Add recommended item specifics is a MESS

[albany_sellers]

Is there ANY plan to fix this whole trainwreck?

I am trying SO HARD to add these specifics, yet it's borderline impossible when every other item I "update" does not reflect those updates. It's always something and it's getting on my last nerve. 90% of my 320+ listings that "need item specifics" do not even need them.

Why does every single item need a "character" or any number of other specifics that have nothing to do with them? All this whole debacle is doing is making unneeded work for us and serves no purpose other than to annoy us.

My sales have tanked this last week and i have to wonder if eBay is somehow "punishing" me for not having all of the "suggested" specifics. 

At this point, I am pretty sure I speak for a lot of us sellers when I say CAN WE NOT? Just let us list our items and let us sell them without badgering us constantly about the most useless things possible.

[winterpalace25]

Are you ticking the box as the very last thing? If you tick it early, and then alter anything under it, it cancels. You must tick the box at the very end of the encounter. It works for me in Pottery and Glass. I hate having to deal with each listing individually, but once I'm done, I'm done.

[rubrum113]

THESE ITEM SPECIFICS AND EBAY ARE INSANE AND CAN DRIVE A SELLER TO DRINK. WHY ARE THEY DOING THIS TO US? IS IT BECAUSE SOME SELLERS DO NOT DESCRIBE THEIR ITEMS AS WELL AS OTHERS DO?  MOST ITEM SPECIFICS DO NOT APPLY TO THE THINGS I SELL. EVERYTHING A BUYER NEEDS TO KNOW IS IN MY DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS. IF ONE HAS TOO MANY ITEM SPECIFICS, EBAY TELLS YOU. THEN ONE HAS TO ELIMINATE SOME. HOW MANY? THAT IS A MYSTERY TOO. IF NOT ENOUGH, THEY LET YOU KNOW. WHAT A WASTE OF  TIME.  WHAT ARE THEY DOING TO THEIR SELLERS? TRYING TO KILL US?

[raymondcapra]

You are correct, they are worthless and only take time. I think it is only to get people to spend more time on the site and buy things.

[rubrum113]

 Item specifics are a waste of time.Totally frustrating.Some do not change.Most do not apply to item.I don't have time to create new listings.Some descriptions disappear.Too many item specifics, they have to be deleted. Not enough, they have to be added.Even after they are added, the item specifics still are on the listing to be added. So maddening, aggravating.eBay is killing the sellers.They don't care about their sellers. Fees are outrageous.It is batting ones head against an ebay stone wall as another comment stated.I lost my voice yelling to the computer about ebay how stupid, insane,ridiculous these item specifics are.

[rubrum113]

Item specifics are a waste of time.Totally frustrating.Some do not change.Most do not apply to item.I don't have time to create new listings.Some descriptions disappear.Too many item specifics, they have to be deleted. Not enough, they have to be added.Even after they are added, the item specifics still are on the listing to be added. So maddening, aggravating.eBay is killing the sellers.They don't care about their sellers. Fees are outrageous.It is batting ones head against an ebay stone wall as another comment stated.I lost my voice yelling to the computer about ebay how stupid, insane,ridiculous these item specifics are.

[vintagecraze50]

In our category there are some that are required right away, and there are many many that you can put off for later if you wish until they decide they are required. Some of the requirements do not apply to the item. Some of them are kind of generic to a certain product and should be left off if your item does not have that particular attribute. Don’t sweat it just add what is absolutely required first. Also, it is a GOOD thing they are doing this, it WILL add to better search results for YOUR product.

[vintagecraze50]

No, it’s to help buyer FIND THINGS BETTER.  In the past many listings on here that I have looked at have virtually nothing in the item specifics section. Better clarity on what you sell and these specifics in the listing help buyers find what they are looking for and be able to narrow down their search. Just add what is absolutely required and  specific to your product. 

[tuxedojxn]

I don't think this is actually working to help buyers find things better.  Case in point:  I recently listed a clothing item for my wife and Ebay was badgering me to add Character so for the heck of it I added Popeye.  I then did a search for the clothing item brand name and Popeye and Ebay says there are 0 items that match when I know for a fact there has to be at least one.  So I don't see this working in reality.

[gurkin444]

I had 750 listings until a few months ago which I have had for eight years. I could see how much work there would be in putting in the item specifics so I dropped the listings to 300. I have just dropped more listings leaving me below  100. That took long enough as you can only end one at a time. I did consider just closing the store. I certainly do not have the time to change all the listings. I will probably end the rest then put about 20 items on which will all have the same item specifics so I only need to spend ages filling it in once. I have set up an Amazon store which I might start using.  From managed payments to item specifics.- not good.

[elanowsky]

This seller has no listings,,,

[elanowsky]

Mandatory item specifics have been researched by top rated sellers that have thousands of listings and found it NOT to help buyers find things better,,,Items are still in no mans land,,,Many buyers dont even read the item body description where you go into detail because I get questions from buyers that have the answer in the body description,,,Ebay continues to sabotage their platform until sellers are driven away to other sites,,,Sooo that has to be the plan...There is no other answer,,,Nothing makes sense on this site anymore,,,

[elanowsky]

A seller wrote in on another sellers podcast and suggested ebay is doing this so we dont have time to list on any other platforms,,,by the time you are done trying to fix your seller specifice you are ready for a lobotomy! I feel sorry for the big sellers ,,,I dont see how they can continue to sell on ebay,,,

[asinglemom]

Oh, you nailed it!  And NOW,  when I try to add item specifics, it kicks me off and sends me back to the “add item specifics”  page!  And the clogging up of my Gmail with their annoying reminders..Ugh!  Another , recently ANNOYING thing, besides the fact that there are no human beings to talk to when you have a question,....when searching by price, say low to high, the results are SO NOT true to order!  So how does THAT help when we price things strategically?  The favoritism has to stop OR at least make it VERY CLEAR that the item is being “Promoted” , hence out of your specific search criteria or let us search with the option to ONLY SHOW EXACTLY what and how we specify we are searching for.  Oh!  And when it says, “Some items are not being shown”. Well  again,  SHOW us the flipping items we specify without EBAY deciding  that for us.  After all THIER the ones who are DEMANDING US to add the **bleep** “item specifics”  yet we can’t search without the greed of their biased results?!  Crazy!  God, I can’t wait for some genius to come up with a new platform, ADVERTISE the heck out of it, and crush the greed out of eBay!  Thanks for  posting AND listening!

[elanowsky]

ebay has to want to get rid of sellers,,,there is no other explanation for the mandatory item specifics that make no sense,,how can you fill in "diamond" specifics when there is no diamond in the item?  There is one turquoise stone which has a ton of item specifics on its own,,,Nothing else makes any sense,,,They are trying to get rid of sellers ,,,maybe because their platform cant support all the people that are trying to sell to make a little extra money during the pandemic,,,but as usual they dont care who they hurt ,,,long time sellers or new makes no difference to a heartless corporation that bottom line is the only concern,,,Not surprised,,,I feel like I am in an abusive relationship that hurts most of the time,,,

[gurkin444]

A few months back and for the previous eight years I had about 750 listings. As item specifics deadline approaches I just delete the listing. I am down to about 30. I think it will end up as 10. Just before Christmas I registered a store on Amazon in case I need to close the ebay store. Item specifics take too long and are a pile of rubbish. For example my art in their list of choices can only be put as "print". A print can be a tatty low cost piece of paper. This is fine art work expensive produced. No its not ebay force me to put "print". How can that help sell a product. There are plenty of other examples but who has this much time to waste. I list Artwork on an online site which is anything from 200 dollars to thousands. You do not have to fill in all this rubbish to list on that or other sites I use.