"New" item specifics requirements on July 12

[blackandtanbooks]

We presently list books on five venues though a data management service. We're adding item specifics to our listings after listing them on eBay because this service doesn't support item specifics. The wording on the July 12 changes announcement seems to suggest that we can't list new items if they don't already have item specifics installed. Am I screwed? If so, the workaround would be a nightmare.

[1786davycrockett]

The main "item specific" blocks on the new eBay format involve separately filling in (one by one!) the title of each book; the author(s) of each book; and the language of each book.  I don't see a way around it.

I largely stopped listing any new items for about 8 days earlier this year, when eBay first made this announcement, in order to "fill in the blanks" on over 1700 of my book listings, in order to comply with this new idiocy.  That was 8 days of lost sales, due to some moron's ignorance of the book industry, in which ALL of that data had previously been listed -- just not in the NEW "item specific" boxes which eBay had shoved down our throats.

I wholeheartedly agree -- definitely a nightmare.

[morgan007]

I thought I had written a pretty good commentary about this new  "item specfics" policy , which is just crazy ( for booksellers , anyway ..I didnt have any bad language in it or anything ( but I was pretty critical of it ). Ebay blocked my reply   " Exception ID: 37FF74E2." ..I checked this out but none of their reasons applied even remotelt to what I wrote .. So be careful 

[morgan007]

  Just checking to see why my comment was blocked   : I used words like greedy , DOPEY , shareholder, ill-conceived , counterproductive ,  makes no sense for a bookseller 

[b86fiero]

Sorry, I feel for you.  The book category new item specifics requirement is extremely frustrating and duplicative.

I removed almost all of my listings for adult fiction novels but even with coloring and activity books I receive the "add item specifics" warning.  I am expected to fill in "Book Series" which none of the options given apply or sit and type in custom wording such as "coloring book" or "crossword puzzle book" ad nauseum.