Contact

If you encounter any issues or need to exchange information, please feel free to contact us through the following link: My profile

Ricardo.ch Scraper: Extract Swiss Marketplace Data Efficiently

Introduction: Why Scrape Ricardo.ch?

Ricardo.ch stands as Switzerland's largest online marketplace, featuring over 1.5 million product listings and more than 5 million registered users. Founded in 1999, the platform has established itself as the leading e-commerce destination in Switzerland, surpassing even international giants in mobile app popularity among Swiss consumers.

For businesses, researchers, and data analysts, Ricardo.ch represents a goldmine of valuable market intelligence. The platform combines traditional auction-style listings with direct "Buy Now" options, creating a unique hybrid marketplace that reflects real-time pricing dynamics, consumer preferences, and market trends across Switzerland. Whether you're conducting competitive analysis, monitoring price fluctuations, tracking product availability, or researching Swiss consumer behavior, accessing this data systematically becomes essential for informed decision-making.

However, manually collecting data from thousands of product listings is time-consuming, error-prone, and impractical at scale. This is where automated scraping becomes indispensable.

Ricardo.ch Scraper Overview

The Ricardo.ch Product Search Scraper is a specialized data extraction tool designed to efficiently collect comprehensive product information from Ricardo's category and search result pages. This scraper navigates through product listings, captures detailed information about each item, and structures the data in an easily analyzable format.

Key Features and Advantages

Comprehensive Data Extraction: The scraper captures over 20 different data points for each product, including pricing information (both auction and Buy Now prices), seller details, product conditions, shipping options, and promotional status. This granular level of detail enables thorough market analysis and competitor monitoring.

Flexible Configuration: With customizable settings for proxy rotation, retry mechanisms, and item limits per URL, the scraper can be tailored to specific data collection needs while maintaining reliability and avoiding detection.

Batch Processing Capability: Process multiple category URLs or search queries simultaneously, enabling efficient large-scale data collection across different product segments or market niches.

Robust Error Handling: Built-in retry logic and URL failure tolerance ensure data collection continues smoothly even when encountering temporary issues with specific pages.

Ideal Use Cases

This scraper serves various stakeholders in the Swiss e-commerce ecosystem:

• E-commerce businesses conducting competitive pricing analysis and market positioning research
• Market researchers analyzing Swiss consumer trends and product demand patterns
• Price monitoring services tracking price fluctuations across categories
• Inventory managers monitoring product availability and supplier diversity
• Data analysts building datasets for predictive modeling and trend forecasting

Input Configuration Explained

Example url 1: https://www.ricardo.ch/de/c/herren-jacken-41016/

Example url 2: https://www.ricardo.ch/de/c/herrenmode-40800/?page=2

Example url 3: https://www.ricardo.ch/de/c/sportbekleidung-fuer-herren-40801/

Example Screenshot of aroduct list by query page:

Input Format Specification

The scraper accepts JSON configuration with precise parameters to customize data extraction according to specific requirements. The input structure includes essential settings for proxy configuration, retry mechanisms, and URL specifications.

Example Input Configuration:

{
  "max_retries_per_url": 2, // Maximum waiting time when accessing the links you provided.
  "proxy": { // Add a proxy to ensure that during the data collection process, you are not detected as a bot.
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL" 
    ],
    "apifyProxyCountry": "SG" // You should choose an Country that coincides with the Country you want to collect data from
  },
  "max_items_per_url": 20,
  "ignore_url_failures": true,
  "urls": [ // Links to aroduct list by query pages.
    "https://www.ricardo.ch/de/c/herren-jacken-41016/",
    "https://www.ricardo.ch/de/c/herrenmode-40800/?page=2",
    "https://www.ricardo.ch/de/c/sportbekleidung-fuer-herren-40801/"
  ]
}

Input Parameter Details:

max_retries_per_url (Integer, recommended: 2-3): This parameter determines how many times the scraper will attempt to access a URL if the initial request fails. Setting this to 2 provides a good balance between persistence and efficiency. Higher values increase success rates but may slow down overall execution.

proxy (Object): Proxy configuration is critical for large-scale scraping operations to avoid IP blocking and ensure geographic accuracy.

• useApifyProxy (Boolean): Enable Apify's proxy services to rotate IP addresses
• apifyProxyGroups (Array): Specify proxy type. "RESIDENTIAL" proxies mimic real user behavior and are highly recommended for marketplace scraping as they appear more legitimate to anti-bot systems
• apifyProxyCountry (String): Set the proxy country code. For Ricardo.ch, using "CH" (Switzerland) ensures you're accessing the site as Swiss users do, which may reveal region-specific pricing or availability. Using "SG" (Singapore) or other countries can work but may trigger additional security checks

max_items_per_url (Integer, typical range: 10-100): Limits how many products to extract from each provided URL. This is useful for testing configurations with smaller samples (e.g., 20 items) before scaling up to full category extractions (100+ items).

ignore_url_failures (Boolean, recommended: true): When enabled, the scraper continues processing remaining URLs even if some fail. This prevents a single problematic URL from halting your entire data collection job.

urls (Array of strings): The target product listing pages you want to scrape. These should be category pages or search result URLs from Ricardo.ch. Each URL should be a valid, publicly accessible product listing page.

Comprehensive Output Data Structure

You get the output from the ricardo.ch Product Search Scraper stored in a tab. The following is an example of the Information Fields collected after running the Actor.

[ // List of aroduct information
  {
  "id": "1276561598",
  "title": "Snowboardjacke",
  "has_buy_now": true,
  "has_auction": false,
  "end_date": "2025-11-16T13:40:00Z",
  "image": "https://img.ricardostatic.ch/images/38d7433b-c884-4ac5-8399-182dee9e860c/t_450/snowboardjacke",
  "buy_now_price": 279,
  "bid_price": null,
  "bids_count": 0,
  "category_id": 41016,
  "is_promo": true,
  "promo_option": "bronze",
  "condition_key": "like_new",
  "is_money_guard": false,
  "start_date": "2025-08-18T12:41:00Z",
  "creation_date": "2024-12-16T07:05:00Z",
  "seller_id": "410679293",
  "shipping": [
    {
      "key": "get_by_buyer",
      "cost": 0,
      "zip_code": "3627",
      "city": "Heimberg"
    }
  ],
  "brand": "Volcom",
  "size": "L",
  "product_type_key": "jacket",
  "can_make_an_offer": true,
  "highlights": [],
  "highlight": "boost",
  "from_url": "https://www.ricardo.ch/de/c/herren-jacken-41016"
}, // ... Many other aroduct details
]

Output Fields Explained

ID (String): Ricardo's unique product identifier. This permanent reference number allows you to track specific listings over time, monitor price changes, or cross-reference products across different data collection runs.

Title (String): The product listing title as written by the seller. Analyzing titles can reveal keyword strategies, naming conventions, and product presentation approaches used by successful sellers.

Has Buy Now (Boolean): Indicates whether the listing offers immediate purchase at a fixed price. This field helps segment the marketplace between pure auctions and hybrid listings, revealing pricing strategy preferences.

Has Auction (Boolean): Shows if the item is available through competitive bidding. Combined with "Has Buy Now," you can identify dual-listing strategies where sellers offer both options.

End Date (DateTime/String): The listing expiration timestamp. Critical for urgency analysis, timing strategies, and understanding listing duration patterns. Helps predict when inventory will refresh.

Image (URL/String): Direct link to the product's primary image. Useful for visual analysis, building image datasets for machine learning, or creating product catalogs.

Buy Now Price (Number/String): The fixed purchase price in Swiss Francs (CHF). Primary metric for price comparison, competitive analysis, and market positioning studies.

Bid Price (Number/String): Current highest bid amount for auction listings. Tracking this alongside Buy Now prices reveals price discovery dynamics and buyer willingness to pay.

Bids Count (Integer): Number of bids received. High bid counts indicate strong interest and competitive demand, while zero bids may signal pricing issues or low demand.

Category ID (String/Integer): Ricardo's internal category classification. Essential for organizing data by product type, conducting category-level analysis, and understanding market segmentation.

Is Promo (Boolean): Flags whether the listing is featured or promoted. Promoted listings appear more prominently and often indicate sellers investing in visibility, suggesting higher-value or more competitive products.

Promo Option (String): Specific type of promotion applied (if any). Different promotion tiers may offer varying visibility levels, helping you understand promotional strategies and their potential ROI.

Condition Key (String): Product condition indicator (e.g., "new," "like new," "used," "refurbished"). Critical for price normalization and ensuring apples-to-apples comparisons in market analysis.

Is Money Guard (Boolean): Indicates use of Ricardo's payment protection service. This security feature is more common in higher-value transactions and can serve as a trust signal proxy.

Start Date (DateTime/String): When the listing was created. Calculate listing duration, analyze optimal listing timing, and understand inventory turnover rates.

Creation Date (DateTime/String): Timestamp of when the product entry was first created in Ricardo's system. May differ from Start Date if sellers prepare listings in advance.

Seller ID (String): Unique identifier for the seller account. Track seller activity levels, inventory size, pricing strategies, and identify dominant sellers in specific categories.

Shipping (Object/String): Shipping cost and options information. Shipping fees significantly impact total buyer cost; this data is essential for true price comparison and buyer behavior analysis.

Brand (String): Product brand name when available. Brand distribution analysis reveals market composition, premium vs. budget segment sizes, and brand popularity trends.

Size (String): Product size specification (clothing, shoes, etc.). Critical for fashion categories to understand size availability, popular sizes, and inventory gaps.

Product Type Key (String): More granular product classification within categories. Helps subdivide broad categories into specific product types for detailed niche analysis.

Can Make An Offer (Boolean): Indicates if the seller accepts negotiated offers. This feature reveals seller flexibility and can help identify negotiation opportunities or seller motivation levels.

Highlights (Array/String): Featured product attributes or special characteristics. These promotional callouts indicate what sellers emphasize as key selling points.

Highlight (String/Object): Specific highlighted feature or promotional message. Analyzing common highlights reveals what attributes drive buyer decisions in each category.

Output Example with Context

This example shows a typical Buy-Now-only listing for a used sneaker. The "used_like_new" condition, Money Guard protection, and "Can Make An Offer" flag suggest a motivated but quality-conscious seller. The lack of bids with a pure Buy Now strategy indicates the seller prefers transaction certainty over auction dynamics.

Usage Guide: Running Your First Scrape

Step-by-Step Implementation

Step 1: Identify Target Categories Navigate to Ricardo.ch and identify the product categories or search results you want to analyze. Copy the full URLs including any page parameters. Category URLs typically follow the pattern: https://www.ricardo.ch/de/c/[category-name]-[category-id]/

Step 2: Configure Input Parameters Create your JSON configuration file. Start conservatively with 2-3 URLs and max_items_per_url set to 10-20 for initial testing. This validates your configuration without consuming excessive resources.

Step 3: Set Up Proxy Configuration Always enable residential proxies with the Swiss country code ("CH") for optimal results. This mimics legitimate Swiss user traffic and reduces detection risk.

Step 4: Execute the Scraper Deploy the scraper through your chosen platform (typically Apify or similar web scraping infrastructure). Monitor the initial run to ensure successful connection and data extraction.

Step 5: Validate Output Data Review the returned dataset for completeness and accuracy. Check that all expected fields are populated and data types match expectations.

Step 6: Scale and Optimize Once validated, increase max_items_per_url and add more URLs to expand your dataset. Monitor execution time and success rates to find optimal parameters.

Tips and Best Practices

Optimal Timing: Run scrapes during off-peak hours (late evening or early morning Swiss time) to reduce load and potential blocking.

Data Freshness: Ricardo listings change frequently. For time-sensitive analysis, schedule regular scraping runs (daily or weekly) rather than one-time extractions.

Category Structure: Start with broader categories then narrow down to specific niches. This approach helps understand market structure before diving into detailed analysis.

Pagination Handling: When targeting multi-page categories, include URLs for multiple pages (page=1, page=2, etc.) to capture complete category inventories.

Data Storage: Implement a systematic storage strategy with timestamps. This enables historical analysis and trend tracking over time.

Common Issues and Solutions

Issue: Empty Results

• Cause: URL might be malformed or page structure changed
• Solution: Verify URLs manually in browser; check for captchas or access restrictions

Issue: Incomplete Data Fields

• Cause: Not all listings contain every field (e.g., auction-only items lack Buy Now prices)
• Solution: This is normal; implement null-handling in your data analysis pipeline

Issue: Proxy Connection Failures

• Cause: Residential proxy pool exhaustion or geographic restrictions
• Solution: Try different proxy countries or increase retry delays

Issue: Slow Execution

• Cause: Too many retries, overly large max_items_per_url, or server-side throttling
• Solution: Reduce max_items_per_url, disable excessive retries, add delays between requests

Benefits and Real-World Applications

Time and Resource Efficiency

Manual data collection from thousands of Ricardo listings would require hundreds of hours of human effort. The scraper automates this process, collecting comprehensive data from hundreds of products in minutes rather than days. This efficiency translates directly into faster decision-making cycles and reduced research costs.

Competitive Intelligence

Monitor competitor pricing strategies, inventory levels, and promotional activities automatically. Track how similar products are priced across different sellers, identify pricing patterns, and adjust your own pricing strategy based on real-time market data.

Market Research Applications

Trend Identification: Analyze which product categories show increasing listing volumes, rising prices, or growing competition. Early trend detection enables proactive inventory planning.

Seasonal Analysis: Track how product availability, pricing, and demand fluctuate across seasons. This informs purchasing decisions and inventory management strategies.

Brand Analysis: Understand brand distribution, price positioning, and market share within specific categories. Identify gaps where new brands could enter successfully.

Seller Behavior Studies: Analyze successful seller strategies by correlating listing characteristics (promotions, pricing, descriptions) with bid counts and sales velocity.

Business Value Proposition

For e-commerce businesses operating in or targeting the Swiss market, this data provides actionable insights that drive revenue growth and operational efficiency. Price optimization based on competitive intelligence can improve margins by 5-15%. Inventory decisions informed by demand signals reduce overstock and stockouts. Market entry strategies grounded in actual marketplace data reduce risk and accelerate time-to-market.

For researchers and analysts, the structured dataset enables sophisticated analysis techniques including time-series forecasting, price elasticity modeling, and market segmentation studies that would be impossible with manual data collection.

Conclusion

The Ricardo.ch Product Search Scraper provides efficient, comprehensive access to Switzerland's largest online marketplace data. By automating the extraction of detailed product information—including pricing, auction dynamics, seller details, and product attributes—this tool empowers businesses and researchers to make data-driven decisions in the Swiss e-commerce landscape.

Whether you're monitoring competitive pricing, conducting market research, tracking inventory trends, or analyzing consumer behavior, this scraper delivers the structured, reliable data you need. The combination of flexible configuration options, robust error handling, and detailed output makes it an essential tool for anyone serious about understanding or competing in the Swiss online marketplace.

Ready to unlock valuable insights from Ricardo.ch? Start with a small-scale test scrape to familiarize yourself with the data structure, then scale up to build comprehensive datasets that drive strategic advantage in one of Europe's most affluent e-commerce markets.

Related Actors

• ricardo.ch Product Details Scraper: A specialized data extraction tool engineered to harvest detailed product information from ricardo's product marketplace.

Your feedback

We are always working to improve Actors' performance. So, if you have any technical feedback about ricardo.ch Product Search Scraper or simply found a bug, please create an issue on the Actor's Issues tab in Apify Console.