Google Base/Froogle Changes in Required Attributes

[FiberGuy]

I haven't seen this announced here....

This is an excerpt of an email I received from the "Google Base Team", titled "Froogle Merchant Announcement".  (It seems they still don't know what to do with Froogle, yet!)

As you know, we're always looking for new ways to improve our product search experience, both for our users and for content providers. We've found that one of the most effective ways to help users conduct faster and more effective searches is to describe products with relevant attributes - ideally those assigned by the people who best understand their own products, meaning you.

That's why we're asking all Froogle merchants to send us bulk uploads in the Google Base format, with five additional attributes (along with the basic ones you've submitted in the past). Because we think it's important to provide a consistent user experience, we will no longer list items that don't meet a minimal number of attributes by the end of February 2007. Please review the following bulk uploads - they do not currently meet the minimum attribute requirement:

my_froogle_spreadsheet.txt

For further explanation please visit our FAQ section

You can review this attribute requirement page to learn about these new guidelines for general product attributes and specific attributes per product type.

The required attributes are:

brand
condition
description
expiration_date
id
image_link
link
price
product_type
title

Google Base/Froogle is beginning to be more of a pain than what it's worth. 

Cheers

[bargainbloodhound]

I received 3 of those emails.  None of my Zen Cart feeds meet the new requirements.  I'm hoping the free Base/Froogle mod I use will be updated before the end of the month.

[chiquita]

[quote author=bargainbloodhound link=topic=7146.msg42558#msg42558 date=1170800678]
I received 3 of those emails.  None of my Zen Cart feeds meet the new requirements.  I'm hoping the free Base/Froogle mod I use will be updated before the end of the month.
[/quote]

Will this impact the auction sites that feed the items to froogle?
:blinkie:

[bargainbloodhound]

Will this impact the auction sites that feed the items to froogle?

Probably.  The brand requirement could hurt some collectibles (like postcards) or handmade items and require sellers to revise a lot of listings.

[chiquita]

[quote author=bargainbloodhound link=topic=7146.msg42573#msg42573 date=1170805280]

Will this impact the auction sites that feed the items to froogle?

Probably.  The brand requirement could hurt some collectibles (like postcards) or handmade items and require sellers to revise a lot of listings.
[/quote]

Considering froogle feeds are the only thing some auction venues have going for them, this is going to bite big time.

What do they mean by id?

[WebGraphicsSource]

I sell a data feed module for cre loaded, and already have had people e-mailing me about it, magneticone.com is working on the fix for it.

[FiberGuy]

What do they mean by id?

The "id" attribute (formerly "offer_id", I believe) is simply a unique numerical identifier of the product listed... a SKU, stock number, or something along those lines.

[Powerbuyer]

I sent in my data file for review, after adding columns, and it was approved.

I don't use the "LINK" column as I want the transaction to take place through Google to use their checkout, and that was OK.

Under Brand for my handmade items, I just used my store name, and they accepted that.

[amy]

Considering froogle feeds are the only thing some auction venues have going for them, this is going to bite big time.

It'll suck for all of the out of the box phpProBid (HiBidder ...start your own HB for only $195 :twistedevil: ) and rScript (Wagglepop) sites that will have to wait for the scriptmaker to update the software.

[mandy]

The Google Base Blog has an article explaining the changes:

brand
- Don't fret if all your items aren't from a major brand name. If you made the item yourself, your name or company name could be the brand. If you're selling art, often times the artist becomes the brand, e.g. Picasso

condition
- New, used, refurbished

product_type
- We have a list of suggested values here. It's best to sync your values with these, but if your values are far outside what's available, go with what you got...

full article: http://googlebase.blogspot.com/2007/02/d...r-new.html
Google Groups discussion: http://groups.google.com/group/base-help...a803f89fb2