I recently created a Sharetribe implementation via a 3rd party developer. I’ve learned that there is no built-in method to export product listings and that this feature must be custom created. Product export seems like a basic and critical feature for eCommerce. I’m surprised not to find any discussion on this topic via Google or in this forum. Am I overlooking something?
Hi Matt!
Indeed we haven’t built that feature (yet) as it hasn’t been, surprisingly, a very common request.
However you don’t necessarily have to build the entire feature yourself (it can be quite complex), but as you own the back-end you can freely access your database and simply run SQL queries to export data to a CSV file. Maybe your developer partner could simply write that query (30-60 minutes of work max) if you don’t have such technical knowledge yourself?
Hopefully this helps!
Thanks Thomas.
I am learning that I use Sharetribe a bit differently than most people. In addition to having peer to peer sellers, I post a lot of inventory on behalf of other sellers using a single account (like a traditional commerce store). So for me, it would be good to be able to manage that type of inventory (e.g. submit it to an external feed for promotion, or do financial work etc.).
Re: the database query, do you think I could query the database using Python from a remote machine? I know a bit of Python & basic SQL, but Rails / React are a bit foreign to me so I haven’t tried tinkering at all with the system. And yes - my developer did say they could create an export for me, though, a bit higher bid for that than the simple query.
Enjoying using the platform so far!
One a side note, did you notice the recent feature to post listings on behalf of other sellers, instead of using one single account? You can learn more at https://help.sharetribe.com/sharetribe-go-listings/listing-options-and-alternatives/how-to-post-listings-on-behalf-of-another-user
Indeed to query the database, you only need an SQL client.
The sell on behalf of feature looks very useful. We have a lot of situations where a seller has some inventory, but not a lot of time to handle listing. Some even want us to take picture for them. We want to help, but don’t necessarily want to take over the full customer service and fulfillment end of the transaction. So this would be great.
I wonder how one might charge a fee or a different commission for handling the listing?
Re: the database, that seems easy enough, though my dev recommended that it should be done via the server, not via a remote port to the server for security reasons. Installing and running software on the server is a bit challenging for me at my skill level. Let me know if you have any thoughts about best practices for simple, secure DB query.
Hi Matt,
Good to hear that it could be helpful!
You could build such feature or simply ask your providers to pay you something, outside the marketplace (maybe via a Stripe payment page, or a Chargebee payment page/form).
Most likely there is already an sql cli on your server that you can use, or you can connect to your database via an SSH tunnel and log in from there. This is a secure way to use a local SQL client onto a remote database server. Hopefully your developer partner will be able to guide you through that.