Implementation

This page covers how to build and submit an item list data file to CJ. Follow each step in order.

Step 1: Create Your Item Lists in CJ Account Manager

Before submitting a data file, you must create your item lists in CJ Account Manager. Log in and navigate to the Item Lists area of your account. Create a list for each grouping of items that will share a commission rate. CJ assigns a numeric List ID to each list at creation time. Record these List IDs. You will include the appropriate listid value in each body record of your data file to assign items to the correct list.

Step 2: Obtain Your Subscription ID

Your item list data transfer subscription is separate from other data transfer subscriptions in your account. Contact your CJ account representative if you have not yet set one up. CJ will provide a numeric Subscription ID (SUBID) that must appear in the header of every file you submit.

Step 3: Determine Your Process Type

Before building your file, decide whether this submission should overwrite or update your existing item list data:

• Use OVERWRITE for your first file submission to a list, or any time you want to fully replace a list's contents. Items in the list that are not present in the file will be removed.
• Use UPDATE for subsequent submissions where you are adding new items, changing item names, or adjusting a subset of a list. Existing items not referenced in the file are preserved.

The processtype value you set in the header applies to all lists referenced in the file. If your file touches multiple lists, confirm that the same processtype is appropriate for all of them before submitting.

Step 4: Build Your Data File Header

Every item list data file begins with a header that identifies your account and defines how the file should be processed.

Step 5: Build Your Item Records

Each record in the body assigns one item to an item list. All three fields are required in every record, and they must appear in the order shown. Records must not be continued across multiple lines.

Step 6: Format and Structure Your File

Header format for delimited files

For all delimited formats, header field names must be prefixed with &:

&CID=2532539845
&SUBID=123
&PROCESSTYPE=UPDATE

Full CSV file example

The following example adds three items across two item lists in a single UPDATE submission:

&CID=2532539845
&SUBID=123
&PROCESSTYPE=UPDATE
Polo Shirt,SKU-POLO-001,210
T-Shirt,SKU-TEE-002,210
Fleece Jacket,SKU-FLC-003,215

In this example, the first two records are assigned to list 210 and the third to list 215. Because the processtype is UPDATE, any items already in lists 210 and 215 that are not included in this file are preserved.

Format rules

• Each item record must appear on a single line. Line breaks within a record are not permitted.
• No control characters or extra spaces may appear in field values.
• Header and body lines must not end in trailing whitespace, commas, or pipes.
• For CSV files exported from Excel, open the resulting file in a text editor and remove any trailing commas Excel adds to header lines before submitting. Files with malformed headers will not generate a Receipt email from CJ.
• Do not include the delimiter character within any field value.

Step 7: Submit Your File to CJ

Transfer your file to CJ using the delivery method specified in your item list data transfer subscription. After CJ receives the file, you will receive a Receipt email confirming it was accepted for processing. After processing completes, a Results email details the outcome of each record.

See the Testing page for guidance on interpreting these emails and resolving errors.