Checkout Store Gadget

What is the Google Checkout store gadget?

The Google Checkout store gadget allows you to quickly and easily create an online store using a Google Docs spreadsheet.

Will this procedure work for me?

• The store gadget is compatible with Blogger, Google Sites, iGoogle, and personal websites where HTML can be modified.
• You can sell multiple items in a single transaction.
• Inventory can be tracked automatically.
• You may need to copy-and-paste HTML snippets to embed this gadget.
• Shipping options are flexible. You can either:
  • Instantly specify per-item shipping costs on an inventory spreadsheet.
  • Enable geography-based shipping fees or use carrier-calculated rates from your Checkout merchant account. Learn more

Technical Skills Required:

No advanced technical skills are required to embed the gadget in Google Sites or Blogger. You do not need to write HTML to implement the Google Checkout store gadget on a personal website, but should be able to read HTML well enough to know where to add the gadget code snippet.

This symbol means the link opens up the page in a new window or tab so when you're done with that step, you can close the window or tab and go on to the next step.

Step 1. Initial preparation

If you haven't already, sign up and familiarize yourself with Google Docs and your Google Checkout merchant account. While the wizard below will walk you through this process, you may find it useful to explore the products on your own.

Step 2. Create a store gadget

Launch the store gadget creation wizard , which makes implementation quick and easy. You can get your first online store up-and-running in under five minutes.

Step 3. Understanding the wizard

Merchant Info

• Selecting an account type
  • Production accounts are traditional merchant accounts used to process transactions on the web. You should select Production account if you are ready to accept orders from customers. Orders placed in production accounts involve real orders, charges, and refunds.
  • Sandbox accounts, in contrast, are used by developers to test their integrations and place sample orders. With a sandbox account, you can sign in as a buyer and place orders without incurring charges, then test the steps that follow a purchase, including the processing of shipments, cancellations, and refunds. If you are using a sandbox account, you will eventually need to switch to a production account before accepting orders. Learn more.
• Understanding digitally signed carts

  A digitally signed cart is a shopping cart that has a cryptographically secure digital signature. This enables Google to verify that the order was not altered between the time the order was placed and the time Google received it. The Google Checkout store gadget is incompatible with digitally signed carts. As your carts will not be digitally signed, you may wish to review orders for accurate prices, shipping costs, etc. Rest assured, credit card processing is still secure; purchase information is encrypted during transmission with industry-standard SSL (secure socket layer) technology over HTTPS.

Choose Data Source

In this step of the wizard, you will list the items you'd like to sell in a Google Docs spreadsheet. Here's how:

• Create a new inventory spreadsheet: Click the Create a new inventory spreadsheet button to get started with an easy-to-use inventory template. You will be asked to grant permission for the wizard to access and update your inventory spreadsheet. Spreadsheets must be shared and published before the gadget will function properly. Click the Share button in the upper-right of the spreadsheet, then select Publish as webpage.
• Enter your inventory in the spreadsheet: The template comes pre-filled with valid sample inventory you can use as a model for entering the products you'd like to sell. We automatically check whether the data you've entered is correctly formatted. You will see Spreadsheet verified if everything is correct.
• (Optional) Upload an existing spreadsheet: If you already have your inventory in an Excel or CSV file, you can:
  1. Upload the file to Google Docs
  2. Re-title the columns to match those listed directly below
  3. In Step 2 of the store gadget wizard , Choose Data Source, select your uploaded spreadsheet from the list of files displayed.

  Tip: Just getting started? We recommend starting from a new inventory spreadsheet template until you become familiar with the technology.

Overview of data you can specify (as columns) in your spreadsheet:

Option name	Option definition	Examples
sku (required)	Any unique identifier (stock-keeping unit)	12345
title (required)	The title of the product you want to sell	Flashing Yo-Yo
price (required)	The price of the item for sale	$10.00
description	Description of the product	A Yo-Yo with LEDs inside
quantity	The number of products you have in stock	5
image_link	URL to a picture of the product	http://www.google.com/intl/en_ALL/images/logo.gif
option_name	Title for optional product categories	Color: ...or... Size:
option	Product options separated by commas	red,blue,green, ...or... small,medium,large
digital	Indicate if the product is digital.	true, otherwise blank
weight	Specify item's shipping weight (in pounds) if using carrier-calculated shipping.  Shipping methods	8
shipping	Shipping rate per-item. Leave blank to default to shipping options in your Checkout account. Shipping methods	$5.00

Auto Inventory Update

• The Google Checkout store gadget includes automatic inventory update. The number you've entered in the quantity column of your spreadsheet will be reduced automatically with each sale. Once your inventory reaches zero, the item will be listed as out of stock in your store. You can then update the spreadsheet with new inventory or remove the item from your spreadsheet.
• To ensure automatic inventory works correctly, specify a unique SKU (also known as a stock-keeping unit) for each item in your spreadsheet. This is especially important when your items have similar or identical names. The SKU can be any unique identifier you choose. Learn more about stock-keeping units at Wikipedia.
• If you have an unlimited quantity of items, as might be common when selling digital goods, you can leave the inventory column blank for these specific items, or omit the column entirely to specify unlimited inventory for all items in the spreadsheet.
• Automatic inventory update is accurate for the majority of cases; however, minor discrepancies are possible. Cancelled orders and returned merchandise will not be re- added to your inventory automatically. Discrepancies may also surface in the rare event that two or more orders are placed at the exact same time. Review and update your inventory occasionally to ensure it accurately reflects available stock.

Preview / Configure

• To preview your gadget, first select the size which most closely matches where you plan to embed it. For example, you might select Tiny if you plan to embed the store into the side-bar of your blog, whereas you might select Large if the store will serve as the primary page content. Both the Large and Small gadget types will display, by default, an image, item name, and description. In contrast, the Tiny gadget type hides the description by default, which can be expanded by clicking on the more... link.
• After selecting an approximate size, you can fine-tune the layout by specifying a more specific width and height, in pixels.
• For the best results, experiment with the various gadget types and widths to find a layout that works best for your page.

Embed Gadget

The wizard will walk you through the final step: embedding your new store gadget. From the tabs at the top, select where you plan to embed the gadget. We'll then provide instructions for embedding in that location. Currently, you can embed the gadget in any of the following locations:

• Your personal website
• Google Sites
• Blogger (either inside a blog post, or as part of your layout)
• iGoogle

Step 4. Start processing orders

You will automatically receive emails when users place orders. To review and process these orders, sign in to your merchant account and click on the Orders tab. From your merchant account, you can also specify contact information, configure tax rules, provide business information, and setup default shipping options which are used if you do not specify a per-item shipping amount in your spreadsheet. We recommend taking a moment to familiarize yourself with the various features available in your account.

Step 5. Getting paid

After a buyer has placed an order, and you have both shipped the merchandise and charged the buyer's credit card, Google will then pay you that amount, minus a transaction fee. To find out about payment prerequisites and schedules, see:

• Receiving payouts
• Transaction fees
• More about payouts and fees

Troubleshooting common problems

I'm having problems with the store gadget wizard in Chrome and Safari.
We are currently working on this problem. In the meantime, everything should work in Firefox.

"Oops! We were unable to process your request."
This error can result for a variety of reasons:

• Make sure you've selected the correct account type in the first step of the wizard.
• If you receive this error while testing your gadget, review our general troubleshooting guide .
• Sellers are not permitted to place orders for their own merchandise. You may receive errors if attempting to purchase from yourself.

My gadget gives me an "invalid response [object Object]" error and says "Access denied".
Make sure that your spreadsheet is published by clicking on Share, then Publish as a web page, and then Start Publishing.

No data is showing in the gadget.
Make sure that your spreadsheet is published. Here's how:

1. When viewing your spreadsheet, click the Share button.
2. Select Publish as a web page.
3. Make sure that Automatically republish when changes are made is checked.
4. Click Start publishing.

Also check that your spreadsheet is in the correct format. The first row of the spreadsheet must be the column names, such as title, content, price, quantity, etc. Review the sample inventory spreadsheet in the wizard as an example.

Other resources

Google Checkout store gadget forum
Chat with other store gadget users in a public forum.

Spreadsheet Gadget Developer Guide
Learn more about creating spreadsheet-enabled gadgets.