ShipScript has been an eBay Community volunteer since 2003, specializing in HTML, CSS, Scripts, Photos, Active Content, Technical Solutions, and online Seller Tools.
That link will immediately download a XLSX file to your browser, it will not show any webpage. If it's not downloading the file for some reason, you can download it from this page: https://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/listing-and-marketing/item-specifics.html#2021-requirements
Just click the Download details link next to Collectibles.
John,
To GET back to my original statement John. After a listing has been made and add requirements is prompted, there is ONLY (3) options!!! under "professional grader" there is NO other grading options to choose from here., other than "grade" to the left. So are you telling me that THIS SECTION CAN BE LEFT BLANK? If you are then that statement is contradictory to 2 tier level 2 techs + 1 experienced EBay representative.
YOU NEED TO DO MORE RESEARCH JOHN BEFORE POSTING RESPONCES. HOWEVER I APPRECIATE THAT YOU HAVE ATTEMPTED YOU STILL HAVE NOT!!!!! ADDRESSED MY COMPLAINT? NOR the issue
Look at this screenshot. This is in "add item specifics" and a """"required"""" tab to select from. If the comic has not been graded professionally like millions of comics books being sold then can it be left blank????
THAT IS THE MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION???
So please before responding again look and research to find out weather that tab can be left blank.
Please look at it carefully instead of sending a link I have already looked at. Which does NOT answer this question. So I have naturally taken the word of (3) EBay reps.
To summarize:
Using the Business Lising tool, I started a brand new listing in the category
Collectibles > Comic Books & Memorabilia > Comics > Comics & Graphic Novels
When I got to the grading section, it does not look like your screenshot, which you have already explained was for a revision and not for a new listing.
Is your screenshot from the Seller Hub bulk editor, or something else?
I'll repeat the two screenshots for comparison:
My New listing:
Lister - item specifics - comics
Your Listing Revision:
In my screenshot above, there is nothing that says "required soon", which I would normally see on categories with impending requirements, such as this one from Trading Cards:
Lister - item specifics - cards
The popup for "required soon" on the "graded" aspect of Trading Cards says:
Many buyers are searching for this item specific when looking for items like yours. It will become required on July 11, 2021.
Instead I see "trending" on the "Grade" aspect of comics, and that popup for "trending" says:
We think that many buyers will look for this item specific based on popularity, upcoming events, or other trends.
So, anyone seriously sleuthing this question could use that as a good sign that "grading" information on Comics will not be a July 12 requirement.
So to the questions:
1. You have shown a valid concern over whether you can leave the Grade box empty, when it seems that populating it asks for the name of a professional grading service, which you don't have. This has caused other sellers to ask if only graded cards can be listed on eBay, so you are not alone in this question and eBay should solidly resolve the issue. The logic points to "no, neither grading, nor a grading service, is required".
One very knowledgeable member who is actively engaged with management and staff, commented that the grade can be left intact, and the request for a grading service can be ignored on the Hub's recommendations page.
If there is concern that, sometime in the future, eBay may mandate that the comics grade only be used with a professional grading service, then the grade can be left empty and a custom item specific should be added. But more likely, if eBay goes that route of requiring a grade, they might implement the same structure that was used on the "soon to be required" card grading. This, of course, is what you are rightly requesting -- that there be an "ungraded" option or that the grading question look more like that for cards, where "no" lets you add your own spec, and "yes" takes you down the grader path.
As it is, there is no mandate for you to complete that field at this point in time, and you can take the path recommended by the other responder, by ignoring the grading service question. Additionally, the page of mandated item specifics that was posted by @Anonymous does not show any mandates for Comics, so there are no July 12 deadlines for comics.
2. Your next point was that customer service reps suggested the "blue circle" had to be completed (if you have the exact time and date, eBay will have a recording). Harry Temkin, the VP head of seller experience and the person who oversees issues like yours, has already stated that the circle does not need to be closed, as it just shows how well you are matching the expectation of buyer search requests.
Have you received dire warnings that your comics would be removed if you failed to include the "recommended" item specific? That is always the best test.
If your cards are not graded, you can bulk edit them in Seller Hub to add "No" to the "graded" item specific.
The upload templates can be found at
Seller Hub > Reports > Uploads
https://www.ebay.com/sh/reports/uploads
Starting at button #1 (Get template), open the popup and choose these options when each one appears:
Source > Listings
Type > Create new listings
File Type > XLSX (contains handy droplists of field options) or CSV (has very general instructions)
Categories > drill down to find the detailed category template with C:fields
