Keeping track of inventory can be a challenge, especially if you have hundreds or thousands of items. Accurate and easy to understand records of your inventory are important for insurance purposes and for efficient fulfillment of orders. There are two basic components of managing your inventory: a written record of what you have and the physical storage of your products. While many accounting programs such as QuickBooks and QuickBooks Point of Sale, provide inventory management features, you don’t have to purchase an expensive piece of software for this purpose. Although you’ll need to spend some time planning, you can create a spreadsheet for managing our inventory.
Using Zibbet’s data export feature is a simple way to get started. To export your Zibbet listings:
1. Click the ‘Import and Export’ link under ‘Listings’ on the right hand side of your ‘My Zibbet’ page.
2. Click the ‘Export Your Data’ tab.
3. Click the ‘Download CSV’ button.
4. Follow the prompts to save the CSV file containing your Zibbet item data.
After downloading and saving your Zibbet data, you can open your CSV file in the spreadsheet program of your choice. Your Zibbet file will include the following pieces of information about each of your items:
Zibbet ID - The unique ID number assigned by Zibbet. This number appears at the end of the URL for each item detail page. For example: http://www.zibbet.com/LOCDesignStudio/artwork?artworkId=919973
Title - The title you selected for your item.
Description - The description you wrote for your item.
Price - The price you assigned to your item.
URL - The ‘web address’ assigned by Zibbet for your item. For example: http://www.zibbet.com/LOCDesignStudio/artwork?artworkId=919973
Status - The status of your listing at the time you exported your data. Status designations may include Active, Draft, Sold and Unlisted, depending on the status of each of your items.
Seller - Your username.
Image URL - The web address where Zibbet stores your uploaded images. Please note that you should keep all of your images saved on your computer for easy access. This URL is only useful for import purposes. Your images won’t be directly accessible by you at this URL.
Created At - The date and time that your listing was created.
Height - Height measurement of your item if you included this data when you listed your item.
Width - Width measurement of your item if you included this data when you listed your item.
Depth - Depth measurement of your item if you included this data when you listed your item.
Weight - Weight measurement of your item if you included this data when you listed your item.
Units Available - The available quantity of the item listed. If you are a Basic seller, this quantity will be one. Premium sellers can list multiple quantities of the same item.
Materials - The materials you listed.
Tags - The tags you assigned to your item.
Please note that Shop Section, Categories, Gift Guide and Shipping data is not exported.
I recommend that you export your Zibbet data periodically so that you always have a readily accessible back up of your listings. Next week I’ll take a look at how you can use this data to create an inventory management spreadsheet for your items.
Best wishes for much success on Zibbet!
Inventory Management: Exporting Your Zibbet Listings Data | Inventory Management: Creating an Inventory Spreadsheet | Inventory Management: Product Storage and Organization Tips
Vicki is committed to assisting her fellow Zibbeters improve their shops for successful online selling. She is the owner of five Zibbet shops: LOC Design Studio, Denim and Pearls, A Stitch and a Prayer, Black Creek Crossing and Think Like a Fish. You can follow Vicki on Twitter and through her LOC Design Studio blog.
Tags: Inventory, Inventory Management, Success on Zibbet
