sequence. This sometimes indicates that a record got
lost somehow and can help track down the cause.
There is also a section of the Control Panel intended to allow the
user to decide what Optional Fields will be included in the BookLoader
Upload file.
To find records that have been updated or changed you can do a Hit
list on Upload = Yes or a Range Type: Date, Date Modified, From/To with
the current date.
IMPORTANT: You should
upload any changes made to BookTrakker prior to using CheckIt to update
Amazon records so you do not inadvertently lose changes that should be
uploaded to all services.
This User Guide can be printed by selecting the text, copying it and
pasting it into a word processor or you can open the file located in the
BTPro folder (Typically C:\BTPro") with the filename "CheckIt
User Guide.rtf" and print it from your word processor. To copy from
the results screen select the Item or the row and use Ctrl-C to copy.
You may need to click twice to complete the selection the first time you
click in the grid.
Operation
All Amazon related operations involve submitting a request for an Open
Listings Report Lite to be generated which will be downloaded shortly
thereafter. The time it takes for the Amazon system to generate these
reports can vary from seconds to minutes and depends entirely upon the
load on the Amazon system at any given moment. It can take as long as 30
minutes in some cases for an OLR Lite to be generated so please be
patient. All operations require an active Internet Connection; if you
are a Dial-Up user please make sure you are connected prior to using
CheckIt.
It is highly recommended that you perform an Upload of your Amazon
records after each operation that involves changes to your Database.
This will ensure that you do not have mixups which can occur when
certain data is updated without performing an upload before continuing
to update other information.
Automatic Operation
In each row of the main operational frame there is a checkbox for
Automatic Operation. Checking this box for a given operation will cause
it to happen every time you download the OLR Lite without need for
pressing the corresponding Manual button. Use this option with care; it
is suggested you become familiar with the behavior of the system before
using this option.
Choose a Service
Before you submit a Request for an OLR Lite you must choose among the
Amazon services you use. If you use only one Amazon service then this
will automatically appear in the Choose Service dropdown, otherwise you
may need to select the appropriate Amazon service before proceeding.
Submit Report Request
To submit a request for an OLR Lite to be generated simply press the
Request Report button. An OLR Lite file will be requested which will
reflect the current state of your Listings on Amazon. If you perform an
upload with record modifications, deletes or adds after pressing this
button and before downloading the OLR Lite the OLR Lite may not
accurately reflect these changes so please make sure you do not upload
any records until you download the OLR Lite.
Download the OLR Lite
Amazon will send an email with a subject line that says "
Notification of Open Listings Report availability" when the report
is available. It is recommended that you check your email to see if this
message has arrived before downloading the report. To download the OLR
simply click the Download Report button.
Update ASINs
This operation involves replacing incorrect ASINs and ISBNs in your
Database with the correct ASINs and ISBNs from the Amazon OLR Lite. This
may be required due to processes that occur on Amazon intended to
consolidate identical books under a single ASIN or ISBN and will help
you ensure that your listings are accurate. There is an option to Copy
the old ASIN or ISBN to a field chosen from the dropdown list at the
right of this row; use this option to preserve the original ASIN for
future reference.
Do this before you click the Update
ASINs button. Click into the field on the right side to select the
destination.
Show Amz Recs not in BT
This operation will compare the records found in the OLR Lite against
those found in your BookTrakker database and will produce a list of
records that are either listed on Amazon and not found in your
BookTrakker Database, or records that are on Amazon but not Available in
BookTrakker. This is useful for making sure that your Amazon listings do
not contain books you do not have thus preventing customers from
ordering books you cannot provide. This helps to prevent unnecessary
refunds which can damage your Amazon ratings. You can Execute a Hit List
on “Status | Not | Available” to find everything that is not
Available. To reduce the size you can add in a Range Type below to
reduce the count. Then do an Action, Upload, Execute, Confirm to set
them for upload. Or just do a Purge Amazon, All Online Inventory; after
selecting Amazon, then press the Process/Upload to Selected Service
button.
Reconcile Amz Prices
This operation will compare the records found in the OLR Lite against
those found in your BookTrakker database and will produce a list of
records that have a different price on Amazon from what is found in your
BookTrakker Database. This is useful for making sure that your Amazon
listings are priced correctly thus preventing customers from ordering
books at a price different than you intended. This helps to prevent
unnecessary refunds which can damage your Amazon ratings. You have the
option of updating Amazon with the prices in BookTrakker or updating
BookTrakker's prices if the Amazon prices are correct. Either choice
will set the records for upload, with or without a price change. This
upload will not be visible when you click Process and Upload Records as
the prices only upload is not posted in the Export Log. This upload is
done "behind the scenes"
Check ASINs
This operation will compare the records found in the OLR Lite against
those found in your BookTrakker database and will produce a list of
records that are not listed on Amazon but are marked for Amazon in your
BookTrakker Database. You are then given the option of either setting
these records for upload or clearing the ASIN or ISBN so you can relist
as a matched or new Product Detail Page.
Check Missing
This is a free operation which will show any record numbers that are not
in your database. This sometimes happens when there are holes in
imported data or when a record got lost for some reason and can help
track down the cause of such events. If you feel there are any missing
records it is suggested you contact Support to see if there may be an
identifiable cause which can be addressed so it can be prevented in the
future.
Optional Amazon Upload
Fields
These checkboxes control whether or not these fields are included in the
Amazon Book Loader Upload File intended for Product Detail Page Creation.
Checking a field in this box will cause it to be included in the Book
Loader Upload to Amazon and will result in additional detail being
included in the Product Detail Page.
Warning: Including these fields may cause a rejected listing if
product detail pages already exist on Amazon that match most of your
data but not one of the checked fields.
Note: At present the Image URL field is only available for
Collectible uploads, and only one image from the Image URL field on the
Optional tab in BookTrakker.
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