Wavebid offers the ability to import external catalogs from a spreadsheet, rather than building a catalog directly in Wavebid. This article describes the process for formatting and importing catalog spreadsheets.
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This article contains the following sections:
Formatting a Spreadsheet
When importing spreadsheets into Wavebid, the column headers do not need to correspond to fields found in Wavebid, but the process will be easier and faster if they do. When importing from services like BidSpotter, Proxibid, and others, mapping can be done without re-formatting columns.
A catalog spreadsheet can contain as much or as little data as needed. The only required column is Lot #. Only columns that are mapped will be imported.
Please note that any Starting Bids, Reserves, and any other dollar values cannot contain any dollar signs or commas when importing.
To import catalog information, the spreadsheet must be saved as a Comma-Separated Value (.CSV) file type. To view a sample .CSV (comma-separated values) file, use the Wavebid Sample Data Set available under Help > Resources.
Spreadsheet Column Header Recommendations
For information on importing categories and metadata, see Categories and Metadata.
Uploading
- Navigate to the appropriate auction on the Dashboard and select Catalogs > Import Catalog.
- The Lot Import page will open. Select upload options:
- Has header row?: This default setting assumes the first row of the file is a header row containing column titles. If this is not the case, uncheck this box.
- Do not overwrite existing lots: This setting adjusts to add new lot numbers and their data rather than updating existing lots in Wavebid. The imported spreadsheet will overwrite any lot details unless this box is checked. However, only columns that are mapped will be overwritten.
- Delimiter: Files should be saved as a CSV file type and will use COMMA (default).
- Click the Choose File button, select the file to upload, and click the Upload button.
Mapping Columns
After uploading the spreadsheet, the columns will need to be mapped.
Mapping determines what spreadsheet column will be pulled into which Wavebid field. The imported spreadsheet's column headers are listed under Your Headers on the left, with the Mapped to field to its right. The Mapped to field is auto-filled based on the column's name.
- Columns are considered "mapped" if they have a header under the Mapped To field. If there is nothing under the Mapped To field, that column is not mapped and the data within that column will not be imported.
- Only columns that are mapped are imported. (The only field that is required to be mapped when importing a catalog is the Lot # field.)
Mapping can be done by dragging and dropping any of the blue Wavebid headers (on the right side of the page) to the applicable Mapped to field.
*Please note that the Lot Title field should be mapped to the Name Wavebid header. The Title Wavebid header refers to vehicle titles, not lot titles.
For information on mapping VIN data, see Managing Vehicle Titles.
Include Header
Checking the Include Header box will add the column header to every field. For example, if the Include Header box to the right of the Description column is checked, then every lot description will start with the word "description", so "Oak Mirror" would become "Description Oak Mirror". This box should not be checked on the Lot # or Seller columns, and checking it could interfere the ability to export other columns to online bidding platforms.
Append to Previous
For information on using the Append to Previous checkbox to merge 2 columns/fields, see Merging Spreadsheet Columns in Wavebid.
Saving a Mapping
To save mapping information to be used during future imports, check the Save your mapping? box. After checking the box, enter a title in the Mapping Name field and then click the Import button.
To delete a custom mapping, navigate to My Links > Company > Cataloging Settings > Data Mappings and select the mapping using the drop-down in the top left corner of the page and then click the Delete button. Only custom mapping that were created by the auction company can be deleted. Mappings created by Wavebid cannot be deleted.
Existing Mappings
If applicable, select an existing Maxanet, Proxibid, AuctionZip, etc. mapping from the Existing Mapping drop-down. Making a selection will remap the columns according to the export order of those integrations.
Importing
Once mapping is complete, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the Import button.
Once the Import button is clicked, the import process cannot be stopped.
If there were any issues, they will be displayed when the import is complete. If there were problems with the import, the data will not be updated.
Troubleshooting
No Columns Were Found
The message below is likely to appear if the file selected for upload was not a .CSV file type. Try saving the file as a .CSV (comma delimited) and attempt to upload again.
Line Processing Error
If the any fields (ex. High Estimate, Reserve) contain a dollar sign or a comma, the system will report an error. Remove all dollar signs and commas from the spreadsheet and attempt to upload again.
- The quickest way to remove these symbols is to highlight all of the fields in Excel, change the formatting to Currency, then change the formatting again to General, and then save.
Data Truncation: Data to Long for Column X
The data that was imported for a specific field contains too many characters. This is most likely to occur with the Name column (Lot Name/Title field) or Description column (Description field). Review the Lot Builder support article to determine character limits for the impacted field.
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