productupload.live.com
If you recall this post: had-some-issues-with-google-base.html
You’ll recall I had some problems with google that ultimatley lead me to loose access to base.google.com. (I still feel bad about it)
So I found that microsoft has made an alternative to google base for products: http://productupload.live.com
First thoughts: It sucks. Each product grouping has to be made in to it’s own category on the site. You can’t just upload item by item via an api either. It’s either you upload a file on the site manually or you ftp it in. I’m going the ftp route. When you post a file it’s supposed to take up to 36 hours to “process.” I’ve had files that have taken OVER A FREAKING MONTH! I’ve emailed their support numerous times. I do get a prompt and polite answer, but it’s never a helpful answer.
The results are good though. By posting Amazon products to it I’ve certainly seen an increase in sales. I have it all scripted out. They give an rss feed with the catalogs you create. If you make one using the node id, then the name of the xml file it will ftp up later you can run the script without configuring anything but your ftp u/p. It’s pretty nice. Except for the waiting part of course.