2011 Fall Seller Update
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Category and Item Specifics Updates
See upcoming changes to categories and item specifics
Category and item specifics updates will be released in July and August. Click on the links in the chart below for details.
Tips and tools to edit listings
Highlights
- Category updates coming this summer bring a more intuitive structure, eliminate redundancies, and improve the shopping experience on eBay.
- Sellers in the Tickets category will need to review active listings after August 22 to confirm their listings were moved to the appropriate new category.
- Existing Tickets categories will be replaced by the following structure:
Tickets:- Sports
- Concerts
- Theater
- Other
- Some category updates are being made to align with the eBay catalog to minimize the time sellers need to invest in listing products. For example, Tickets will become multiple categories (see above) to align with the introduction of new catalogs to make listing in this category more efficient.
- Category updates can result in items moving from one top level category to another top level category. Moved items will take on the fee structure of the new top level category. For example, the Cell Phone Case category will move from Women’s Handbags & Accessories to Cell Phone and PDA Accessories. The Cell Phone Case category will take on the fee structure of the new top level category: Cell Phone & PDA Accessories.
- Item specifics are being updated in the following areas:
- Computers & Networking
- Consumer Electronics
- Tickets
| August 2011 Item specific updates are usually visible Monday or Thursday the week of publish. Additional site updates occur throughout the week to align and enhance the shopping experience. |
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| Item Specific Changes | Computers & Networking Converting to custom item specifics in certain areas. Updates to existing item specifics in some areas. For example: eBay item specifics for Apple Desktops are being changed to custom item specifics. Please click the “Computers & Networking” title above to see a list of affected areas. Consumer Electronics Converting to custom item specifics in certain areas such as Televisions. Please click on the “Electronics” title above to see a list of affected areas. |
| Week of August 22, 2011 Category and item specific updates are usually visible Monday or Thursday the week of the category release. Additional site updates occur throughout the week to align and enhance the shopping experience. |
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| Item Specific Changes |
Tickets Item specifics updates include converting to custom item specifics in Sports, Concerts, and Theater as follows:
Understand how your listings will be impacted and update listings as needed as a result of these category and item specifics updates. |
| Catalog Changes | Catalog updates in Computers & Networking and Consumer Electronics may require sellers of some products to re-select a more specific product during relist. |
| Category Changes |
Coins
The existing “Event tickets” category will be combined into “Sports” (Category ID# 173633). The existing “Experiences” category will be combined into “Other” (Category ID# 1306). |
| Early September 2011 Category and item specific updates are usually visible Monday or Thursday the week of the category release. Additional site updates occur throughout the week to align and enhance the shopping experience. | |
| Catalog Changes | Catalog updates in Tickets may require sellers to re-select their products during relist. |
Take Action
- Start using new and recommended item specifics as soon as the new values are available in July and August.
- Carefully review the categories where there are item specific removals and update any listings you have in those categories to avoid blocked listings in bulk relist or bulk edit flows.
- Review and update listings based on new sub-categories and category adjustments in the following categories:
- Coins
- Computers & Networking
- Consumer Electronics
- eBay Motors: Parts & Accessories
- Tickets
- Review how these changes will impact your existing listings and edit listings if needed to ensure proper categorization and item specifics. Use one of the following eBay tools to help update active listings:
- Bulk edit functionality inside My eBay
- Selling Manager/Selling Manager Pro
- Turbo Lister
- Blackthorne
- File Exchange
Tips and tools to edit listings
Best Practices
- Use item specifics where available to help buyers find your items fast.
- Adopt the eBay catalog where available and/or required
- Continue to fully describe your item in the body of your listing and make sure this description is consistent with the item specifics value you choose.
- Provide plenty of photos that complement the description.
- While an added benefit of listing with the catalog is the automatic exposure of unique product identifiers like UPC, EAP, and ISBN—include these whenever possible even if you can't list your item with the catalog. Including it will allow buyers to search on this field and title, and enhance discoverability with outside search engines and mobile applications.
- Google Product Search is now requiring the inclusion of unique identifiers for all products in key categories. The best way to ensure your listing contains the information required by Google Product Search is to always list your item with the eBay catalog whenever there’s a product match.