# Wheeljack's Lab Vintage Toy Scraper (`artsiom_k/wheeljacklab-scraper`) Actor

Scrape Wheeljack's Lab's (wheeljackslab.com) 14,000+ item vintage toy/action-figure for-sale catalog (G1 Transformers, Star Wars, He-Man, DC, and more), with built-in delta mode. No login required.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/artsiom\_k/wheeljacklab-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Artsiom Kunitsyn](https://apify.com/artsiom_k) (community)
- **Categories:** Other, E-commerce
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $5.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## wheeljacklab-scraper

Scrapes [Wheeljack's Lab](https://wheeljackslab.com)'s for-sale vintage toy/action-figure catalog
(G1 Transformers, Star Wars, He-Man, DC, and more — 14,000+ live items, online since 1999), via the
site's own real embedded structured data. No login required.

### Contents

- [Key features](#key-features)
- [Output](#output)
- [Input](#input)
- [Input examples](#input-examples)
- [Incremental (delta) mode](#incremental-delta-mode)
- [FAQ](#faq)

### 🔑 Key features

- **A real, rich per-item condition score.** Every item's free-text condition writeup includes the
  site's own "Rated N" grading (1-100 scale: 100 = mint-flawless, 95 = near-mint, 90 = excellent) —
  parsed out separately as `condition_score`, a genuinely sortable/filterable number, not just prose.
- **A genuinely rich specifics panel**, well beyond a typical price/title/description record: brand,
  franchise, character, genre, scale, country of origin, manufacture year, and more — kept as an
  opaque `specifics` label:value dict since the label set varies by item type (an action figure vs.
  a die-cast car vs. a lot of loose parts don't share the same labels), with `brand`/`franchise`
  pulled out as convenience top-level fields.
- **Full image galleries**, not just a thumbnail — every item's complete set of full-size photos.
- **Delta mode built in.** Every run classifies each item as `new`, `changed`, `unchanged`, or
  `delisted` against a persisted baseline — pay for what changed, not a full re-scrape every time.
- **Confirmed-dead listings are never re-fetched.** A removed item returns a plain HTTP 404 on this
  site — tracked in a persisted registry so a future run skips it without a wasted request.
- **`maxItems` defaults to 50** — a fast, cheap preview, and what keeps an unconfigured run within
  Apify's automated 5-minute QA check. Clear it (`null`) for a full crawl (~14,234 items as of this
  build).

### 📋 Output

One dataset item per catalog item — see
[`.actor/dataset_schema.json`](.actor/dataset_schema.json) for the full field list.

**Example record:**

```json
{
  "source": "wheeljacklab",
  "external_id": "237303",
  "url": "https://wheeljackslab.com/shop/237303-great-mazinga-100-complete-shogun-w",
  "title": "Great Mazinga 100% Complete Shogun Warriors 1979 Mattel Jumbo 24\" Action Figure",
  "description": "Box Condition: The box has some wear... Condition: Rated 85 with light wear...",
  "condition_score": 85,
  "price": 400,
  "currency": "USD",
  "availability_status": "InStock",
  "stock_text": "1 in stock",
  "stock_quantity": 1,
  "brand": "Mattel",
  "franchise": "Shogun Warriors",
  "specifics": {
    "Dimensions": "26 in × 12 in × 10 in",
    "Weight": "4 lbs",
    "Brand": "Mattel",
    "Character": "Mazinga",
    "Country of Origin": "Japan",
    "Franchise": "Shogun Warriors",
    "Genre": "Science Fiction",
    "Type": "Action Figure",
    "Vintage": "Yes",
    "Year Manufactured": "1979"
  },
  "image_url": "https://ebay.wheeljackslab.com/images/237303/0_$_32.JPG",
  "image_urls": ["https://ebay.wheeljackslab.com/images/237303/0_$_32.JPG", "..."],
  "sku": "237303",
  "change_type": "new"
}
```

### 🔧 Input

| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `startUrls` | array | — | Specific item URLs to scrape directly instead of the full catalog. |
| `maxItems` | integer | `50` | Stop after pushing this many items. Set to `null` for a full crawl. |
| `mode` | string | `auto` | `auto` / `full` / `incremental` — see [Incremental mode](#incremental-delta-mode). |
| `concurrency` | integer | `20` | How many item detail pages to fetch in parallel. |
| `impersonate` | string | `chrome` | curl\_cffi TLS-impersonation target. |
| `proxyConfiguration` | object | off | Apify Proxy config — not needed; no anti-bot friction found. |

### 📥 Input examples

**Default preview (50 items):**

```json
{}
```

**Full catalog crawl:**

```json
{ "maxItems": null }
```

**Specific items only:**

```json
{ "startUrls": ["https://wheeljackslab.com/shop/237303-great-mazinga-100-complete-shogun-w"] }
```

### 🔁 Incremental (delta) mode

`auto` mode does a full scan the first time it runs, then only pushes new/changed items on later
runs — including price changes and stock/sold-out transitions (`price`/`availability_status`/
`stock_text` are the watched fields). Only an uncapped, unscoped run (no `maxItems` limit reached,
no `startUrls`, no item errors) can detect delistings or update the baseline.

### ❓ FAQ

**Why isn't this discovered via the site's own `sitemap.xml`?**
A real finding while building this Actor: the site's only declared sitemap indexes a *separate*
collector identification/reference-guide section (`/toys/...`), not the actual for-sale catalog —
sample pages there carry a `$0.00` price and "sold and is no longer available" text. The real
14,000+ item catalog lives at `/shop/...` and isn't listed in any sitemap at all, so this Actor
discovers it by paginating the site's own `/shop` listing pages instead.

**Why is `franchise` sometimes missing?**
A real gap in the site's own data, not a scraping gap — not every item (a lot of loose parts, for
example) carries a Franchise label in its specifics panel. Check `specifics` for whatever labels
that specific item does carry.

**Does this need a proxy?**
No — no anti-bot friction was found while building this Actor (robots.txt is fully permissive, no
crawl-delay, no bot exclusions). Only a light concurrency smoke-test was run, though — watch for
errors at real full-catalog scale and lower `concurrency` if you see any.

# Actor input Schema

## `startUrls` (type: `array`):

Optional list of specific wheeljackslab.com item URLs (https://wheeljackslab.com/shop/{id}-{slug}) to scrape directly, instead of discovering via the full /shop catalog listing. A startUrls-scoped run cannot detect delistings or update the incremental baseline.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Stop after pushing this many dataset items. Defaults to 50 - a fast, cheap preview, and what keeps an unconfigured run within Apify's automated 5-minute QA check. A full, uncapped crawl covers the entire live catalog (~14,234 items as of this build). Raise this or clear it (set to null) for that.

## `mode` (type: `string`):

"auto" (recommended): full scan on the first run for a given scope, incremental (new/changed only) afterwards. "full": always push every item and refresh the baseline - schedule this periodically to catch delistings, price changes, and sold-out transitions. "incremental": always push only new/changed items. Only a plain, unscoped catalog crawl (no startUrls) can detect delistings or update the baseline.

## `concurrency` (type: `integer`):

How many item detail pages to fetch in parallel. Defaults to 20. Only a light 8-way concurrent smoke-test was run while building this Actor - watch for errors at real scale and lower this if you see any.

## `impersonate` (type: `string`):

curl\_cffi browser TLS-impersonation target. Defaults to "chrome" internally, though no anti-bot friction was found anywhere on this site while building this actor.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Apify Proxy configuration. Leave off unless you start seeing blocks from your own IP reputation - no anti-bot friction was found while building this actor.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "maxItems": 50,
  "mode": "auto",
  "concurrency": 20,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("artsiom_k/wheeljacklab-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("artsiom_k/wheeljacklab-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{}' |
apify call artsiom_k/wheeljacklab-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,artsiom_k/wheeljacklab-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/vub5ifoKtMfMFWRgG/builds/caYUc8bTPBxojKvza/openapi.json