"Unable to import data from the file:" ...
At least I know I'm not the only one that has had this problem. Here is one for you to bookmark if you ever use Turbo Lister to create items by importing a .csv (Comma Separated Values) file. It is a wonderful thing to create hundreds of eBay Store listings in minutes, but one little glitch can cause you hours of headaches. If the file has one little mistake, Turbo Lister is unforgiving and will not let you import your data, and it won't give you a clue where to begin to find the problem.
The easiest way to use Turbo Lister to import items using a .csv file is to first export a file containing a few existing listings that are similar to the listings you want to create. You can export to file by highlighting a few items, then selecting:
File > Export Selected Items > Turbo Lister csv file
You can then also choose the fields you wish to export. I just select all of them and export the file to a folder so you can find it easily.
Once you've exported the file you should be able to open it using MS Excel or a similar spreadsheet program. You'll see fields at the top of the sheet which correspond to the SYI form (title, description, photo url, etc.). Since you exported listings from your account, you already have the proper settings for the more unfamiliar fields such as SiteID, etc. Just copy those down the column for each listing as you go. Learn more about Turbo Lister's fields for CSV files and other import/export info here.
Once you get your sheet done with all the information, you will need to save the file and import the info into Turbo Lister. This is simple, but it's also where the big headache can occur if you haven't read this.
I swear, if I had hair I'd pull it out...
There are lots of details to this big csv file spreadsheet you've created. If even one thing is missing or TL doesn't understand how to map the information, it will not work right. But the most frustrating problem is when you try to import the info and you get an error that says: "Unable to import data from the file: C:\Documents and Settings\blah blah blah" -it still makes me mad to see that error. It's even more irritating that I spent hours pouring over my file trying to see what I did wrong. Was it a wrong code? Did I leave something out altogether? What it the wrong format? Turbo Lister give you no clue as to where to begin to fix the problem.
Here's the answer. Close the file. Just close the file in Excel and you'll be able to import it. That's it. You cannot import the file if it's open in another program. Thanks eBay. Other programs tell you that in plain English, but instead of listing items I had to find it out by accident.
I hope this helps someone else. If you're teaching people to use Turbo Lister as an Education Specialist, save them the trouble and pass this along.
Popularity: 7% [?]
4 comments ↓
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!
I’ve have been going nuts all day long trying to figure out why I was getting that error.
You are a Godsend.
OMG I love you so much. I had about 600 shirts I need to list with turbo lister, and it is fast but this csv would make it a few seconds considering I tabbed the text file into a spread sheet. And all i had to do is copy past the 2 things that would only change. Man, I could kiss you right now you made me sooo happy and saved me about 2 days of work. hahahahah yes yes yes yes yes yes yes
MARRY ME!!!!!!!
Thank you sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much x x x x
Ahaha I can’t believe I didn’t try this..
It worked. Thank you.
Leave a Comment