BidFind - Getting Listed - MegaList - Auctions Shops and Classifieds

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MegaList

The HTML code example below is for a megalist page that is "ideal" for our agent to scan for your data. It will help in ensuring that
we get your items indexed without "data corruption" and with the least amount of load on your server.
Download time is best when the items are keep to 5000 per megalist page. The megalist
should be dynamically generated and not created with an editor (your software needs to
create the list on-the-fly when our agent visits the megalist page).

Important note to developers... items with clear and well written titles and descriptions get better click-throughs.
Its very important that the description field does not contain HTML tags and unwanted characters
such as extra dots and spaces. The description should be text only and describe the item.

To avoid delays in getting listed, please read this entire page... including the FAQ at the bottom.

Current BidFind MegaList version is V.1.7

MegaList Fields:
Field format below, please do not include any other tags in the megalist.
Especially important, clean up all HTML tags in your titles and descriptions!
(please try not to leave fields empty, if no data for field, attempt to include "NA" instead)

field

level

description

VERSION	required	version number of the BidFind MegaList. This field should only appear once on the megalist page, somewhere above the items. Current version is V.1.7
ITEM	required	type of item, one of the following: shopping, auction, classifieds, coupon (This field must be the first field for an item)
ITEMURL	required	URL, link to detail page of item (each item must have a description page) (Do not include ANCHOR tag)
ITEMTITLE	required	title of item (Text only, do not include any HTML)
DESCRIPTION	required	clear description of the item. Please use descriptive language that says something about the item being sold. Remove ALL unnecessary characters and spaces. Please do not repeat the title in the description. Do not leave truncated words or punctuations at the end of this field. Important, no HTML in this field. Limit is approx. 2500 characters.
PRICE	required	price of item (Decimal only, all text and symbols are filtered out)
BUYITEM	required	does the item have a "Buy" option so that it can be purchased without bidding. This field has a YES default for "shopping" merchandise (YES, NO, or NA only)
CAT	required	category of the item. BidFind will try to parse your category into one of ours. but, to ensure a category listing, try to translate your categories with a BidFind category
MANUF	optional	manufacturer of the item
LOCALE	optional	location of seller (state, country; ex: NJ, USA) or 2 letter Internet country code ex: AU many items do well only in a local market, so for US sellers, state letters are higly recommended
POSTDATE	optional	date item was posted (month/day; ex: 8/27) recommened for stores and classifieds
ENDS	required	ending date, when item will close (month/day; 8/27) only required when item is dynamicly priced
SELLER	required	seller's screen name (not registered name)
TINYURL	optional	URL, link to thumbprint of item (5K max. for thumbprints) (Do not include ANCHOR tag) Place an NA in this field if you do not have a pic that is smaller than 5K.

MegaList Example:
The example below contains items on an imaginary megalist page.
Each item takes 1 line and each line has a "new line" character and a hard carriage return at the end.
The first field is the ITEM field.
The ITEMURL field points to the detail page of that item (each item in the megalist must have its own detail page).
Please do not include any extra HTML tags, on the item line, such as ANCHOR (HREF) or extra BRs.
We encourage you to take a close look at the example.

DESCRIPTON field Example:

Poor) DESCRIPTION> Large screen TV!!! It has all the features ---- *NEW* ---- <BR>Extra "remote"... Will pay shipp <PRICE

Whats wrong with the above description?
1)Field starts with a space.
2)Field ends with a space.
3)Extra spaces in body of field.
4)Field ends on a truncated word.
5)Unnecessary characters such as ----, !!!, *, "
6)Contains the HTML <BR> tag.

After cleanup) DESCRIPTION>Large screen TV! It has all the features NEW Extra remote. Will pay shipping.<PRICE

See a more detailed test example to use on your megalist before submitting.

MegaList FAQ:

How do I ensure that there are no delays in getting my merchandise listed?
Have the most current version of the megalist running on your software. Also be certain
that your merchandise is being listed properly by the megalist.

I am using a BidFind compatible vendor's software, do I still need to create a megalist?
No, that vendor has done it for you. Please contact the vendor and ask them if the software has the lastest version
of the megalist. Also ask for the BidFind MegaList URL.

Do I need to use the most current version of the megalist.
Yes. BidFind will only collect data from current versions.
We encourage you to contact your auction software vendor and upgrade to the most current version of the megalist.

Do I need to make a seperate megalist for my auction and classifieds items?
No, one megalist can be used. The ITEM field defines the type of item. Please see the example.

Do I need to include the BidFind copyright statement at the top of the megalist page?
Yes, BidFind needs legal access to your data before it does any data collection from another site.

Is there a specific order on how the fields can appear?
Yes, The ITEM field must appear first, all other fields can be in any order. However, we do recommend that you try to keep a pattern to avoid errors.

Can fields be omitted?
Yes, but the VERSION, ITEM, ITEMURL, ITEMTITLE, DESCRIPTION, PRICE, BUYITEM, CAT, ENDS, SELLER fields are required. All other fields are optional. We do encourage you to post as much
data as you can for each item. Please be aware that PR (page ranking) is affected by data quality.

Why do I need a DESCRIPTION field?
The title field is just not enough. A well formed description field will make the difference between getting a click or not. We recommend a well
written and interesting description for each of your items. Please remove extra spaces, unnecessary punctuations, and comments that have nothing to do with the item.

Some fields just don't apply to my site. How should I list my data?
You can omit any fields that are not required. For example, if you are not selling new merchandise, the MANUF (manufacturer) field may not apply to you, just omit it.
If you have a classifieds site, you may want to include the location of the seller; use the LOCALE field. BidFind recommends including as many fields as possible.

Can fields be blank?
Yes, but we rather that you either leave the field off, or place an "NA" in the empty field.

Do the links need "http" in the URL?
You can either place the complete URL along with the "http" in the link, or omit it (the http is not needed).
Both are OK (ex: www.mysite.com or http://www.mysite.com)

Should I post closed items?
No, please only post "open" items that are for sale or can be bid on.

Why is the TINYURL field pictures limited to 5K?
Due to the large amount of data that BidFind downloads, pictures larger that 5K will be ignored.
If you dont have thumbprints for your items, you may want to consider generating them during
the time of item posting by the seller. There are utilites such
as Magik that will auto-size graphics.
(No-pic images are not accepted, please place an NA when you do not have an image or if your image is larger than 5k).

How do I place a "carriage return" at the end of each item?
The BR tag that appears at the end of each item is not a carriage return. In Perl or C++ languages,
the \n (backslash and "n") characters will place a hard carriage return.
On some other platforms, an \r\n may be required. Check your programming language manual.