TC
The Comparator
Academy Wiki / Operational Guide

Manage your feed and mapping results

Understand our assisted integration workflow, how to read your CSV mapping reports, and how to submit corrections to keep your offers live.

Manage your feed and mapping results

The Comparator uses an assisted onboarding and operational management workflow. We do not operate a self-service merchant portal or login dashboard at this time.

This guide explains how your store interacts with our integration team, how to read your CSV Mapping Reports, and how to submit corrections.

1. Operational Workflow Overview

Because hardware matching requires strict technical accuracy, our engineering team manages the ingest pipeline.

[1. Submit Feed] ➔ [2. Ingestion & Validation] ➔ [3. CSV Mapping Report] ➔ [4. Submit Corrections] ➔ [5. Live Sync]
  1. Submit Application & Feed: You submit your store application and feed URL via /retailers/apply/.
  2. Initial Pipeline Ingestion: Our system fetches your feed, validates schema rules, and attempts matching against our hardware reference database (ref_specs.json).
  3. Receive CSV Mapping Report: Our integration team emails you a CSV report detailing matched, ambiguous, and rejected items.
  4. Review & Correct: You review the CSV, update missing MPNs/GTINs in your feed or annotate corrections, and email it back to [email protected].
  5. Live Publication & Sync: We apply your mapping overrides to our pipeline configuration (corrections.json). Your matched products appear live in the comparison tables.

2. Onboarding Interface & Screenshots

Retailer Application Interface (/retailers/apply/)

When you register your store, you submit your details through our partner application form:

Retailer Application Interface
Figure 1: The partner application form. Confirmation text verifies that no portal login or setup call is required at this stage.

Feed Requirements Reference (/retailers/feed-requirements/)

Technical guidelines for feed formats can be reviewed at any time:

Feed Requirements Interface
Figure 2: The technical feed requirements page detailing accepted CSV, JSON, and XML structures.

3. Reading the Mapping Report (CSV Format)

When your feed is processed, our team generates a Mapping Report (CSV format).

Structure of the CSV Mapping Report

Header Example Value Description
sku GPU-4070S-01 Your internal product ID.
feed_title ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER OC 16GB Original title string from your feed.
matched_model NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER Canonical hardware model in The Comparator DB.
status Matched Processing outcome (Matched, Ambiguous, Review, Rejected).
issue_code NONE Diagnostic code for warnings or rejections.
live_url https://thecomparator.tech/gpu/rtx-4070-ti-super/ Target page on The Comparator where offer appears.

4. Status Meanings & Issue Codes

Mapping Status Definitions

  • ✅ Matched: The item was successfully identified and matched to a canonical hardware model. It will appear live when in_stock.
  • ⚠️ Ambiguous: Our algorithm found multiple possible hardware matches (e.g., could not distinguish between a 12GB and 16GB variant due to vague title). Requires manual correction.
  • 🔍 Review: The offer was flagged for manual review (e.g., price is 40% below market average). Held until verified.
  • ❌ Rejected: The offer cannot be imported (e.g., unsupported category or bundle).

Diagnostic Issue Codes

  • NON_COMPONENT_ACCESSORY: Item is a PC case, water block, or bracket. (Safely ignored by importer).
  • PRICE_ANOMALY: Price is significantly outside expected hardware bounds.
  • ERR_NO_IDENTIFIER: Title is vague and no GTIN/MPN was provided.
  • COMBO_OR_BUNDLE: Item contains multiple components (rejected by isComboListing filter).

5. How to Submit Mapping Corrections

If an item was marked Ambiguous or matched to the wrong hardware variant:

  1. Open your CSV Mapping Report in Excel or Google Sheets.
  2. Add a column titled Correction.
  3. Enter the exact canonical hardware name or URL from The Comparator (e.g., https://thecomparator.tech/gpu/rtx-4070-super/).
  4. Email the annotated CSV to [email protected] with subject line Mapping Corrections - [Store Name].

Our team applies your corrections within 24 hours, updating cpu_corrections.json or mobo_sata_corrections.json in the live pipeline.

6. Escalating Incorrect Live Offers

If a live offer displays an incorrect price or links to the wrong landing page:

  1. Check your source feed to ensure the SKU and price are correct.
  2. Send an email to [email protected] with subject: URGENT: Live Price Mismatch - [Store Name].
  3. Include the SKU, wrong live URL, and correct landing page link.
  4. Emergency escalations are processed within 4 hours.