Configuring Auction Preparation Jobs in the Job Manager

Jobs can be set up to prepare auctions and to launch them. They can use pre-defined Item Sets or custom filters to determine which Items to include in an auction.

To configure a Job that prepares auctions for export to eBay without actually launching them:

In the Utilities accordion menu, select Jobs to open the Job Manager.
Select Export – Providers from the Job types drop-down on the right side of the page and click New Job.
Specify the basic Job information in the General Info section:
1. Desc.: Enter a descriptive name for the Job.
2. Catalog: Optionally, select a Catalog to restrict the Job to Items in that Catalog.
3. Site: Optionally, select a Site to restrict the Job to Items in inventory at that Site.
4. On Error: select Suspend Schedule to cause the Job schedule to be suspended in the event of an error, or Continue Schedule to cause the Job schedule to continue queuing the Job normally following an error. The default selection is Suspend Schedule.
5. Owner: Select a user account to run the Job. The default selection is the current user.
6. Notify Upon Completion: Check this box to cause an email to be sent to the Job Owner upon completion of the Job. It's checked by default.
Define a schedule for the Job as described in Scheduling Jobs.
In the Extra Settings section, select Auction Agent from the Pick an Export Provider drop-down list. The configuration form appears below the list.
Configure the provider Launch Settings as follows:
1. Provider: select eBay or eBay Motors. eBay Motors is only available if it has been configured. The default selection is eBay.
2. Type: Select the auction listing Type from the drop-down list. When you select a Type, the Price By field appears. The following listing types are available:
  - Default (this is the default selection)
  - Auction
  - Store
  - Fixed
3. Length: Select the listing length in days or GTC (Good ‘Til Cancelled). The available choices depend on the listing Type.
4. Price By: select Percent or Flat to set calculated or fixed prices for each listing Item. (Don't leave the Default selection.)
  - Percent:
    - Select Sales, Cost, or SRP to use as the basis price for each listing Item.
    - Start%: (Auction Items only) Enter the percentage by which to modify the basis price to set the starting price for each Auction Item.
    - Fixed%: Enter the percentage by which to modify the basis price to set the listing price for each Store or Fixed listing Item, or the Buy It Now price for each Auction Item.
    - Resv%: (Auction Items only) Enter the percentage by which to modify the basis price to set the Reserve price for each Auction Item.
  - Flat: Enter a fixed price in each of the price fields:
    - Start$: (Auction Items only) Enter a fixed amount. This is used as the starting price for all Auction Items.
    - Fixed$: Enter a fixed amount. This is used as the listing price for all Store or Fixed listing Items, or as the Buy It Now price for all Auction Items.
    - Resv$: (Auction Items only) Enter a fixed amount. This is set as the Reserve price for all Auction Items.
5. Qty: Select a calculation type to determine the number of Items to be listed. The following types are available:
  - Fixed: The Fixed field appears. Enter a fixed quantity to list. This number of each included Item is listed.
  - Adjust -%: The Basis and –Percent fields appear. Select Available or Available + OnOrder to be used as the basis quantity for each Item, then enter a value in the –Percent field as a percentage by which to reduce the basis quantity for each Item.
  - Adjust -Qty: The Basis and –Qty fields appear. Select Available or Available + OnOrder to be used as the basis quantity for each Item, then enter a value in the –Qty field by which to reduce the basis quantity for each Item.
  - Adjust +%: The Basis and +Percent fields appear. Select Available or Available + OnOrder to be used as the basis quantity for each Item, then enter a value in the +Percent field as a percentage by which to increase the basis quantity for each Item.
  - Adjust +Qty: The Basis and +Qty fields appear. Select Available or Available + OnOrder to be used as the basis quantity for each Item, then enter a value in the +Qty field by which to increase the basis quantity for each Item.
6. Prepare Only: Check this box to configure the Job to prepare auction listings without actually exporting them to the auction provider. Unchecking this box causes the Job to both prepare auctions and export them for launch. It's checked by default.
Configure the Provider Preferred Closing Time as follows:
1. Pattern: Select one of the following from the drop-down list:
  - Randomly (default selection)
  - Sooner than Later
  - ASAP
  - Empty Days First
2. Start: Select a start time. The default is 6:00 PM.
3. End: Select an end time. The default is 10:00 PM.
4. Days of the Week: Select one or more days of the week using the checkboxes.
Configure the Provider Selection Scope as follows:
1. Auto Replenish: Only one selection is available here.
2. Limit scope to this agent only: If this box is checked, then listings prepared by other Jobs won't be considered when calculating Item quantities for listings prepared by this Job. By default, it isn't checked.
3. Keep ___ item(s) up when there are ___ or more items ______: This setting defines the number of listings to maintain based on Item availability. Select Available or Available + On Order from the drop-down list to specify whether to consider On Order quantities. Enter values in the text fields to specify the number of listings to maintain. For example, enter Keep three item(s) up when there are five or more items available to maintain three listings for each Item as long as there are at least five of that Item available.
Click Continue or select the Input List tab.
Define the list of Items to prepare for auction in one of the following ways:
- Select a pre-defined Item Set from the drop-down list. (Item Sets are described in Item Sets.) If no Item Sets have been defined, then the list won't appear.
- Create a Filter using the Select a Filter form by adding data fields and/ or Attributes as follows:
  1. Select Field or Attribute from the first drop-down list.
  2. Select a specific field or Attribute from the second drop-down list.
  3. Click Add to add the selected field or Attribute to the search criteria. Click Add All to add all fields or Attributes to the search criteria.
  4. In the Condition section, select an operator from the drop-down list and enter a term in the text field. Available operators include (see the Conditional Search Functions Table for more information):
    - None
    - =
    - <>
    - LIKE
    - NOT LIKE
    - <
    - <=
    - >
    - >=
    - IS NULL
    - IS NOT NULL
    - IN
    - NOT IN
    - BETWEEN
  5. Check the Output box to include the selected field/ Attribute in the data export. If the box isn't checked, then the field/ Attribute is still used to search but isn't included in the data. By default, this box is checked.
  6. The output data fields appear and exported in the order they appear in this list. Use the red up and down arrow icons to move a field/ Attribute up or down in the list.
  7. Repeat the selection procedure to add more fields and/ or Attributes to the search/ output.
Click Next or select the Review tab.
Click Submit Job For Processing to submit the Job for processing according to its defined schedule.