Listing inventory on marketplaces

Marketplaces such as Google, Facebook Marketplace and Cycle Trader can show your units to shoppers who never visit your website. MotoDealerHQ builds a feed for each marketplace from your inventory. The marketplace reads the feed from a private link, or, for the Trader sites and other CSV channels, you can have the file uploaded to their server. Only available vehicles are listed. Sold, pending, draft and archived units drop out at the next fetch, so you never advertise a unit you no longer have.

Before you start #

• Your plan must include Marketplace syndication (Pro and Enterprise). See plans and trials.
• Your website must be public and live. A site marked private (a demo or pre-launch site) can never switch on a channel, and its feed links do not answer.
• You need an account with each marketplace. MotoDealerHQ produces the feed; the marketplace decides whether to accept and show your listings, and some charge listing fees.

Which channels are available #

Every channel starts off. Nothing is sent anywhere until you switch a channel on and give its link to the marketplace.

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1. Inventory › Marketplaces opens the channel list.
2. Channel and format. Select a channel name to open its settings. "Link or upload" means the channel can also be uploaded by FTP/FTPS.
3. Status. On or Off. Listed and Excluded show how many units are in the feed once a channel is on.
4. Last fetched and Last upload show when the marketplace last read the feed and how the last upload went.
5. Marketplace leads sets up how leads come back. See ADF leads.

Switch on a channel #

1. Open Inventory › Marketplaces and select the channel, for example Cycle Trader.
2. Scroll to Validation first and see which units would be listed and why the rest would not (see the next section). Fix missing VINs, prices and photos on the vehicles.
3. In Settings, choose what to send. Leaving every box in a group unticked means "all":
   • Conditions (new, used, certified pre-owned, demo).
   • Vehicle types. New channels start with the marketplace's own types ticked, for example motorcycles and scooters for Cycle Trader, ATVs, UTVs and snowmobiles for ATV Trader, and boats and personal watercraft for Boat Trader.
   • Categories and Locations (locations appear when you have more than one rooftop).
4. Set Minimum photos (default 1) and, if you like, Only vehicles with a price.
5. Enter your Dealer / account ID at the marketplace (it defaults to your dealership's short name). For Google, enter the Store code of your Google Business Profile location, and one per location if you have several.
6. For CSV channels, untick any Columns in the CSV the marketplace does not want.
7. Tick List my inventory on … and select Save settings.
8. The Feed link card now shows your private link. Copy it and give it to the marketplace (see Connect each marketplace).

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1. List my inventory on … switches the channel on.
2. Filters for conditions, vehicle types, categories and locations.
3. Minimum photos keeps thinly photographed units off the marketplace.
4. CSV columns you send (Trader and other CSV channels only).
5. Upload (FTP / FTPS) for marketplaces that want the file pushed to them.

Check what is listed #

Every channel page has a Validation list of your available, pending and draft units, plus units sold in the last 30 days. Each one shows Yes (listed) or No with the reasons: missing VIN, no price, no photos, too few photos, opted out, condition, type, category or location not selected, not for sale, or no Google store code.

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1. Listed and not listed totals. While the channel is off, nothing is sent yet.
2. Preview feed opens the first 25 listed units exactly as the marketplace will see them, as plain text.
3. Reasons, counted, so you can fix the biggest problem first.
4. Per-vehicle reasons. Select a unit to open it and fix it. Use Show: Listed / Not listed to filter.

Google and Meta always require year, make, model, VIN, a price and at least one photo, whatever your own settings. Google also needs a store code for the unit's location.

Keep a single unit off a marketplace #

1. Open the vehicle from Inventory › Vehicles.
2. In the Marketplaces section of the form, tick each channel this unit should stay off.
3. Save the vehicle.

The vehicle page shows Listed on chips for every switched-on channel. A crossed-out chip shows why that unit is not listed; hover over it for every reason. See adding units for the rest of the vehicle form.

Connect each marketplace #

• Google: in Merchant Center (with vehicle ads enabled and your Business Profile linked), add a product data source with a scheduled fetch and paste your link.
• Meta: in Commerce Manager, open your Vehicles catalog, go to Data sources › Data feed, choose a scheduled feed and paste your link (hourly or daily).
• Cycle Trader, ATV Trader, RV Trader, Boat Trader and other marketplaces: send the link to your account representative and ask them to map the columns and to send leads as ADF. If they ask you to upload instead, see below.
• Generic JSON or XML: give the link to any service that pulls a feed.

Upload by FTP or FTPS #

Some marketplaces want the file on their server rather than a link to read. CSV channels can do that.

1. On the channel page, under Upload (FTP / FTPS), enter the Server, Port, Protocol (FTPS is recommended), File name and how often to Upload every (6, 12 or 24 hours).
2. Enter the Username and Password the marketplace gave you. They are stored encrypted and never shown again; leave the boxes blank later to keep them.
3. Tick Upload this feed and select Save settings.
4. The Uploads card lists each run with its result. Upload now sends the file straight away.

Tips #

• Anyone with a feed link can read the feed, but it only holds what your public website already shows: no costs, import ids or customer data. If a link was shared with the wrong person, select Create a new link. The old link stops working at once, so give the new one to the marketplace.
• The channel page shows when the marketplace last fetched the feed and with how many units. "Not fetched yet" a day after setup usually means the link was not entered at the marketplace.
• Photos in the feed are the large versions from your website, and listing links point to the unit's page on your site. Good photos help here too: see photos.

Permissions #

Limitations #