eBay Reports/File Exchange Bulk Upload Change Action From Add to Draft Template

[ludavi2233]

Hi,

I'm hoping someone can help me with the Reports Bulk Upload Tool.

I was using the xlsx listing template with the dropdown menus but have migrated to the csv listing template.
The reason for this is I don't want to deal with S3 and picture hosting as I need the images to be stored in a local file path for a custom SKU barcoding application.

I have replaced the header on the csv listing template with the details on the csv draft listing template.
The upload is working and the listings are being accepted as drafts, however there are errors.

I have played around and read up on adding more item specifics and have added as many as I can.
As I list in hundreds of different vehicle categories there are too many different item specifics and it would result in 100+ C: columns in my spreadsheet.
As I already need to go into the drafts to add images, video and vehicle compatibility for eBay Motors I'm fine with adding extra item specifics whilst there.

When going into the bulk edit tool to update my drafts I'm met with errors of fields missing.
The error fields are;

Offers
Location
Return Policy
Payment Policy
Postage Policy
Shipping Profile Name
Buy It Now Price

It's easy enough to update Location, Return Policy and Payment Policy via bulk edit but I'd much prefer if the spreadsheet did it.

My column headers for these fields are;

BestOfferEnabled
Location
PostalCode
Return policy
Payment profile name
Shipping profile name
BuyItNowPrice

I have also tried the item dimension headers that I previously had in my list upload but they do not work in a draft upload.

Those column headers are as follows;
WeightMajor
WeightMinor
WeightUnit
PackageLength
PackageDepth
PackageWidth
PackagingHandlingCosts

I have searched through the most recent eBay Reports guide, advanced eBay File Exchange guide and the API documentation and can't find any answers.

Does anyone actually know the complete array of headers that are accepted by the draft action?
Does anyone know the correct value for the BestOfferEnabled column?
I'm not sure if the boolean value of 1 is still accepted or if I should be putting my price in a Start Price header instead of BuyItNowPrice?

Any help would be appreciated...

[shipscript]

@ludavi2233 

When File Exchange first moved into Seller Hub uploads, there were a lot of shortcomings in the spreadsheet options. We had high hopes for the Draft feature, but it turns out to be a rather minimal skeleton. One staff member was able to include item specifics, but so many other columns are not supported in the Draft.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Seller-Tools/Uploading-Draft-listings-via-Seller-Reports/m-p/32125060

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Seller-Tools/File-Exchange-Has-Moved-To-Seller-Hub-Reports/m-p/3308387...

One draft-creation technique that has been used for many years is to set a scheduled start time and then list the item with some value in all required fields. The item will be posted to scheduled listings, where specific details can be edited by hand or in the Hub's bulk Editor, prior to publishing them live on the site. The benefit of the draft was that the errors would appear in the draft, rather than in a spreadsheet report; whereas, any errors would need to be dealt with in the upload, if choosing the scheduling technique.

ScheduleTime	BestOfferEnabled	BestOfferAutoAcceptPrice	MinimumBestOfferPrice
YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS	1	12.99	9.99
notes:	0 or 1	optional auto accept	optional auto reject

Example date is 2023-08-26 16:30:00 (this is zulu time -  GMT - and if used to actually start a listing at a prescribed time in the 48 states, hours would need to be subtracted from the intended local time to get to Pacific time, and then hours would be added to Pacific time to get to GMT for the spreadsheet).

For fixed-price listings, use StartPrice.

For auctions, use StartPrice and BuyItNowPrice.

The above are File Exchange headings. They will work in Seller Hub, or, start using the exploded Hub headings:  Start price and Buy It Now price.

For your Business Policies, use these Hub headings in the spreadsheet:

Shipping profile name

Return profile name

Payment profile name

If you choose to use PostalCode for your item location, then don't include Location in your spreadsheet.

[ludavi2233]

Hi @shipscript ,

Thanks so much for your response.

You're a real encyclopedia on this and I greatly appreciate your input.

I have continued to play around with the draft option and have had a great deal of success.

As I'm listing across multiple categories with different item specifics, to save time I need the ability to pre-fill these values.

I was able to bulk extract the eBay listings of a competitor's store with much more inventory than me to view the complete array or item specifics per each individual category. 

As a result of this and due to some categories having 25 different item specifics,

I have successfully added 80+ C:(Item Specific) columns and populated the cells with data.

However, I believe that manually adding the dimensions and postage policies after the draft upload is too time intensive. For this reason, I have decided to proceed with the listing template.

I have added a dummy URL and am content with manually adding the images and videos.

I've sorted everything else on the sheet and have taken the advice you provided.

When I added the ScheduleTime with YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS it returned the following;

error - <item.scheduletime>.

I found some API documentation and changed the format to YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.SSSZ

I'm not sure if this is correct but it did make the error go away.

You can view that documentation at the link below

https://developer.ebay.com/devzone/xml/docs/reference/ebay/types/simpletypes.html#dateTime

The last hurdles I'm facing are the following two warning codes;

21920348

Warning - |Package Handling Costs| has been dropped as no domestic postage service was provided.

The only thing I can find online about this online is the following-

"This container is used if the seller adds handling charges to domestic and/or international shipments.
Sellers can not specify any domestic handling charges if they offered 'free shipping' in the policy.
This container will only be returned if set for the policy"

I have not added free shipping to my postage policy and have added a handling cost to both domestic and international postage in the policy. Do you happen to know why is it throwing back this warning????

21917236

Warning - Funds from your sales may be unavailable and show as on hold for a period of time. Learn more:https://www.ebay.com.au/help/selling/getting-paid/getting-paid-items-youve-sold/pending-payments

I'm actually stumped by this warning and the provided link goes nowhere....

I understand they're only warnings this time and not errors but I feel like they shouldn't even be there in the first place.

I swear this will be my last inquiry, hoping you or someone else can point me in the right direction.

Thank you so so much

[shipscript]

Sorry for my oversight on the date format. Apparently the Seller Hub format matches the newer API's ISO format, rather than the older File Exchange format (2023-08-15 16:35:49) GMT time.

The ISO format requires the inclusion of the red characters:

2023-08-15T16:35:49.000Z

Warnings don't affect the upload and usually don't have future effects unless mentioned in the warning.

"Warning - |Something| has been dropped...because...."  

This message often appears when there is a conflict in the data, and eBay will drop what is unneeded. We saw that when PayPal was dropped.  Is the handling fee only within your shipping policy, or was it accidentally restated in a column on the upload? Is there a local pickup option? I frankly don't know what would cause this. When you list, can you determine if the handling fee is still charged within the listing?

"Warning - Funds from your sales may be unavailable and show as on hold for a period of time." 

I regularly see this next message. It is informational only, and of no consequence.  It will appear if you haven't sold recently or if a listing is within a high risk category or if the value is high. The AU link should have gone to this help page to explain those reasons:

https://www.ebay.com.au/help/selling/getting-paid/getting-paid-items-youve-sold/payments-hold?id=481... 

[hebat-9175]

It sounds like you're doing a lot to get your bulk uploads working smoothly! Here are a few pointers that might help:

1. Headers and Accepted Values: Make sure your headers exactly match what eBay expects. From your list, BestOfferEnabled should typically be true or false (not 1 or 0).

2. Column Headers for Drafts: It's crucial to ensure your headers align with the exact terms used in eBay's documentation. If BuyItNowPrice isn't working, you might need to use StartPrice.

3. Item Dimensions: These might not be supported in drafts. You might need to add these specifics manually after the initial upload.

4. Complete Array of Headers: Unfortunately, eBay's documentation is sometimes less than clear. It’s often trial and error to find all accepted headers. Forums and eBay support might have more up-to-date info.

Regarding your drafts and datetime issues, check out the Date Time Travel Tool for managing your schedule effectively. It can help ensure your bulk uploads are done timely without missing any critical steps.