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A CSV upload is probably the most efficient way to handle cheap sports cards, but there may still be the issue of photos. The CSV can not directly upload photos. It can only include URLs of photos that are already online (usually on the seller's own website or image host). Sellers who don't have external image hosting can still use the CSV method with a placeholder image, but will need to revise the listing to manually add the photos.
The first step is to download a category-specific "new listing" template from
Seller Hub > Reports > Uploads
https://www.ebay.com/sh/reports/uploads
You will find that the columns on the left side of the template are the same for all listings, while the C:Columns over to the right are Item Specifics related to the chosen category.
Additionally, there will be a difference if you are using Business Policies or if you are separately stating the shipping and return instructions for each listing. So, the first step here is to let me know if you are using "business policies", as that will affect the instructions (business policies may be easier to use in a template).
The next question is whether you will be uploading singles, or whether you want to create a droplist of related singles from which to choose. The latter is more complex, but more efficient when listing.
The pitfalls of a CSV upload usually surround the structure of the file.
1) eBay does not accept Apple-formatted CSV files, so spreadsheets created on Apple devices should be saved in Microsoft format before uploading to eBay. The difference between the two is specific to how the line-ends, indicating the end of a row, are encoded. Each row is a separate item.
2) If using an older spreadsheet tool, be wary of UTF-8 encoding (the extended encoding for funny characters). Older spreadsheet tools prepend a special code to the front of the file to indicate it is UTF-8 (no longer needed in newer tools), and eBay can not deal with any hidden characters appearing at the front of the file. eBay relies on that first "Action" column to determine the nature of the file. The fallback is to select the ISO-8859 encoding when saving the file in an older spreadsheet tool.
3) We have also seen instances of online spreadsheet tools adding a whole column of zeros in empty rows that contain no other data, posing yet another issue for eBay's interpreter.
4) And lastly, no cell should contain a carriage return or new line, as that would break the single row (in the middle of a listing record), into multiple rows of nonsense when eBay tries to read the file. A "new line" or "carriage return" character can only appear at the end of the row to terminate the new item (which the spreadsheet automatically handles). That means the description will need to use HTML-codes for a new line if it is more than one paragraph in length.
So those are the more blatant gotchas that may cause eBay to immediately reject a file. Once eBay accepts an upload, eBay will process any errors and provide guidance on fixing them. Of course, the guidance may not be understandable, but we sellers can help with that.
A CSV upload is probably the most efficient way to handle cheap sports cards, but there may still be the issue of photos. The CSV can not directly upload photos. It can only include URLs of photos that are already online (usually on the seller's own website or image host). Sellers who don't have external image hosting can still use the CSV method with a placeholder image, but will need to revise the listing to manually add the photos.
The first step is to download a category-specific "new listing" template from
Seller Hub > Reports > Uploads
https://www.ebay.com/sh/reports/uploads
You will find that the columns on the left side of the template are the same for all listings, while the C:Columns over to the right are Item Specifics related to the chosen category.
Additionally, there will be a difference if you are using Business Policies or if you are separately stating the shipping and return instructions for each listing. So, the first step here is to let me know if you are using "business policies", as that will affect the instructions (business policies may be easier to use in a template).
The next question is whether you will be uploading singles, or whether you want to create a droplist of related singles from which to choose. The latter is more complex, but more efficient when listing.
The pitfalls of a CSV upload usually surround the structure of the file.
1) eBay does not accept Apple-formatted CSV files, so spreadsheets created on Apple devices should be saved in Microsoft format before uploading to eBay. The difference between the two is specific to how the line-ends, indicating the end of a row, are encoded. Each row is a separate item.
2) If using an older spreadsheet tool, be wary of UTF-8 encoding (the extended encoding for funny characters). Older spreadsheet tools prepend a special code to the front of the file to indicate it is UTF-8 (no longer needed in newer tools), and eBay can not deal with any hidden characters appearing at the front of the file. eBay relies on that first "Action" column to determine the nature of the file. The fallback is to select the ISO-8859 encoding when saving the file in an older spreadsheet tool.
3) We have also seen instances of online spreadsheet tools adding a whole column of zeros in empty rows that contain no other data, posing yet another issue for eBay's interpreter.
4) And lastly, no cell should contain a carriage return or new line, as that would break the single row (in the middle of a listing record), into multiple rows of nonsense when eBay tries to read the file. A "new line" or "carriage return" character can only appear at the end of the row to terminate the new item (which the spreadsheet automatically handles). That means the description will need to use HTML-codes for a new line if it is more than one paragraph in length.
So those are the more blatant gotchas that may cause eBay to immediately reject a file. Once eBay accepts an upload, eBay will process any errors and provide guidance on fixing them. Of course, the guidance may not be understandable, but we sellers can help with that.
Regarding this section:
4) And lastly, no cell should contain a carriage return or new line, as that would break the single row (in the middle of a listing record), into multiple rows of nonsense when eBay tries to read the file. A "new line" or "carriage return" character can only appear at the end of the row to terminate the new item (which the spreadsheet automatically handles). That means the description will need to use HTML-codes for a new line if it is more than one paragraph in length.
-Could the carriage return OR new line result from the "Wrap" function? (pic below)
-Would the "carriage return" be the same as the "Enter" key? When I click Enter I complete the action in a cell and then there is an automatic index down the page to the next cell ... does the previous sell record the "Enter - Carriage return"?
