Photo capture on a phone
An installable app: snap one or several photos, or upload them. A background queue processes the items, and it survives a refresh or a weak signal, so a batch can be shot in the stockroom and left to run.
Retail × AI automation
Photograph the item. Review the listing.
For shops that list lots of unique items: take a photo, and the system identifies the item, drafts the title and description, picks a category and condition, researches comparable prices and suggests one. Staff review every draft before it goes live. It’s AI automation aimed at the slowest job in the shop.
Sound familiar?
Selling the item takes minutes. Listing it takes longer.
A second-hand shop, an antiques dealer or a vintage seller has to identify every item, write a description, find a comparable price and photograph it. For a unique piece there is no supplier data to import, so each listing is built from scratch. A hundred items is a week of work before the first sale. The photographing is the quick part. The research and the typing are what slow you down.
- Each unique item needs identifying, describing and pricing by hand.
- Price research means searching marketplaces item by item.
- Descriptions vary with whoever wrote them, and condition notes are missed.
- A backlog of unlisted stock builds up in the back room.
- You tried a general chatbot, but it doesn’t know your categories or write into your shop.
What gets built
The parts, shaped to you.
Pick the ones you need. Each is built around how your team already works, then joined up on one set of data.
Item identification
An image search service identifies what the item is, with brand and model where it can, as the starting point for the draft.
Drafted title and description
An AI model writes the title, description, brand, model, category and condition in your house style, using what it found and your category rules.
Price research
Comparable items are searched, EU listings first, and a price is suggested from what similar items are listed for, with the source shown so you can judge it.
A review screen, always
Staff see the photo, the draft, the suggested price and where it came from, answer a short questionnaire per category (size, defects, authenticity notes) and approve. Nothing is published unprompted.
Into your shop
Approved listings are saved to your own catalogue and storefront, or pushed as products to Shopify or WooCommerce through their APIs.
Stock import
An existing stock spreadsheet and photo folders can be imported from Google Drive, so the tool starts with your current items, not an empty shop.
Limits and a log
Every draft and edit is logged, and you can set what the AI may fill in on its own and what always needs a person.
A good fit if
- You list many unique or second-hand items and the research is the bottleneck.
- You have a backlog of stock sitting unlisted.
- You want consistent descriptions without everyone writing their own.
- You’re happy for staff to review every listing before it goes live.
Not the right call if
- You sell a fixed catalogue from suppliers. Import their data instead; AI isn’t needed.
- You expect the AI to judge authenticity or value on high-value items without an expert. It can’t, and I won’t build it to pretend.
- A plain form or a spreadsheet import would solve it. I’ll suggest that if it’s true.
How it runs
From first call to daily use.
The same five steps on every project, sized to yours.
- 01A short call or the quote builder
Tell me how the business runs today: the tools, the workarounds, the bit that drives you mad. The quote builder takes about five minutes and gives me a scoped brief.
- 02A fixed quote, in phases
I reply with a fixed price and a phase plan. The must-haves go first, so you are using the system while the rest is still being built.
- 03Previews as it’s built
You see the real system on a private link while it is being built, with your own data in it as early as possible. Changes are cheap at this stage, so this is where we make them.
- 04Your data moved across
Spreadsheets, an old system, email threads: the data comes with you, checked against the source so nothing is lost on the way.
- 05Launch, then care
Your team gets a walkthrough, and I stay on for fixes and new features, either on a monthly support plan or pay as you go.
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Does the AI publish listings by itself?
No. It drafts and suggests; a member of staff reviews and approves each listing. You can decide which fields it fills in and which always need a person.
How accurate is the price?
It’s a starting point drawn from comparable listings, with the source visible. For ordinary goods it gets you close quickly; for rare or valuable items a person must decide. The review screen exists so that judgement stays with staff.
Are our photos used to train AI models?
Business API access from the major providers isn’t used to train their models by default. I build on those APIs and keep your data in your own systems; the details for your provider are set out in the proposal.
Can it connect to Shopify?
Yes. Approved listings can be created as products in Shopify or WooCommerce through their APIs, or kept in a catalogue of their own. See Shopify stock sync for keeping the stock in step after that.
How long does a pilot take?
A short pilot on one category is typically a matter of weeks, and tells you whether the drafts and prices are good enough before you scale it up. AI and automations is roughly 35 to 90 build hours, plus 30 to 50 hours of shared groundwork.
What if the AI gets the item wrong?
Then the reviewer corrects it before publishing, which takes seconds on the review screen. The draft shows what the system found and where the price came from, so a wrong identification is easy to spot. Over a batch, the time saved on the ones it gets right pays for the ones it doesn’t.
Go deeper
Read next, then decide.
ServiceAI automation & agents
Agents that sort email, draft replies, read documents and update records, with approval.
IndustryRetail & e-commerceStock across shop and online, orders, suppliers and fast AI-assisted listing.
SystemInventory managementStock across shop, stockroom and online, with variants, barcodes, supplier reorders and stock takes.
SystemShopify stock syncTwo-way Shopify stock and order sync with your shop, reconciliation and alerts when they disagree.
Case studySecondhand MaltaPhotograph an item, get a listing: an AI scanner that writes the copy and researches the price.
IntegrationShopifyShopify orders, stock and customers synced with a custom back office or ERP.
GuideHow to write a software briefA one-page brief for a custom system, with a checklist, so quotes arrive comparable.
Often built together
Related systems.
AI automation & agents
Agents that sort email, draft replies, read documents and update records, with approval.
Retail & e-commerceStock across shop and online, orders, suppliers and fast AI-assisted listing.
IntegrationsWix, Shopify, Gmail, WhatsApp, Stripe, calendars and accounts, synced both ways.
Custom ERPQuotes, stock, staff, jobs and invoicing on one shared set of data.
How pricing works · Digitalise Your SME grants · All case studies
Start here
Get a fixed quote.
The quote builder opens with the parts on this page already switched on. Add or remove what you like, and I reply with a fixed quote.