[PAID] Google Merchant Static Feed

[Martin]

When I saw the following your comment on the release, i thought great!

Identified Bug in Category hierarchy generation system that stopped some products being given Product Types FIXED

Unfortunately it hasnt fixed the probelm I was having.

I'd need your FTP details and access to your admin back-end to debug so if you can email me at info @ (this site domain) with the details and make sure you put "joebloggs" as a reference so I know who the heck is emailing.

Not received anything yet so bumping...

[kurt]

In terms of which ISC field relates to what GM field most are self explanatory:

- UPC = UPC/GTIN
- MPN = product custom field (Label: "mpn" - must be lowercase!)
* The module will use the SKU/Product Code if your admin setting allows display of this information (You can hack the code - see an earlier post).

- Brand = only required at present if your product doesn't have a UPC value

*Note: You need to have UPC or both Brand + MPN for US feeds or your feed will be killed off by GM

- Availability is based on the quantity of stock or it will automatically show as "in stock" if inventory control isn't being used.

Are you saying that the module will use the SKU/Product Code as the MPN when generating the feed or for something else? So if we have that filled in then we don't have to add the custom field "mpn", correct?

For my products that have an MPN, I usually put it in the Product Code\SKU field. For the products that don't, I put the UPC in the SKU field as well as on the UPC field in the other tab. Will that matter?

[busi6292]

Thanks for the new release of the beta Martin.

We have just tested it on the UK, US and Australia and it does all work. I just have two points. One is the image problem in admin which somebody else previously mentioned and secondly in my store log I'm getting the following when a generating a feed:

Notice PHP N/A Undefined variable: row 7th Oct 2011 @ 11:51 PM Undefined variable: row in mydomain.com/includes/classes/class.froogle.php at 583
File Line Function
mydomain.com/includes/classes/class.froogle.php 583 ISC_LOG->HandlePHPErrors
mydomain.com/includes/classes/class.froogle.php 183 ISC_FROOGLE->ExportFroogle
mydomain.com/froogle.php 17 ISC_FROOGLE->HandlePage

[busi6292]

One other thing, is it possible to use the UK Google taxonomy for the Australian feeds as this isn't currently exporting?

Thanks

[kurt]

The following data must be included in the product to be able to successfully list:
Two of the four following: Brand, UPC, GTIN, MPN

I'm a bit concerned about the MPN field. It looks like we have two choices, place MPN in the SKU field or a custom mpn field.

I'm concerned that interspire may release an update with the new Google base code as they mentioned they would in 6.1.7. If we continue to use this mod we'll be ok but I'm wondering if they will add a new MPN field. If so we would have to edit every product and fill in that new field doubling our work. Does anyone know how it works in BC7?

It sounds like the SKU field in BC7 must be unique. A lot of our manufactures use 2 and 4 digit MPNs. With that being said, it sounds like sku field is a bad choice to use as the mpn so we should just create a custom mpn field. Although, these updates may never come to ISC anyway...

[Martin]

Are you saying that the module will use the SKU/Product Code as the MPN when generating the feed or for something else? So if we have that filled in then we don't have to add the custom field "mpn", correct?

If you have filled in the SKU/Product Code AND your administration settings (for ISC) allow SKU's to be displayed then the code will check the field for a value and use that (if there isn't already an "mpn" labelled custom field already in existence).

The code will also default the "Brand" to your store name if Brand is not indicated or the Display settings do not allow it to be displayed (see exceptions as well).

For my products that have an MPN, I usually put it in the Product Code\SKU field. For the products that don't, I put the UPC in the SKU field as well as on the UPC field in the other tab. Will that matter?

The thing to note is that whatever the code is, it MUST be a valid one.. You can't make up UPC's (which is the global acronym for GTIN, IBAN, EAN as far as ISC is concerned) and likewise with MPN's... they need to be valid and used by the actual manufacturer.

[Martin]

One other thing, is it possible to use the UK Google taxonomy for the Australian feeds as this isn't currently exporting?

No...

1. The UK field sets prices in GBP/Sterling and would immediately red flag your account
2. The code will only output other feeds if the relevant currency is setup... So for the AUS feed you need to have the AUD currency setup and available to view your products in.

Also worth noting that every single ISC store is actually in contravention of the foreign target feeds because (unless you've somehow stolen my mod for this) your customers will pay in your default currency and not the target one.

[Martin]

Thanks for the new release of the beta Martin.

You're welcome... it was getting silly delayed...

We have just tested it on the UK, US and Australia and it does all work. I just have two points. One is the image problem in admin which somebody else previously mentioned

Can you remind me about that... link, etc... I've lost track...

and secondly in my store log I'm getting the following when a generating a feed:

Notice PHP N/A Undefined variable: row 7th Oct 2011 @ 11:51 PM Undefined variable: row in mydomain.com/includes/classes/class.froogle.php at 583

Ah... that's just an undefined key in the $row array... Nothing to worry about but I'll look to see which one it is when I get back in and the orders out the way on Monday.

[Martin]

I'm concerned that interspire may release an update with the new Google base code as they mentioned they would in 6.1.7. If we continue to use this mod we'll be ok but I'm wondering if they will add a new MPN field. If so we would have to edit every product and fill in that new field doubling our work.

A simple SQL query would handle that... It's easy enough to to do the equivalent of a copy/paste from one field to another (for every record) provided you know which one(s) are the correct ones.

If you're manually copy/pasting stuff like this you're really making a rod for your own back.

It sounds like the SKU field in BC7 must be unique. A lot of our manufactures use 2 and 4 digit MPNs. With that being said, it sounds like sku field is a bad choice to use as the mpn so we should just create a custom mpn field. Although, these updates may never come to ISC anyway...

I'd lay good odds that we'll never see so much as a peek at the new code... The customer base has left in droves and there simply won't be a market left worth making the investment unless the current management are bought off, fired, or simply walk out and never come back...


Probably also worth noting that even if Interspire did, by some miracle, get the code back up to date again it would almost certainly be out of date again within 2 months (more likely 2 weeks) and left as is for 9 months or more... It's a no-win situation...

[busi6292]

Thanks for your reply.

We have just tested it on the UK, US and Australia and it does all work. I just have two points. One is the image problem in admin which somebody else previously mentioned

Can you remind me about that... link, etc... I've lost track...

Admin > Products > Product Categories - under the new header "Category Mappings", there is suppose to be an image at mydomain.com/modules/shoppingcomparison/googlemerchantgben/images/icon.png but you didn't include the image in your release so it is undefined.

The second problem we have encoutered is in regards to shipping calculation. Royal Mail weight sort of stuff - fine. The problem is I have quite a few 25KG items which I ship worldwide. On the ISC front end website, the shipping options within the UK are "Collection from us" or "UPS Standard, Zone 1" for £7.99. However, on the Google feed export, the method which comes up is "UPS Express Saver, Zone 10" which is for countries such as Nigeria, Iraq etc at our cost of £219.99?

Similarly, for items that weigh 4KG, the feed exports "Royal Mail First Class Recorded" for £10.36 as the 'cheapest', yet "UPS Standard, Zone 1" is actually the cheapest for £7.99. See attached screenshot that might help. I have a feeling the problem lies solely in the fact that the UK is not Country based in ISC admin and rather state based due to the Scottish Highlands having surcharges etc. so it's not picking up our UPS Zone 1 as the cheapest but it is for the USA as that is country based in admin.

USA feed completely fine with shipping. Australia feed doesn't export shipping at all though.

busi6292 wrote:
One other thing, is it possible to use the UK Google taxonomy for the Australian feeds as this isn't currently exporting?
No...

1. The UK field sets prices in GBP/Sterling and would immediately red flag your account
2. The code will only output other feeds if the relevant currency is setup... So for the AUS feed you need to have the AUD currency setup and available to view your products in.

Also worth noting that every single ISC store is actually in contravention of the foreign target feeds because (unless you've somehow stolen my mod for this) your customers will pay in your default currency and not the target one.

Sorry, I don't understand your response. I've uploaded the Australia feed to Google that has the Australian price. Australian currency is enabled on my site so the visitor sees their Australian price when they go on to our website but this isn't the problem. In Google Merchant Centre admin, there is a feed warning for the Australian feed, reading the following, so I am wondering how I can get the taxonomy exported to the Aussia feed?

Item Warnings 1130 items affected
Missing recommended attribute: google product category (1130 warnings)
While items missing recommended attributes will process successfully, we recommend including relevant attributes if they are available.

Thanks