eBay SixBit Enterprise Setup

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Shopping Cart Integration

• This integration requires a subscription to the Enterprise edition of the SixBit application, which is purchased directly from SixBit.

• Order information is imported directly from the SixBit database using a stored procedure

• Product records cannot be imported directly from SixBit

• Customer records cannot be imported directly from SixBit

• Custom order fields cannot be imported from SixBit

• Manual Inventory Synchronization is not supported in either direction (Get/Send)  

• Real-time Inventory Synchronization is not supported

• Order Status Updates are supported

• eBay Variations are supported

• Refunds are not supported

• Orders with multiple shipments are not supported

• Multiple eBay user accounts are supported by a single SixBit database and can be segregated in Stone Edge by creating separate eBay shopping carts definitions for each eBay User ID

Special Requirements/Considerations

• As of Stone Edge versions 7.117 and 7.020, eBay shopping cart definitions have two sub-types from which to choose, Blackthorne or SixBit. After these or subsequent releases of Stone Edge are initially launched, the program automatically creates the shopping cart sub-type field and sets it to Blackthorne.  Going forward, if an eBay cart definition has a value in the sub-type field, the program makes no changes.

• As part of the SixBit setup process, you can decide whether to import Blackthorne data into SixBit or start with a clean SixBit database.

• Be aware that some Stone Edge reports may need to be customized to calculate yearly totals for eBay orders, or you can manually calculate the sum of the totals from the SixBit and Blackthorne carts.   Affected reports include, but may not be limited to, Accounting Summary by Source, Credit Card Deposits by Cart, Detailed Sales by Cart, Order Summary by Source, and Sales Summary by Cart.

• As of SixBit 1.04.204 and Stone Edge 7.024, 7.5 or 8.010, PayPal transaction information is available.

Database Format

• SixBit requires a SQL database. SixBit provides instructions for converting your MS Access Blackthorne database to SQL so you can migrate data from your Blackthorne database (BTData.mdb) to the new SQL SixBit database.

Migration from Blackthorne to SixBit

• The simplest way to switch from Blackthorne to SixBit for importing orders is to select a slow period when you can stop importing orders from Blackthorne, process all of those orders, and make the switch to SixBit in Stone Edge.  Be sure to allow enough time to verify the first few orders which are imported through SixBit. If everything looks good, continue to process all future eBay orders through SixBit.  
• We do not recommend importing orders from Blackthorne carts and SixBit carts in parallel (simultaneously) in your production environment because there is no way to prevent Stone Edge from importing the same eBay order twice. SixBit does not provide the unique eBay SaleID or AuctionID we use to identify distinct orders from Blackthorne.

Changing Shipping Methods at Stone Edge

• If you want to use a shipping method other than the shipping method associated with the order in SixBit, you must manually make the change at the Process Orders screen, or use an Approval Rule to change the shipping method on import to a method already defined in Stone Edge so the correct shipping information is communicated back to SixBit. eBay, however, is able to correctly determine the carrier by the tracking number.

• If you make the change at the  QuickShip or Pack & Ship screens, the change in shipping methods is not communicated to SixBit.

eBay Variations

• If using eBay Variations, and you want Stone Edge to build sub-SKUs for your products, you have the choice of having the product SKU imported as "Shirt-Black-Large" or just as "Shirt", depending on the setting of Stone Edge system parameter eBayAppendVariationSKU (cart-based). Refer to Configure the Stone Edge Shopping Cart Definition.

• If set to TRUE, the SKU would be "Shirt-Black-Large". If FALSE, the SKU would be "Shirt". In either case, the order Option 1 and 2 fields would contain "Black" and "Large".  

• Be sure to set the special system parameter eBayAppendVariationSKU for the appropriate SixBit shopping cart definition.

Reference ID

• Starting in 7.029, 7.500, and 8.0.1.0, the ReferenceID is inserted into the Address 2 field to support eBay's Global Shipping Program.

 Install SixBit

• It is strongly recommended to download and install SQL Express 2008 R2 or SQL Express 2012 from Microsoft's website because the SixBit installer includes SQL Express but it does not include Management Studio. Follow the directions in the SixBit Knowledge Base topic, Installing SQL Server 2008 R2 for SixBit which includes a step to  create the required SQL Server instance, SIXBITDBSERVER. If you already have SQL Server already installed on the machine, and want to manually create the SIXBITDBSERVER instance, that is also fine. Regardless of which of these methods you follow, there must be an SQL Server instance called SIXBITSERVER before you run the SixBit installer or you will encounter an error.
• Execute the SixBit installer, following the installation documentation provided by SixBit.
• If Stone Edge is to import eBay/SixBit orders on more than one machine, the SixBit database must be shared. Refer to the SixBit Knowledge Base topics, Sharing a Database on a Local Area Network, and Networking, for more information.
• If you have your own network domain which uses Active Directory, you should not have any problems connecting to the SixBit database using Windows authentication (ODBC connection).
• If you do not have your own network domain, connecting multiple workstations to the SixBit database can be challenging. One solution is to create a Windows Workgroup and configure all machines to be part of that workgroup. Go to Control Panel>System>Computer Name, and select Change Settings in the Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings section. Next, create identical Windows login IDs and passwords on each machine in the workgroup.
• Make a backup copy of the SixBit database when the installation is complete.

Create an ODBC Connection to the SixBit Database

• If you are running on a 64-bit machine, you need to use the 32-bit ODBC tool.
• Refer to the instructions for SQL databases in Knowledge Base topic, Creating ODBC Connections in Microsoft Windows7, and create the ODBC connection to the SixBit database on each workstation that needs to access it.
• Select Windows NT authentication using the network login ID when creating the ODBC, even though the SixBit database is configured to use SQL authentication or Windows authentication.

Configure SixBit

Import Blackthorne data into the SixBit database (Optional)

• If you do not want to migrate your Blackthorne data to SixBit, skip to the next section.

If your products do not have attributes

It is expected that 95% of Stone Edge customers fall into this category and therefore, it is the default configuration of the SixBit integration.

1. Simply map the Blackthorne PartNum to the SixBit SKU field when importing data from your Blackthorne database.
2. Stone Edge system parameter eBayUseProductIDasSKU should be set to FALSE by leaving the Use SixBit ProductID as SKU field clear in the Configure SixBit Data Exchange screen.

If your products have attributes and you want to use the SixBit SKU as the Stone Edge SKU

1. If your products have attributes, map the Blackthorne PartNum field to the SixBit SKU field when importing data from your Blackthorne database. SixBit creates a unique SKU for each combination of the product with its attributes, effectively creating what Stone Edge calls sub-SKUs. For example, if you sell a shirt with the attributes black or white, and small and large, SixBit creates the SKUs, shirt-black-small, shirt-black-large, shirt-white-small, and shirt-white-large.

2. Stone Edge system parameter eBayUseProductIDasSKU should be set to FALSE, by leaving the eBayUseProductIDasSKU field clear in the Configure SixBit Data Exchange screen.  
3. Stone Edge system parameter eBayAppendVariationSKU should be set to FALSE, by leaving the Append Variations to SKU field clear in the Configure SixBit Data Exchange screen.

If your products have attributes and you want Stone Edge to build sub-SKUs for your products

1. Map the Blackthorne PartNum field to the SixBit Notes field when importing Blackthorne data into the SixBit database.
2. Run a Batch Change process in SixBit to copy the contents of the Notes field to the ProductID field.
3. Stone Edge system parameter eBayUseProductIDasSKU should be set to TRUE, by selecting the Append Variations to SKU field in the Configure SixBit Data Exchange screen.

Configure the Stone Edge Shopping Cart Definition for eBay/SixBit

1. Go to Main Menu>Settings>System Functions>Shopping Carts. The Store Setup Wizard can also be used to open the Shopping Carts screen.
2. Select Add New.

3. Enter an arbitrary name for the eBay/SixBit Web store in Store Name. It can be anything you like, but it must be unique. This value is only used internally, by Stone Edge.
4. Select eBay from Cart Type. If the user is only licensed for one shopping cart system, Cart Type displays the name of that system rather than a drop-down list.
5. Choose SixBit from Cart Subtype.
6. To import orders from a single eBay account into this particular shopping cart definition, enter the eBay User ID. You can add other shopping carts definitions to import orders from other eBay accounts, specifically. Leave this field clear to import orders from all eBay accounts into this one shopping cart definition.

7. Select Setup Connection.

8. The Select DSN for SixBit Database screen opens.

9. Select the SixBit DSN from the list, and select Open.

10. Select OK.

11. The ODBC connection string appears in the Database field on the Shopping Carts screen.

12. Select Save.

13. In Additional Functions, select SixBit Functions to open the Configure SixBit Data Exchange screen.

14. Choose a cart from Select Your SixBit Cart: (double-click the row).

15. Select any or all of the conditions that apply:

    1. select Use SixBit Product ID as SKU if you want Stone Edge to create sub-SKUs for you (implies that you followed the instructions earlier in this topic), otherwise leave this field clear

    2. select Append Variations to SKU if your products have attributes (you use eBay Variations and you want Stone Edge to build sub-SKUs for you), otherwise leave this field clear

    3. select Show sales notes to import sales notes from eBay/SixBit into Stone Edge

    4. select Show insurance charges to import insurance charges from eBay/SixBit into Stone Edge

16. Select Save.

17. The shopping cart definition is complete!

Importing Suppliers

• If this is the first shopping cart system you are setting up, the next step is to manually add your supplier information or import it from a file. Refer to Knowledge Base topics How to Import Supplier Information from a Text File or Database and How to Add a Supplier Manually before importing orders.

Importing Products

• The eBay/SixBit integration does not support importing product records directly from the shopping cart.
• You can import product records from a text file into the Stone Edge database, or allow the program to create the product records as orders are imported. See the Knowledge Base topic for your version of Stone Edge to see specific instructions to import product records.  

Importing Customer Records

• The eBay/SixBit integration does not support importing customer records directly from the shopping cart.

• Customer records are created as orders are imported if the program does not already have an existing customer record for an individual in the store data file, or customer records can be imported from a text file. Refer to Matching Customer Records to Existing Customers for more information about that process.

Configuring Order Status Updates

When a status update is triggered in Stone Edge for a SixBit order, the program sends the tracking number, shipping method, and the shipped date to SixBit. SixBit flags the order as Shipped and automatically updates eBay if you have post sale notifications enabled in SixBit, and the SixBit agent is running correctly. Refer to the Troubleshooting section for more information about determining the status of the SixBit agent.

1. Set system parameter UseStatusUpdates to TRUE.

Acceptable Order Status Labels for eBay/SixBit

• There is no requirement to set the order status to a specific label in Stone Edge for the status update to take place at SixBit. The Stone Edge status label assigned to the order is not sent to SixBit, only the shipping ID, tracking number and shipping method are sent.

Importing Orders

Stone Edge imports unshipped SixBit orders which are in the SixBit status queue of "In Process".  

1. Go to Main Menu>Import My Orders>Import My New Orders.

2. Choose the appropriate shopping cart definition from Select Shopping Cart.

3. Select Import via Internet. Refer to Knowledge Base topic, Import Orders, for general instructions.

Configure Real-time Inventory Synchronization

• This feature is not supported.

Acceptable Shipping Methods

• SixBit supports all UPS, FedEx, USPS, shipping methods, both domestic and international, but using shipping methods not supported by are Stone Edge is problematic. You can manually map those shipping methods to a method supported by Stone Edge or use an Approval Rule to change the shipping method on import.   

• When setting up your shipping methods in Stone Edge, if the carrier shipping method name contains an apostrophe, do not include it in the name of the Stone Edge shipping method. When orders with shipping method names which contain an apostrophe are imported from SixBit, Stone Edge removes the apostrophe before storing the shipping method in the order and maps the adjusted shipping method name to the correct carrier name.

• SixBit also supports many other shipping carriers and methods than those recognized by Stone Edge. If you use one of these shipping methods and have not defined a matching shipping method in Stone Edge, the shipping method of the order is set to Not Selected.

Troubleshooting tips

Installation Error 27502

Problem Description

• This error is encountered during installation of the SixBit software.

Problem Resolution

• The error is most likely caused by having SQL Server already installed on the machine and there is no instance named SIXIBITDBSERVER.
• Manually create an instance called SIXIBITDBSERVER and rerun the installer.

Updates not being sent to SixBit

• Verify the SixBit agent is running. The agent only runs once every half-hour.
• If the agent is not running,  you may need to change the SixBit database to use SQL authentication in order for the agent to run correctly.
• The image below depicts a problem condition with the SixBit agent:

• The image below shows the SixBit agent is running properly:

Invalid Shipper n/a message

• This message is received if the shipping method on an incoming order is not mapped to the "Your Name" field in the Stone Edge shipping method setup. You must manually change the order to use a valid shipping method (has a value in the "Your Name" field),  or go into the Setup Wizard and add or update the shipping method associated with the incoming order.

eBay System Parameters

SixBit User Guide

Approval Rules

Import Blackthorne Data into SixBit

Shopping Cart Functions Screen

Import Orders,

How to Manually Add a Supplier Record

How to Import Supplier Information from a Text File or Database

How to Import Product Information from a Text File or Database

Matching New Records to Existing Customers

Set System Parameters

Status Events,

Status Updates Feature: Basic Requirements

Created: 3/6/14

Revised: 11/12/14

Published: 09/08/2015

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