Comic Retailer Program

How it Works

We send traffic to your online store from GoCollect.com, ComicList.com and soon-to-launch apps for both iOS and Android platforms.

Our customers search and find individual comics in our database.
We match retailer inventories to the specific comic book being viewed.
The customer gets a snapshot of all online retailers that have that comic in stock.
After comparing pricing and condition factors, the customer clicks through to view that comic in your online store.

You simply provide us with a URL that communicates your online inventory (i.e. your "feed"). Our system reaches out and grabs that feed at regular hourly intervals to keep your inventory and pricing as accurate as possible.

Feed Structure

We're software engineering geeks. If you're not, that's 100% OK. We'll figure out a way to work with you. If the stuff below doesn't make sense, don't worry. Just get in touch with us and we'll try to figure it all out together.

We can accept your feed in any number of formats (XML, JSON, CSV, etc) and we can grab that from you via URL or FTP. If we're not already equipped to handle it, we'll get it in place on our end. All we ask is that your feed follow a particular structure.

The specifics may change slightly depending on your delivery format, but the below is a general overview of the information (and appropriate argument names) we're looking for in each of the comics you want included in our database.

Argument	Meaning
retailerComicId Optional	The retailer's internal ID of the type of comic being offered for sale. See the Meaning for retailerSaleId for more info.
retailerSaleId Required	The retailer's internal ID of the specific instance of the coming being offered for sale. As an example, let's assume the retailer is selling 2 different copies of The Incredible Hulk #181. One is professionally graded as a 9.8, while the other is professionally graded as a 8.5. Both sales should have a different retailerSaleId in order to uniquely identify them. However, both of those sales should share the same retailerComicId in order to associate them.
comicIdType Required	This identifies the type of primary key that will be used to identify the comic in the GoCollect database. One of the following values must be used: GCIN GoCollect Identification Number. This is the internal ID of the comic in the GoCollect database. You can locate the GCIN of any comic by visiting that comic's page on GoCollect. UPC The UPC code of the comic. Note that the comic must have been released after January 1, 2013 in order to use this value. DIAMD_NO This number is the Diamond Item Code number retailers are familiar with from PREVIEWS, Reorders Online and other ordering materials, without the Discount (“letter”) Code.
comicIdKey Required	The value of primary key as identified by the comicIdType.
price Required	The current asking price or next bid price (USD) for the comic being sold.
inventory Optional	The current in-stock inventory for the comic being sold. While not required, this field is strongly recommended.
saleTitle Optional	Any title assigned to the sale listing. Ex. The Incredible Hulk #181 signed by Stan Lee
format Required	The sale format of the comic being offered. It must be one of the following: Fixed Use this value for standard, fixed price sale listings. Auction Use this value for auction-style sales. Note: using this value forces the bidCount and auctionEndTime values to be present.
bidCount Optionally Required	This value is required Auction format listings. It represents the current number of bids that have already been placed on the comic.
auctionEndTime Optionally Required	This value is required Auction format listings. It represents the time the auction ends. It must be in ISO 8601, "Complete date plus hours and minutes" format: YYYY-MM-DDThh:mmTZD (eg 1997-07-16T19:20+01:00).
url Required	This is the link the customer will be directed to when they click to learn more about the comic you're selling.
imageUrl Optional	This is a link to a thumbnail image of the comic you're offering for sale.
condition Optional	Represents the numerical condition of the comic being sold. If present, it must be one of the following: 10.0, 9.9, 9.8, 9.6, 9.4, 9.2, 9.0, 8.5, 8.0, 7.5, 7.0, 6.5, 6.0, 5.5, 5.0, 4.5, 4.0, 3.5, 3.0, 2.5, 2.0, 1.8, 1.5, 1.0, 0.5, 0.3
graderLabelId Optional	If the comic being offered for sale has been professionally graded, we suggest using one of the following values. Professionally graded comics will take precedence in our search results. 8 = CBCS Authentic Sig - Yellow 15 = CBCS Authentic Sig - Yellow (Restored) 7 = CBCS Certified - Blue 16 = CBCS Certified - Blue (Conserved) 12 = CBCS Certified - Blue (Restored) 11 = CBCS Verified - Red 18 = CBCS Verified - Red (Conserved) 14 = CBCS Verified - Red (Restored) 13 = CGC Conserved 6 = CGC Modern 3 = CGC Qualified 4 = CGC Restored 2 = CGC Signature Series 17 = CGC Signature Series Qualified 5 = CGC Signature Series Restored 1 = CGC Universal 10 = PGX Signature 9 = PGX Standard
graderKey Optional	This is the identifier of the graded comic within the grader's database. For instance, CGC refers to this as the Certification Number, while CBCS refers to this as the Barcode Number.

The JSON feed format should be a single object that contains one or more child objects. Each child object is referenced below.

NOTE: Please don't use "JSON padding" as this will be fetched server-to-server, outside of a user's browser.

Object Key

Meaning

retailer Required Object

The following fields are available for this object:

Object Key	Meaning
gocollectUserId Required String	The ID of the GoCollect User, which is assigned to the retailer's feed account.
name Optional String	The name of the retailer.
description Optional String	Retailer's company description.
logoUrl Optional String	URL of the retailer's logo.
webUrl Optional String	Retailer's web address.
email Optional String	Retailer's customer support email.
phone Optional String	Retailer's customer support phone number.

comics Required Array

This is an array objects, where each instance represents the comics that are to be fed into GoCollect. The keys for each object are the same as those detailed in the Generic Structure.

Sample Feed Structure

The below is just for example purposes. Reference the Generic Structure for "comics" fields that are optional/required for each type of sale.

{
	"retailer": {
		"gocollectUserId": "100348",
		"name": "Awesome Comic Retailer",
		"description": "The best place on the planet to buy newly released comics!",
		"logoUrl": "https://www.comicretailersite.com/logo.png",
		"webUrl": "https://www.comicretailersite.com",
		"email": "support@comicretailersite.com",
		"phone": "(847) 555-1212"
	},
	"comics": [
		{
			"retailerComicId": "73465",
			"retailerSaleId": "9247229",
			"comicIdType": "DIAMD_NO",
			"comicIdKey": "APR140481",
			"price": "2.99",
			"inventory": "38",
			"saleTitle": "Outcast #1 by Kirkman and Azaceta",
			"format": "Fixed",
			"url": "https://www.comicretailersite.com/outcast-1",
			"imageUrl": "https://www.comicretailersite.com/outcast-1.png"
		},
		{
			"retailerComicId": "93854",
			"retailerSaleId": "3957247",
			"comicIdType": "GCIN",
			"comicIdKey": "134372",
			"price": "4500.00",
			"saleTitle": "Incredible Hulk #181 Signed by Stan Lee",
			"format": "Auction",
			"bidCount": "7",
			"auctionEndTime": "2014-10-16T19:20+01:00",
			"url": "https://www.comicretailersite.com/hulk-181-signed",
			"imageUrl": "https://www.comicretailersite.com/hulk-181-signed.png",
			"condition": "9.4",
			"graderLabelId": "2",
			"graderKey": "1150647001"
		}
	]
}

The XML feed format should be a single XML structure that contains one or more root elements. Each available element is referenced below.

Element

Meaning

retailer Required

The following child elements are available for this parent:

Element	Meaning
gocollectUserId Required String	The ID of the GoCollect User, which is assigned to the retailer's feed account.
name Optional String	The name of the retailer.
description Optional String	Retailer's company description.
logoUrl Optional String	URL of the retailer's logo.
webUrl Optional String	Retailer's web address.
email Optional String	Retailer's customer support email.
phone Optional String	Retailer's customer support phone number.

comics Required

This is an array "comic" elements, where each instance represents the comics that are to be fed into GoCollect. The names for each child element are the same as those detailed in the Generic Structure.

Sample Feed Structure

The below is just for example purposes. Reference the Generic Structure for "comics > comic" fields that are optional/required for each type of sale.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<retailer>
	<gocollectUserId>100348</gocollectUserId>
	<name>Awesome Comic Retailer</name>
	<description>The best place on the planet to buy newly released comics!</description>
	<logoUrl>https://www.comicretailersite.com/logo.png</logoUrl>
	<webUrl>https://www.comicretailersite.com</webUrl>
	<email>support@comicretailersite.com</email>
	<phone>(847) 555-1212</phone>
</retailer>
<comics>
	<comic>
		<retailerComicId>73465</retailerComicId>
		<retailerSaleId>9247229</retailerSaleId>
		<comicIdType>DIAMD_NO</comicIdType>
		<comicIdKey>APR140481</comicIdKey>
		<price>2.99</price>
		<inventory>38</inventory>
		<saleTitle>Outcast #1 by Kirkman and Azaceta</saleTitle>
		<format>Fixed</format>
		<url>https://www.comicretailersite.com/outcast-1</url>
		<imageUrl>https://www.comicretailersite.com/outcast-1.png</imageUrl>
	</comic>
	<comic>
		<retailerComicId>93854</retailerComicId>
		<retailerSaleId>3957247</retailerSaleId>
		<comicIdType>GCIN</comicIdType>
		<comicIdKey>134372</comicIdKey>
		<price>4500.00</price>
		<saleTitle>Incredible Hulk #181 Signed by Stan Lee</saleTitle>
		<format>Auction</format>
		<bidCount>7</bidCount>
		<auctionEndTime>2014-10-16T19:20+01:00</auctionEndTime>
		<url>https://www.comicretailersite.com/hulk-181-signed</url>
		<imageUrl>https://www.comicretailersite.com/hulk-181-signed.png</imageUrl>
		<condition>9.4</condition>
		<graderLabelId>2</graderLabelId>
		<graderKey>1150647001</graderKey>
	</comic>
</comics>

CSV is a special format that is only available to a limited retailer audience. Each CSV instance must be manually conected to the retailer's GoCollect account.

The CSV structure simply lists the comics that are available in the retailer's inventory. The first row of the file needs to contain the keys referenced in the Generic Structure. All subsequent rows should contain the details for each of the comics that are to be fed into GoCollect.

Get Started

Contact Jeff Meyer: jeff@gocollect.com

The Cost?

The optimal cost structure varies for each business. Our goal is to ensure the GoCollect platform is profitable for you so we offer several, flexible options:

Free for our data sharing partners. Please inquire to learn more.
CPC (Cost Per Click)
CPM (Cost Per Thousand Impressions)
Revenue Share (Affiliate Commission Structure)

Comic Retailer Program

How it Works

Feed Structure

Sample Feed Structure

Sample Feed Structure

Get Started

The Cost?

Analyzing Image