eBay Product Management & Automation using eBay API
This project aims to develop software utilizing eBay API for automation and enhanced product management tools. It focuses on streamlining the selling process online while maintaining high standards of customer service and satisfaction. The functionalities include searching the marketplace for items, analyzing competitors, managing listings, tracking orders, generating profit reports, and implementing automation features to streamline processes.
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eBay Product Management and Automation Using eBay AP Brandon Bailey BSc (Hons) Computer Science Staffordshire University A project submitted in partial fulfilment of the award of the degree of Computer Science at Staffordshire University June 2023 Supervised by Saeed Shiry Ghidary Assessed by Ali Sadegh-Zadeh 1
Aim of the project To create a piece of software that implements eBay API to allow automation and better product management tools. Aims to make selling items online as passive as possible but keeping the high standards of customer service and satisfaction. 2
Disclaimer The data being used for this project is obtained from online eBay sellers, the seller s data will be obtained directly from eBay's API. All eBay sellers have already agreed to eBay's terms and conditions by using their service, which means that all the data being used is already publicly available through the eBay API. No data will be used that is not already accessible through this platform. 3
Functionality Search marketplace for items and their competitors. Search marketplace for most sold items in the last 30 Days. View all listings from the users eBay store along with the details from each listing. Add a new listing to the users eBay store. View all the orders the users store has along with order details. Features and functionality 4
View Generate gross profit in the last, Month, Last week, Yesterday and Today. Units sold in the last, Month, Last week, Yesterday and Today. A chart that displays the sold units for each day over a month period. Filter by sold units and sales per day option. Features and functionality 5
Automation Automatically get all the listings from an eBay store to the software Automatically get all the sold items from an eBay store Automatically get listings from eBay marketplace to display listings from other sellers and sold quantity Features and functionality 6
Selected methodology Feature driven development (FDD) small, functional, rapid, and flexible emphasis on testing and code reviews FDD's dynamic nature 7
Inventory management is crucial for eCommerce businesses due to increased sales, stock demands, and the impact of COVID-19. Common inventory management problems include demand fluctuations, stockouts, multi-channel shoppers, and managing SKUs. Solutions to combat these problems include adopting new strategies like dropship and hybrid, inventory classification, pre-purchase stocks, and stockless policy. Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) integrated into inventory management enhance order turnaround time, inventory accuracy, warehouse space management, and labour productivity. Implementing these solutions improves inventory control, customer satisfaction, and sales performance, enabling businesses to adapt to market demand changes and industry trends. Inventory Management 8
UX positively impacts online selling with increased customer satisfaction, trust, and conversion rates. Meeting user needs in online selling interactions is crucial (Ritonummi's study). Adopting UX-focused practices and following Nielsen's guidelines reduces shopping cart abandonment (Bonastre & Granollers' study). Complying with usability guidelines enhances website experience and builds trust (Sivaji et al.'s study). Prioritizing UX optimization leads to reduced abandonment, increased revenue, user trust, and business growth. User experience in online selling 9
Integrating external APIs into applications presents challenges that need to be addressed for successful integration. Lack of documentation from API providers can lead to time- consuming trial and error for developers to understand the API's syntax and functionality. Data normalization is an important consideration to ensure the received data is in the correct format for seamless development. Security concerns, particularly related to the OAuth 2.0 protocol, pose risks and vulnerabilities in online social networks (OSNs). Overcoming these challenges requires thorough research, attention to detail, and implementing additional security measures to enhance the effectiveness and reliability of API integration within applications. Challenges integrating an external API 10
Efficient Inventory Management: The eBay API simplifies inventory management by automating tasks like product synchronization and stock level updates, saving time and reducing errors. Quick and Easy Listing: With the eBay API, you can create and update listings in bulk, making the process faster and ensuring consistency across your inventory. Smooth Order Processing: The eBay API enables real-time order retrieval and automated order fulfilment, leading to faster and more efficient order processing. Customizable Automation: Customize automation processes with the eBay API to suit your specific needs, automating tasks like relisting items or adjusting pricing based on predefined rules. Data-Driven Insights: Access comprehensive sales and performance data through the eBay API, allowing you to analyse your store's performance, identify trends, and make informed decisions for better profitability. Benefits of eBay API 11
Comparison of Inkfrog, CrazyLister, AutoDS, and 3Dsellers based on pricing, features, and user interface. Inkfrog and CrazyLister offer affordable prices and basic features, while AutoDS and 3Dsellers provide more advanced features at higher prices. 3Dsellers stands out with its comprehensive feature set and customizable user interface. The existing software's focus on providing management and automation tools at an affordable price, along with a customizable and intuitive user interface. The existing software's prioritizes user privacy and security by implementing strong data encryption and protection measures, in addition to providing excellent customer support. Existing solutions 12
Design Requirements Search for items and competitors The website should have a search function that allows users to search for items and their competitors on eBay. Search for most sold items The website should allow users to search for the most sold items on eBay in the last 30 days. Gather data on marketplace sellers The website should be able to gather data on current marketplace sellers to determine if a store is successful or failing. View eBay store listings The website should display all listings from the user's eBay store along with the details from each listing. Add a new listing The website should allow the user to add a new listing to their eBay store. View order details The website should display all the orders the user's store has along with order details such as name, address, phone number, item ID, and order ID. 13
Html Component 1 2 3 Accepting user input Getting custom data Retrieving the user's intentions 14
JavaScript Component 1 2 3 Preparing the user s input Creating the request with the user s input Retrieving the processed data for display 15
Flask Component 1 2 3 Setting up a network to pass and receive data Setting up routes to call the correct functions Returning the processed data back to its sent route 16
Python Component 1 2 3 Receiving the user's data passed from the flask route Processing the received user data Returning the processed data back to flask 17
Communication Flow The diagram shows the flow of communication between the software components. 18
Wireframe Designs Figure 10. Wireframes for dashboard page and item competitor page 19 Figure 12. Wireframes for sold listings page and unsold listings page
Landing page development The landing page was the first page a user would see when accessing the website, this page set the scene for the whole website. Such as what the software offers, pricing and reviews. 20
Dashboard page development The dashboard page was the main page which gave the user an overall view of performance for the seller's store. Displaying how many units or gross sales were made over 30days, feedback status, recently sold, and top listings 21
Search for competitors development This page was created to be a research tool to allow sellers to find competition to make better business decisions to if a product had too much competition. 22
Active listings and edit functionality development This page was created to be an aid for sellers to manage their active listings, to have them all in one place with functionality to easy end or edit the selected listing. 23
Orders development The orders page was created to help manage sold listings, where the seller could find all the details on items that had sold, their payment status, shipment status, along with the details of the sold cost and buyer 24
Developed a successful piece of software Achieved all the projects aims and goals Improves the quality of life for an eBay seller Provides easier to use management tools Provides a more detailed view for the seller Displays a useful dashboard to monitor the sellers progression. Conclusion 25
