Updates are happening to some item specifics and category structures

[community_team]

--Final Update, October 28--

The category changes announced in our Fall Seller Update have been completed.

Now that all category changes are complete, while you might still see some adjustments to searches, it is okay to update or edit your listings without concerns of losing data or having it moved again. 

We appreciate your feedback on this roll-out. We'll continue to adjust the process based on the input we’ve received here, and we'll take all of these suggestions into consideration for future updates.

As this project is now complete the post is being locked from further comments. 

Resources and observations

We’ve heard from you that updating your Item Specifics in time for the February 2022 requirement date may be a challenge. 

A useful tool that may help is located in the Seller Hub under Listing>Active. There is a drop-down box labeled ‘Download’ which will generate an Excel document for ‘Missing Required or Recommended Item Specifics’. You can read more about this tool here.

Should you come across any inaccuracies within the new Item Specifics we ask that you report those directly to sdsupport@ebay.com so our team can investigate. Outside of that, please share suggestions as to changes you'd like to see going forward here, selecting the Categories and Item Specifics option.

---Update as of October 19th---

We apologize for this delayed update. Thank you for your patience while our teams worked to finalize category changes. 

All listings have been moved to their final destination categories. You may now proceed with checking your categories, revising items, and updating item specifics where needed. 

Some item specifics have been renamed, and the value you originally provided has been copied over to the new item specific, so you don’t need to re-add these item specifics. We encourage you to update your listings with item specifics that are showing as “Required Soon.” These will become required on February 22, 2022. 

All other item specifics are either Recommended or Optional. Learn more about item specifics. 

Some categories were retired and replaced by product-based categories. You and your buyers can still find the items you’re looking for. Simply browse to the product category of your choice and use the filters to refine your search.

More information about key category changes:

• Dolls & Bears. The categories based on Brand/Material/Theme/Character/Franchise/Product Line/Type of doll have been retired. Former categories have been replaced by left-hand navigation filters in the new Dolls & Doll Playsets category. You can access the filters by browsing to the product category of your choice and using Brand/Vintage/Material/Theme/Character/Franchise/Product Line/Type filters to refine your search. 

• Pottery & Glass. The categories based on Brand/Origin/Production Style/Production Technique have also been replaced by filters. You and buyers can now filter by the Brand/Origin/Production Style/Production Technique/Time Period Manufactured.
  
  
• Postcards. The categories based on Location/Theme/Subject have been retired and replaced with two main categories for Topographical and Non-Topographical postcards. The former categories have been replaced by left-hand navigation filters in the two new main categories. For example in Topographical Postcards, you can filter by Country and Region.

• Jewelry & Watches. The categories based on Main Stone and Metal Type have been retired and replaced by product-based categories under Fine Jewelry. Use the filters for Main Stone and Metal to refine your search. 

---Update as of October 14th---
The work continues on this move and is progressing according to plan. We are on track and anticipate all category changes for your listings to be complete by end of day tomorrow (10.15). Thank you for your patience while our teams implement these changes.

---Update as of October 13th---

We continue to work through this change and thank you for your patience as our teams work through it. We wanted to provide answers to some top concerns and questions:

Why are Gallery Plus fees being charged for items that were previously free?

We determined that a technical issue impacted a small number of listings, which resulted in incorrect charges (including Gallery Plus, subtitles, and insertion fees) for some sellers. The issue has been fixed and we will be crediting impacted sellers as quickly as possible. No calls to Customer Service are necessary as credits will be issued automatically.

The eBay Standard Envelope shipping option is grayed out and I can’t select it. When will the issue be resolved?

The eBay Standard Envelope shipping option issue resulted from the category changes update and has been resolved. eBay Standard Envelope is now available in applicable categories if your item meets the established criteria. 

Should I edit my listings if they’re in the wrong category, have been moved to another category, or have wrong or missing item specifics?

No. Recent category changes require updates to many thousands of servers and data changes to nearly every aspect of our platform. This level of adjustment takes time, which is why we asked for your patience while the process runs. We expect most data updates to be completed within 48 hours, but can they take up to a week (i.e., through Oct. 19). After that, if you have an item specific in mind that you think would work well for your listing, please consider adding it as a custom item specific.

Why isn’t my item coming up in search?

The category change update is still in process. We anticipate search issues will resolve when we complete most data updates during the next 24-48 hours. 

There are more item specifics now than ever before. Do I need to fill in all of them?

No. Item specifics that you have already filled in will be maintained as the category moves are completed during the next week. In addition, new soon-to-be-required item specifics are being added and will become required by Feb 22, 2022. As always, the more item specifics you fill out, the better visibility your listing has to buyers. 

For Parts & Accessories, when will fitment/compatibility charts start working again?

There was an issue with parts compatibility not working properly as the category changes rolled out that has been resolved. You should now be able to see the options to add fitment compatibility when editing your listings.

-----------------------------------------------------------

We’re updating some of our categories and item specifics to make your listings easier to find. 

Starting October 12th, you’ll see updates to the following categories. Learn more about category changes →

Collectibles & Art

Jewelry

Musical Instruments

Parts & Accessories

Sporting Goods

As these updates go into effect, you may see temporary impacts to your listing experience or to the visibility of listings in the affected categories.

This is a result of listings transitioning to the updated item specifics and category structures. Your affected listings should return to normal within 48 hours, though you may see irregularities on some listings for up to a week. We recommend checking your item specifics and categories in affected listings after these updates are complete.

These updates also include new item specifics in the above categories, which will be required February 22, 2022. Starting today, these item specifics will be available as you list, with the “Required Soon” tag. Learn more →

Keep an eye on this page over the coming days—we’ll be sharing up-to-date information on affected categories and listings, and answering any questions you have. 

[all_in_one]

Thanks for giving information.I like ebay.

[somanypostcards]

Back on Oct. 11, 2017 there was a Community Chat on the topic of Structured Data (and its item specifics).  Is it possible to have a Community Chat in the near future on the topic of Structured Data so sellers can get questions answered?  This would be very helpful before making the myriad recommended updates before February 22, 2022.

[a_c_green]

---

@somanypostcards wrote:

Back on Oct. 11, 2017 there was a Community Chat on the topic of Structured Data (and its item specifics).  Is it possible to have a Community Chat in the near future on the topic of Structured Data so sellers can get questions answered?  This would be very helpful before making the myriad recommended updates before February 22, 2022.

---

That would be a good question to ask at the Weekly Chat, which begins about an hour from now at the location below: 

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Weekly-Discussion-with-eBay/bd-p/weekly-chat 

[mightypen-us]

Having the same problems with jewelry and pottery…ugh!!!

[mmwalzer]

Hey I had a sale!!!! Yes, I sold a Barbie Trading Card for $1.00 and even though I listed it with Calculated First Class Shipping, eBay sold it with Free Shipping.  To top it off, my printer is broken so I now have to drive to the Post Office and pay $4.00 for shipping. Ummmm....let's see...how much profit did I make for this item?

First sale I have had in eight days.

[dollyhodge]

Dolls & Bears category...WHAT A FREAKING MESS!   Please stop.

[auctionpet]

---

@mmwalzer wrote:

Hey I had a sale!!!! Yes, I sold a Barbie Trading Card for $1.00 and even though I listed it with Calculated First Class Shipping, eBay sold it with Free Shipping.  To top it off, my printer is broken so I now have to drive to the Post Office and pay $4.00 for shipping. Ummmm....let's see...how much profit did I make for this item?

First sale I have had in eight days.

---

SMH!! Quite frankly, I'd slap a postage stamp on the envelop and take my chances. Either that, or I'd cancel due to ebay altering the shipping.  

I see on some of my listings they added a Country of origin that I know I never added, nor is it correct!! Way to go ebay, let's give the buyer misinformation and potentially upset them when they receive it!

[gurlcat]

There is an antique store in my town, HUGE place full of cool stuff, but I've been there only once, because of the experience I had that one time.  It was a Saturday, I had nothing to do but wallow in a recent misfortune and the annoying sounds of my kid's TV shows and the neighbor's neurotic dogs, but then I remembered that I had recently noticed an antique store in another part of town, and I had some money I could spend, so I decided to go check it out.  When I walked in, my eyes and my nose took in that glorious mix of shiny and grimy, disordered, jumbled, overflow sitting on the floor and hanging from the ceiling, colors that faded long ago and colors that endured but ones that aren't used anymore, the smell of old wood, paper, leather, iron, you know that feeling, entering an ocean of 'old'.  What makes it so exciting to me is that I know I'll see things I've never seen before, and they won't have the answers to their mysteries spelled out in printed text on a box or hang tag; I'll have to WONDER, and how wonderful that is!  And like I said this place was enormous, had an upstairs and everything.  And no music to distract me, only silence and beauty.  OH, and there was not a single other shopper; the whole ocean was MINE!  

But it was not to be, because of the lady who owns the place and (judging by online reviews) is always there, no employees.  She was an elderly woman, smiled and greeted me when I walked in, and I did likewise.  Soon after, as I was looking at things near the entrance, she asked if I had been there before and I said no, so she invited me to ask questions if I had any, and I thanked her.  Normally that would be it, right?  Well no, she proceeded to follow me around and ask me things repeatedly as I tried to make my way.  At first she tried to find out what I was looking "for" and I said I didn't have a particular item in mind, so then she tried to find out what categories of things I liked, and I think I said something like "too many to list".   At one point I did ask if she had any vintage fish bowls and she said no, but a little later I found one (with silk flowers in it, like it was a vase), ha.  So it wasn't even like she knew what all her inventory was, affirming that I just needed to browse and see things for myself.  But then she started trying to "show" me things I would have found on my own, and I was already examining something else. 

Then she started asking me about myself, how long I had lived in town, what neighborhood I lived in, where I lived before, what brought me here, etc.  I know I eventually became visibly annoyed, because I intended it to be visible at that point; I intended to be left alone, and I had never in my recollection had that intent so blatantly and incessantly ignored. 

Finally it felt like I was in an episode of the Twilight Zone, and I wondered if maybe this wasn't like any shop I'd been in before, maybe it was usually only open by appointment, or most of her customers were regulars, or .....something.  Of course I knew that shop owners have reason to suspend full trust of just anyone entering their location full of valuable items, but what could she mistrust about me, even if she carried prejudices?  I was a middle-aged white woman, no children bouncing at my side, and I even locked my purse in the car because carrying it around can be a hindrance in a place where you have to pick so many things up.  So finally after another question I asked her, "Is it ...... okay ........to just browse here?"  I meant it literally, innocently, because like I said I had begun to question if this was a typical kind of store, and I asked it with the most sincere tone possible.  And yet the second the words came out, I realized it was inherently confrontational, because deep down I knew OF COURSE it was okay to browse, this WAS a typical store, just not a typical owner, and really I was asking this lady what was wrong with her, LOL.  And she clearly took it that way, throwing her hands up and saying, "I just don't know what to say to you.  I don't know what you want." 

I replied that I didn't know either, and that's why I was browsing.  I don't remember any conversation after that, just that I was now more stressed than I was at home, the opposite of what I expected, and so I didn't go through the rest of the store, just looked at a few more things and then quietly exited.  

I tell this story because I am reminded of it now, as I try to shop on ebay the way I could before these crazy changes.  Yes, it had already been the case for several years that ebay puts clickable listings of other items on the very pages of items you are already looking at, just like that lady did with her, "I have this nice ......." when I was already looking at something.  But now even searches are a constant prod for you to state something exact that you are looking for, yet taken AWAY categories that could help if you do at least have an idea of a parameter.  For my current interests, a major sub-category of usefulness was 'Designer-Signed' under the vintage jewelry category.  It no longer exists, so I can't just browse all the stuff with a verifiable maker.  Instead I'm given the "opportunity" to state a specific type of jewelry (ring, necklace, brooch.....) specific colors, materials, etc. If I do that, then I won't see other pieces I might like, especially if what I call 'gold' a seller calls 'yellow' etc.   And even if I put a (specific) maker's name in the search bar, the results show me a suspiciously small number of titles WITH that name in them, because some of the listings are now stubbornly invisible because (I guess) the sellers are missing some item specifics, or the whole thing is just glitching, who knows.  So even if I clearly state something specific I might be interested in, I might not be shown it, like that vintage fish bowl. 

I hope ebay QUICKLY realizes what a mistake they have made.  There's no way they can't observe a sudden, dramatic drop in revenues of these categories, even after they think the rollout is "successfully" finished. The people who know about this forum and bother to write about our frustration here is just a drop in the bucket; untold thousands of other shoppers will just quietly exit without saying why. 

 They've made it like an antique store with a hostile owner who acts like they're running a hardware store, where you should know exactly what you want to buy, but then doesn't even know if they have it.  

[ginasthisandthat1939]

I do believe this plate & cup debacle is as fixed as it is going to get until we fix the fix the powers that be did. That being said all we can do is hope they do not get another wild hair to fix it again. At least for another year.  Make sense?  On a brighter note---I did get refunded for the Gallery Plus mess this morning.

[tresurbees]

The Update from eBay "as of October 19" explains about Dolls & Bears, Pottery and Glass, Postcards, and Jewelry & Watches. What about the Art category? When I click on 'Art Prints' at the top of any of my listing pages, I get no list or gallery view. There's nothing to look through. It seems to be gone (for about two weeks now) -- What happened to the 'Prints' category? In the Paintings category, they took away searching by "date of creation" (1900-1949, 1950-1969, etc.).  People who are looking for 1920's paintings don't want to see all the new paintings, etc. This is really bad. Dear eBay: Can I get an Update on what the plan is w/ the Art category, please? 

[pennpicker]

Hopefully any newly created item specifics pertaining to "date of creation" in the Art category will be identical to the time periods that previously denoted the now missing subcategories.

[xvoodoomanx]

Someone named @jasmine  from eBay said that 'eBay Standard Envelope' should be fixed now.

It is NOT fixed yet

[dhbookds]

@xvoodoomanx 

Question..........do you mean a seller cannot choose Standard envelop when printing a label?

I do see it is available when making a listing.

[pennpicker]

Not sure if this is what you're looking for. Use the former date ranges in the search bar:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=1900-1949&_sacat=360&LH_TitleDesc=0&_sop=10

[xvoodoomanx]

Actually, thank you for saying that. Just to confirm, you can create a new Postcard listing ,small envelope, 1 oz.  And actually get Ebay Standard Envelope as a Delivery Option??

I could not as of 30 minutes ago....

Let me try creating a new listing now.