AbeBooks UK Seller Help

How can I upload pictures?

Adding pictures to your inventory on AbeBooks is one of the best things you can do to help increase your sales. Buyers still like to see what they are purchasing and AbeBooks customers are much more likely to purchase a copy of a book with a picture over one without.

Once a picture file has processed through our system, it will be linked to the corresponding book listing and the image will be displayed next to it on the search results. Buyers can also filter their searches by Bookseller-supplied photos so your books will appear when buyers use this option:

Picture File Guidelines:

 

·         Only one picture file can be associated with a book listing. If you have 2 photos to display, please merge them into one image file.

·         Pictures files must be .gif or .jpg format.

·         Maximum file size is 100 KB. A graphics editor can enable you to manipulate the files and adjust various features, including size.

·         The given picture file name must be exactly the same as the unique book number of the corresponding book. (For example, when sending a picture of book number 000674, the picture file must be named "000674.gif" or "000674.jpg").

 

Uploading Your Picture Files:

There are three methods you can use to send us your picture files depending on how many pictures are already uploaded to your account and how many pictures you are uploading:

 

·         Upload through your Members Menu (single pictures files; booksellers with less than 200 pictures)

·         Upload through your Members Menu book upload (multiple pictures)

·         Upload via using FTP (multiple pictures; booksellers with more than 200 pictures)

 

To upload single pictures through your Members Menu:

If your account has less than 200 pictures files uploaded to it, you can easily add more pictures through your Members Menu following the steps below:

1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks.com bookseller account
2. Click [Uploads]
3. Then click [Upload your book pictures (gifs and jpgs)]

4. Click [Browse…] to locate the file you wish to upload
5. Finally, click the [Send File] button

 

When the file has successfully transferred, you will see a confirmation message on the screen - "file name.gif was uploaded to ABE!". The file name will also appear under the heading "Current contents of /pictures/".

 

To Upload Multiple Pictures:

If you are uploading multiple pictures files, you can compress these into a ZIP file (ex: pictures.zip) and upload them all at once. To compress your files into one ZIP file: Highlight all the files you wish to send, then right-click to choose:

Send To > Compressed (zipped) Folder  

You can upload these compressed files through the book upload function in your Members Menu or by FTP.

 

To upload multiple pictures through your Members Menu:

1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks.com bookseller account
2. Click [List and Maintain your Books]
3. Then click [Upload your book file now!] button

4. Click [Browse…] to locate the file you wish to upload

5. Finally, click the [Send File] button

 

To upload multiple pictures using FTP:

If you have previously uploaded more than 200 picture files to your bookseller account, we recommend that you use FTP to upload further picture files. Please ensure to set up your FTP software with the following details:

·         Profile Name: ABE

·         Host Name: ftp.abebooks.com

·         Host Type: Automatic Detect

·         User ID: Enter your AbeBooks Bookseller account USERID

·         Password: Enter your AbeBooks Bookseller account password

 

I am going on holiday. How can I temporarily remove my books from AbeBooks?

If you are going to be away from your book shop for three days or more, you should set your account to vacation status. When you set your book shop to vacation status, your books are temporarily removed from all AbeBooks websites.

To remove your inventory while on vacation:

1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks.com bookseller account
2. Click [Your Books]
3. Click [Manage Vacations]
4. Enter the date on which you will be leaving and click [Temporarily Remove Inventory] You may alter or cancel a vacation request at any time before the start date by returning to this screen
5. You may also enter the return date, but it is not necessary. You may return any time before this date as well by returning to this screen

When vacation status becomes effective, your account is set to "Inactive" status and your online book total is set to "0". Your inventory is removed until you restore it.

To restore your inventory from vacation status:

1. Click [Your Books] in the Members Menu
2. Click [Returned from vacation? Restore your inventory] in the [Your Books] menu
3. Click the [Restore Inventory] button

Have a good holiday!

Notes:

• The minimum subscription fee (0-500 books) is applicable for the duration of the "Vacation".
• Please do not upload any inventory files to us while your account is set to "Vacation."
• If you would like to permanently remove your book listings from the AbeBooks websites, please contact our Customer Service and we will be happy to assist you.

How to recover from backup

To recover your book data from backup, follow these two simple steps.

A. First you need to rename the HomeBase file. To do so:

1. Right mouse click on Windows [Start] button

2. Select [Explore]

3. Select your “C” drive

4. Select [Program Files] on the left hand side

5. On the right-hand side select [HomeBase Folder] and locate your hbdata file

6. Right mouse-click on the file and select [Properties]

7. Change the file name from hbdata.hbd to hbdata.old

B. Then you can recover your book data:

1. Place the backup file back in the HomeBase [backup] folder

2. Open HomeBase

3. Click on [File] (on toolbar)

4. Select on [Recover]

5. Click on [OK] and new window appears

6. Click on [Desktop] symbol (to left of window)

7. Click on [Open] button

8. Click on [OK]

9. Confirm whether you wish to have HomeBase generate unique book numbers

For further information see Using HomeBase or download our HomeBase 2.3 User Guide.

Running HomeBase on more than one PC

It is possible to catalogue in HomeBase on more than one PC without a network connection by transferring the data via disk or email.

1. The main concern with this method is that the book numbers do not clash. So before you proceed, you need to set aside a group of numbers to use in HomeBase on the other PC(s). For example, for working at home on a laptop bookseller Smith started his numbering at 10000 and has allowed up to 20000 for this purpose, so the allocated batch is 10000-20000.

To set the numbering to start from a certain number you first need to switch off the auto-numbering under [View] > [Options] > [Editing], then when you add the first book you will be able to enter the starting number in the Book# field. Once you have entered the first book with the appropriate number, you can then turn on the auto-numbering feature again to ensure that the numbers correspond accordingly.

2. Once you have added books or updated existing entries, you then need to proceed with the export of a data file. To do this select [File] > [Import/Export] > [Export] (Not to AbeBooks!), then select to save the file on your PC Desktop and follow through the displayed messages until the export is complete.

Now you can save the file on disk or to CD (if you have a burner installed). If your main PC has an Internet connection, then you could send the file as an email attachment to your email address.

3. The final step is the import of the data file. In HomeBase select [File] > [Import/Export] > [Import], you then locate and open the file for import (via the window provided), then select [Merge] (Please note that if you select [ZAP] then the file for import would replace everything already stored in HomeBase on your main PC!). You will be asked ‘Would you like to do a backup’. Click [Yes], HomeBase will then back up your current data and import in your new data

When the import is complete locate the last book added in your main database (not the imported book entries) click to highlight the entry and then switch the auto-numbering back on. Upon closing HomeBase you will be asked if you would like to do a backup, which we recommend you do then.

If you possess advanced technical knowledge or have a technician, you can also setup and run HomeBase on a network of computers. Simply let us know if you would like more information about networking HomeBase.

For further information see Using HomeBase or download our HomeBase 2.3 User Guide.

Moving HomeBase data to a new PC

There are five main steps for you to complete:

1. Make a backup of your inventory on the old computer

2. Save the backup file to a portable device, such as a CD, disk or USB stick

3. Insert the device into the new computer

4. Start HomeBase 2.3 on your new computer

5. Recover the file from your storage device

The full instructions for each of these steps is below.  While the instructions may look long, the process is actually quite easy and you should not have any problems.

Please note that you can also use any type of storage to transfer the file, including CD, disk or USB stick.  If you do not have those options available, you could email the file to yourself and open the attachment on the "new" computer.

If you have not downloaded and installed HomeBase on your new computer yet, please Download HomeBase and install before proceeding.

To create a backup file on a disk:

1. Open HomeBase and select [File] from the menu bar

2. Select [Backup].  The "Backup HomeBase Data to" dialogue box is displayed

HomeBase automatically generates a backup name and places the file in the backup directory of HomeBase. Change the "Save in" location so that the file will be saved to floppy disk, CD or USB key. A progress window shows the progress of the backup. When the backup is complete, the "Backup Data" dialogue box is displayed. Click the [OK] button.

Your backup file has now been saved.  Now, you just need to recover the backup file on the new computer.

Note: If you receive an error message when you save the file to the CD, disk or USB stick, it likely means that there is not enough room to save the file.  You may need to try saving the file to your desktop first so that you can check the file size and then move the file onto a larger storage device.

Recover the backup file:

When you recover your backup file, any information you have in HomeBase already will be overwritten with the data in the backup file:

1. Start HomeBase

2. Insert the CD, floppy disk or USB stick into the new computer

3. Click [File] from the HomeBase menu bar and then select [Recover]. The "Recover HomeBase Data to" dialogue box is displayed

4. Select the file on your CD, disk or USB stick

5. Click the [Open] button. A progress window shows the recovery process. When the recovery is complete, the "Recover" dialogue box is displayed

6. Click the [OK] button. The Auto-Generate Book Numbers screen is displayed. If you would like HomeBase to generate book numbers for you click [Yes].  If you do not want to use this feature, and would rather generate the book numbers manually, click [No] (AbeBooks recommends using the auto-numbering feature in HomeBase.)

How to de-install and re-install HomeBase

There may be occasions when you need to de-install and re-install HomeBase on your computer. First you will need to move the backup file as a safety measure:

1. Right mouse-click on Windows [Start] button

2. Select [Explore]

3. Select your “C” drive

4. Select yellow folder [Program Files]

5. Click on yellow folder [HomeBase]

6. Click on the yellow [Backup] folder

7. Right mouse-click on “.bkp” file

8. Select [Copy]

9. Scroll up to top of yellow folder list

10. Click on [Desktop] symbol

11. Right mouse-click

12. Select [Paste]

NOTE: If there is no backup file then go the “hbdata.hbd” file from the yellow [HomeBase] folder.  Right mouse-click on file > Select [Rename] > Change “.hbd” to “.old” > Continue with above steps.

To de-install HomeBase:

1. Left mouse-click on Windows [Start] button

2. Select [Settings]

3. Select [Control Panel]

4. Select [Software]

5. Double click on [HomeBase]

6. Click on [Delete/Remove] button

To delete the HomeBase folder:

1. Right mouse-click on Windows [Start] button

2. Select [Explore]

3. Select yellow folder [Program Files]

4. Right mouse-click on yellow folder [HomeBase]

5. Select [Delete]

Now Download HomeBase and re-install.

To recover your book data:

1. Place the backup file back in the HomeBase [backup] folder

2. Open HomeBase

3. Click on [File] (on toolbar)

4. Select on [Recover]

5. Click on [OK] and new window appears

6. Click on [Desktop] symbol (to left of window)

7. Click on [Open] button

8. Click on [OK]

9. Confirm whether you wish to have HomeBase generate unique book numbers

NOTE: If you had to rename and move the hbdata.hbd file then it needs to be returned to its original folder:

1. Right mouse-click on Windows [Start] button

2. Select [Explore]

3. Select your “C” drive

4. Select yellow folder [Program Files]

5. Click on yellow folder [HomeBase]

6. Right mouse-click on the file “hbdata.hbd”

7. Select [Delete]

8. Scroll up to top of yellow folder list

9. Click on [Desktop] symbol

10. Right mouse-click on “hbdata.old”

11. Select [Copy]

12. Right mouse-click on Windows [Start] button

13. Select [Explore]

14. Select your “C” drive

15. Select yellow folder [Program Files]

16. Left mouse-click on yellow folder [HomeBase]

17. Right mouse-click and select [Paste]

18. Left mouse-click on “hbdata.old” file

19. Select [Rename]

20. Change to “hbdata.hbd”

For further information see Using HomeBase or download our HomeBase 2.3 User Guide.

AbeBooks Inventory Template

Important: For your upload to be successful, the structure of the file must be preserved and the headings should not be modified.

 

We recommend that you refrain from using abbreviations, which are not generally understood by most buyers when searching for books.

 

To optimise the way your inventory appears in the search results, certain fields require exact terms, which we have provided in the Notes section of the table below. These fields are marked with an asterisk (*).

 

The fields in red are compulsory.

 

Any additional descriptive information should be added to the Description Field.

 

Field Header	Maximum Characters	Description	Notes
listingid	40	Unique code for each item	Important: this code should never be reused for a different item
title	750	Title (and sub-title)
author	750	Name of the Author	Recommended Format: Surname, First Name
illustrator	255	Name of the Illustrator	Recommended Format: Surname, First Name
price	10	Price (numeric value)	Enter the price in numeric format (without text or currency symbols)
quantity	Qty max. : 999	Number of available items	Qty > = 1: available for sale Qty = 0: unavailable (will be deleted from the site) Important : an empty field will be interpreted as a field with the quantity of 1
booktype	30	Type of book	This field allows you to define the type of listing, for example: book, e-book, audio book, postcard, journal, print-on-demand item
description	4000	Description of the item	Can include all of the information that could not be entered into the other fields (Notes on the condition of the book, the binding, etc.)
bindingtext*	30	Binding of the item	Terms to use : Hardcover / Hardback Softcover / Paperback No binding (eg. If the item is an e-book)
bookcondition*	30	Condition of the book	Terms to use: New As New Fine Very Good Good Fair Poor
publishername	750	Name of the publisher
placepublished	80	Place where the item was published
yearpublished	4 figures	Year of publication	This field should only contain the year in a 4 digit format (eg. 1989). Any other date format should be added to the description field.
isbn	13	10 or 13 digit ISBN, without spaces or hyphens
sellercatalog	100	Name of the catalogue which the book belongs to.	The catalogues are visible on the AbeBooks bookseller Storefront. To help buyers navigate catalogues easily, the maximum number of catalogues should be 100.
abecategory	10	Number of the AbeBooks category which the book should be associated with.	The categories are visible on the AbeBooks bookseller homepages. These categories can be downloaded from the Members Menu. Further explanation of the AbeBooks Categories.
keywords	2000	Keywords to help buyers to find the book	Try to use words that are not already included in any of the other fields but which buyers may be using to search for the book.
jacketcondition*	30	Condition of the dustjacket	Terms to use : New As New Fine Very Good Good Fair Poor No Jacket
editiontext*	50	First edition, second edition, etc.	Term to use : First edition 2nd edition 3rd edition 4th edition 5th or later edition
printingtext*	20	Printing of the item	Terms to use: 1st printing 2nd printing 3rd printing 4th printing 5th or later printing
signedtext*	50	Signed book, inscription…	Terms to use: signed by author signed by authors signed and inscribed by author inscribed by author signed by illustrator inscribed by illustrator
volume	50	The volume of the book, if applicable
size		The size of the book

 

Please use the link below to download the AbeBooks Inventory Template:

 

[Download Template.xls]

 

Note: Before you send your invetory data  to us, you will need to save the file in tab delimited text (.txt) format:

 

1. Open the Excel sheet
2. Select [File]
3. Select [Save as]
4. From the [Save as type] menu select “Text (Tab delimited)(*.txt)”