Product Import From Remote Url

I was using cscart for a very long time. Until I outgrew it.

But I like the design, speed and ease of layout with cscart.

However, the ONE thing it is seriously lacking is the ability to automatically import csv files from my suppliers website.

I have about a hundred thousand items. Across hundreds of categories. Divided by four different suppliers.

I am able to download the CSV files from the suppliers website. But then I have to spend DAYS, sometimes WEEKS changing category names of their products so that, for example, a shirt from supplier A is in category clothing, while a shirt from supplier B might be in Apparel. So I have to change the categories to match, in order to keep my site clean and un-cluttered with countless categories.

SO, until cscart catches up on the import capabilities, I've had to switch to Prestashop. (which I'm not as happy with on the front end....but I have a cool module/addon called Total Import Pro that allows me to "fetch" csv files from a URL, then map the csv fields to my product and category fields.

It also allows me to add top level categories on the fly during import, and I can rename categories and filter products by most any number of criteria.

I then setup CRON jobs to have it automatically import the latest csv file updates so that my inventory levels and prices remain up to date and accurate.

CS-CART IS SEVERELY BEHIND THE CURVE ON THIS CAPABILITY!

I have searched in vain for addons that could provide this functionality to cscart.

I would hope that CS-Cart would want to be at the front of the curve instead of playing second fiddle to more capable options which are available for MUCH LESS COST.

Hope the following 3rd party module can help you:

http://www.alt-team.com/cs-cart-import-field-mapping-add-on.html

@ecomlabs

The module you shared the link for appears to only "map" a files columns to the csv fields. It doesn't appear to allow for doing the following "on the fly during import":

  • remote url fetching
  • Adding Columns (categories) not already in the file
  • Renaming fields in columns
  • Filtering the file by data within a column
  • Marking up the cost by a percentage and then using the new number as the selling price
  • Renaming fields
  • And the ability to trigger regular imports, using cron jobs to run saved import profiles
  • Choose to either upload your CSV/XML file, specify a filepath, or download it from a URL or FTP
  • Supports adding, updating or reseting your product list
  • Import your Product Combinations
  • Automatically fetch images from a remote server
  • Schedule your import to run automatically on a cron task
  • Save settings to create repeatable import profiles
  • AJAX import makes large product feeds a breeze - no more memory limits or max execution time failures
  • Import product options, features and more
  • Import product to specific warehouse, also supports importing stock movements
  • ...And many more

Try the back office demo and you'll see that this one addon alone, puts prestashop a million miles ahead of cscart.

http://addons.prestashop.com/en/17449-total-import-pro.html

And since prestashop is free, this addon costs $164 USD at time of this post, which also makes ita LOT less expensive than cscart.

With all of that said....I PREFER the look, feel, design and layout capabilities of cscart BETTER than those of prestashop. But PS, along with the total import pro addon, is saving me THOUSANDS of hours and THAT makes PS the winner in my book.

Hello!

We have developed the XML Import add-on that allows you to import files directly from the catalogs of your suppliers.

We can discuss the details in this topic.