Listings with invalid product identifiers will no longer be accepted.

[sarahsarahbelle]

Just receive an email from eBay;

We're writing again to inform you that some of your listings are still missing a valid product identifier. eBay now requires all new and manufacturer refurbished item listings in most categories to include a valid brand, manufacturer part number (MPN), and global trade item number (GTIN).

Starting this week, you will no longer be able to relist non-Good 'Til Cancelled items without including valid product identifiers. And, starting the week of September 18, 2017, your Good 'Till Cancelled listings won't automatically renew until valid product identifiers are provided.

Goes on to tell why this is needed and how to find UPC..blah, blah, blah   but gives no clue how to determain which of my 2,904 listing they are refering too.

Is there a tool to find them?

Or do I just wait to see which listings are ended?

List everything as used?

( I could have listed another 1,000 item in the time I already spent adding UPC,  removing active content and making mobil friendly, now another time waster.)

By reading the thread on THE CATALOG anyone can see the mistakes and problems with UPC and ISBN we are having but before they even begin to fix the catalog they are going to punish us????

[emerald40]

Sellers here have spoken about spending a lot of time updating their listings to conform to ebay.

It is part of the process on selling here.  And we have been informed quite a while ago so it should be of no surprise to you.

[robgallagh]

I too received this email.  We have added identifiers and thought we were compliant.  I too would like to know how to find which of our products have invalid product indentifiers.  I find no

warnings or indicators when I pull up bulk edit.

[judybsa]

i received the email also.  i have been using product identifiers ever since you could add them, long before they were required.  but, I must have some listings that need to be updated. (because i got the email) however, i have no way of finding which listing are not compliant.  there is no filter in the bulk listing edit tool.  how do i know which listings need my attention?  i was sure that I had a product identifier or "does not apply" on all my listings (until i got this email).  help!  does anyone know how to identify which listings need to be edited?  do I just wait until my GTC listings get ended?  there must be a better way. 🙂

[calntom]

What was the quandry back in May/June timeframe that was ending the GTC listings? I remember having to go through all my listings but cannot remember what exactly I had to change the keep ebay from ending them.  Can't remember if it was UPC or something else?

[penguins_dont_fly]

I did all my editing when the requirements were first outlined.

I use PIDs on every listing ... I have no clue which of my 920 Listings has "invalid" identifiers.

How the heck am I supposed to identify them? If they can tell me that I have issues, can't they just tell me WHICH items have issues?

[richard1rst]

I can not be sure this is still valid, but when the UPC requirements first came out:

I clicked on Seller Management Pro and it brought up a detail screen. Near the top left was a block headed: “Improve your listings”. In that block was a line telling you how many items were missing UPCs. If you clicked that line or number it would bring up the list of items missing the UPCs.

[urbanhomedecor]

I too received the message and called eBay.... I am told this message was sent to all sellers, even when all of their listings have the required identifiers. (I was as frustrated as you, have spent so much time remediating listings to comply with link policies, even though my links in my listings would direct customers to another page in my store.) I only have 300+ listings, and it was very time consuming to update links, and I didn't have active content in any of my listings then. After receiving today's message, I called and there was a long wait, I suspect it is causing many many many sellers to contact customer service. Bottom line, I was told not to worry about the message. 

[sarahsarahbelle]

I finally figured out how to find then with bulk editing. I searched by store catagory, selecting the catagories that might have a UPC . In each catagory there was a red dot to click for the items that needed fixing.
I guess I got into a panic for nothing as I only found one item missing UPC. The rest needed Brand name changed from mixed lot to unbranded.

[penguins_dont_fly]

---

@richard1rst wrote:

I can not be sure this is still valid, but when the UPC requirements first came out:

I clicked on Seller Management Pro and it brought up a detail screen. Near the top left was a block headed: “Improve your listings”. In that block was a line telling you how many items were missing UPCs. If you clicked that line or number it would bring up the list of items missing the UPCs.

---

I don't have any MISSING Product Identifiers ... the message says I have "Invalid" PIDs 😞 😞

There is no way that i can figure out which ones are Invalid 😞 😞

(don't get me started on the Underperformings ... none of them there today have any "guidance" whatsoever. My prices are inline with sold and listed items ... none of them have any comps to show me)

@Anonymous@syedmhaq  @Anonymous
I  tagged the resident Product Catalog guy, because this is directly related to what Syed is working on ... maybe he can give some insights?

Can anyone please clarify how to find out which listings have "Invalid" PIDs as defined in this very vague message ???

And, BTW, the "Still" and "Again" in the message really tick me off ... this is the FIRST communication I have received about this issue.  All of my listings were compliant back in June when the requirement went live (I actually got ahead of it before the deadline) ... so this is something new 😞

 ###begin message from eBay###

Dear [redacted store ID], 

We're writing again to inform you that some of your listings are still missing a valid product identifier. eBay now requires all new and manufacturer refurbished item listings in most categories to include a valid brand, manufacturer part number (MPN), and global trade item number (GTIN). 

Starting this week, you will no longer be able to relist non-Good 'Til Cancelled items without including valid product identifiers. And, starting the week of September 18, 2017, your Good 'Till Cancelled listings won't automatically renew until valid product identifiers are provided. 

Why use product identifiers?
The right product identifiers are key to having your listings show up in search for interested buyers—both on and off eBay. That's more visibility and more conversion for you. Update your listings now to avoid any interruption to selling. 

Tips for editing your listings:

• Use the eBay bulk edit and relist tool, or contact your third-party tool vendor to add product identifiers to your listings.
• Look for identifiers like MPN and GTIN on a product's packaging or directly on the product itself. You can also use a database such as EAN-Search.
• Match your item with a product in the eBay catalog, and the unique identifiers for your item will be included automatically in your listing.
• If you can't find the number on your item, you can do a web search using the item name, brand, and model number.
• Test valid GTINs here.
• Use "Does Not Apply" only when the manufacturer has not assigned a valid MPN or GTIN for the product.
• Make sure to list valid product identifiers for both the parent items as well as each variation for multi-sku listings.

Click here to learn more about how you can properly use product identifiers to increase your sales. 


As always, thank you for selling on eBay. 

The eBay Selling Team

[penguins_dont_fly]

So ...

I tagged the eBay folks in my previous post (yesterday)

This morning, I messaged eBay for Business on Facebook and both tweeted and PMed @askebay on Twitter.

I have yet to even be acknowledged on any platform 😞

All I want to know is: How do I figure out which of my listings have an issue 😞

I really do not have the time, or the inclination, to manually check over my 900+ listings.

I have done the whole "edit every single listing" thing twice this year, so far ... once to add the PIDs and once to fix the mobile friendly and compliant links thing.

I am trying to ramp up for my busy season, Thanksgiving. I've got tons of stuff to get listed and organized ... a simple "hey, we are looking into this" would be nice 😞

[penguins_dont_fly]

Update

Within 2 minutes of posting the above, I got messages on both Facebook and Twitter.

To paraphrase:

We know that the messages could have had more detail, the team that sends the messages has been informed that it might be a good idea to include details next time.

There is no way for us to identify these listings for you.

Use the bulk editor to find the bad listings.

I guess I am off to edit 900+ listings. There goes my weekend 😞

[reallynicestamps]

Just under 3000 listings?

Since they are GTC, they close and relist every 30 days.

Depending on how easily bored you are, you could do some (25? 50? 100?) every day as they close until all are compliant.

I have found that none of eBay's Bulk Relisters are useful if changes have to be made to specifics parts of a listing.

They are okay for price, duration, and type of listing, but that's about it.

I redid nearly 5000 listings last year when eBay decided we could no longer list in US dollars on the eBay Canada site and have been updating more or less daily since  'active content' was banned.

It keeps me off street corners whistling at the boys.

[Anonymous]

---

@penguins_dont_fly wrote:

So ...

I tagged the eBay folks in my previous post (yesterday)

@This morning, I messaged eBay for Business on Facebook and both tweeted and PMed @askebay on Twitter.

I have yet to even be acknowledged on any platform 😞

All I want to know is: How do I figure out which of my listings have an issue 😞

I really do not have the time, or the inclination, to manually check over my 900+ listings.

I have done the whole "edit every single listing" thing twice this year, so far ... once to add the PIDs and once to fix the mobile friendly and compliant links thing.

I am trying to ramp up for my busy season, Thanksgiving. I've got tons of stuff to get listed and organized ... a simple "hey, we are looking into this" would be nice 😞

---

Hey @penguins_dont_fly@, I apologize for the frustration on this. I completely understand how more detail would be beneficial in these messages and we have passed along this feedback to the appropriate teams. I did want to clarify that we review our @mentions in the order they are received and our Social Media platforms also review questions or comments in the order they are submitted. While we strive to be as quick as possible, there are times where increased volume can lead to a delay in our response time and we appreciate your patience when this occurs.

[ryanrobyn]

This also applies to ANY type of listing.Happened to me today with auction listing. So here's what I did. Listed item as unbranded and then once listed I revised the title to Ralph Lauren shirt. Works well. Who wants to buy an unbranded item? Whatever Ebay loony thought this one up really came up with a doozie. Will apply to all used items too the rep told me today. Really hilarious as I have vintage items that were made before UPC code were started.