We are testing a reduced set of item specifics in the listing flow

[selling_team@ebay]

We’ve heard from our sellers that item specifics is one of the most complex parts of our listing experience. 

As a part of simplifying the listing flow, we are testing a reduced set of item specifics, optimized for the selling and buying experience. As a result, in select categories, some sellers may see fewer item specifics to fill out when creating a new listing on web or mobile. We’re actively monitoring performance and taking seller feedback into consideration.    

We’re constantly evaluating how to make listing on eBay easier and will keep you informed about any site-wide listing changes. Feel free to leave feedback in a comment below or via our survey during the listing process.  

As always, thank you for selling on eBay. 

Update as of 10/16/23:

Thank you to all sellers who shared their feedback. We have listened to your concerns and ended the test. We will continue to work on improving item specifics and keep the community informed of any site-wide changes.

The full list of item specifics will automatically reflect on your account for future listings. If you wish to add more item specifics to your previously published listings, the full list of item specifics is available when you revise your listing.

[wastingtime101]

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@itsjustasprain wrote:

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@steve_stuff wrote:

again thank you - didn't look at post - wish the 'arrow next to the ebay logo that points left' on the forum posts page was a link to those replies - now it just shows that they came here, not that they came back.

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That specific idea was floated SEVERAL years ago in a Weekly Chat and all agreed that it would be very useful. So you can imagine what happened next. 🙄

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According to reps on this forum, that idea was cut because it's a custom build that would significantly impact forum performance, page load, etc.

[wastingtime101]

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selling_team@ebay wrote:

Once again, thank you for sharing your feedback. We have listened to your concerns and ended the test. We will continue to work on improving item specifics and keep the community informed of any site-wide changes.

The full list of item specifics will automatically reflect on your account for future listings. If you wish to add more item specifics to your previously published listings, the full list of item specifics is available when you revise your listing.

As always, thank you for selling on eBay.

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If you're going to leave this thread pinned selling_team@ebay devon@ebay , can you mark the above quoted post as the solution so newcomers don't have to scroll through numerous pages to see the result?

[a_c_green]

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@wastingtime101 wrote:

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@itsjustasprain wrote:

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@steve_stuff wrote:

again thank you - didn't look at post - wish the 'arrow next to the ebay logo that points left' on the forum posts page was a link to those replies - now it just shows that they came here, not that they came back.

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That specific idea was floated SEVERAL years ago in a Weekly Chat and all agreed that it would be very useful. So you can imagine what happened next. 🙄

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According to reps on this forum, that idea was cut because it's a custom build that would significantly impact forum performance, page load, etc.

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Ummm... yeah, not buying that excuse. 😉 I'm sure there would be custom programming involved, yes, but I suspect no one wanted to pay for it; that's all. I seriously doubt it would have had any noticeable impact on forum performance or page loading.

All you're doing is adding a hyperlink to an image (the little eBay logo and arrow) that is already there, pointing to the posting address of the eBay response within the thread (that is also already there). The address of each posting can be found in the blue-highlighted Message number at the bottom left of every reply in the thread. All the eBay logo/arrow image needs to do is point to it. Here, for example, is the latest eBay reply within this particular thread.

There might be some coding logic needed to decide whether the first or latest eBay post should be selected in the event that there is more than one eBay reply within the thread, but that's just a detail point.

[steve_stuff]

"... to decide whether the first or latest eBay post should be selected in the event that there is more than one eBay reply within the thread,..."

I want all replies in order, so I can see the 'will let them know' then 'will check and report' and hopefully the 'here's what going on' 

[a_c_green]

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@steve_stuff wrote:

"... to decide whether the first or latest eBay post should be selected in the event that there is more than one eBay reply within the thread,..."

I want all replies in order, so I can see the 'will let them know' then 'will check and report' and hopefully the 'here's what going on' 

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I've been in two minds about that question myself... I would want to skip to the first response from eBay, since it would probably get me past 87 other replies echoing the main complaint, whatever that was, even though it would indeed be a "Thanks! We'll let the [whatever] team know. I'll update you whenever I hear back!" I could then page forward from that point to see what occurred after that, if anything.

OTOH, skipping to the latest response from eBay would be a quick way of checking to see if anything substantive has come back yet. It would be great to have a "See Next eBay Reply" button at the bottom of an eBay posting if there is in fact a newer response further down the line, but I don't know of anything similar in the current Khoros community programming, so I can see how adding that would be a major effort.

[itolduandso]

Reduction of pain is not solving the pain and it is certainly not solving the reason for it. I didn't notice this post before I just submitted mine suggesting why isn't there a more concentrated effort to use technology to help sellers fill in the item specifics, at the very least the required item specifics by using AI. If I have all the item specifics mentioned in my title, why not using that information and just pre-fill the item specifics for me rather than having to go through that edit screen. That is better use of AI than writing those mindless descriptions that nobody would read anyhow.  Or maybe it's just programmers going wild, eh?

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Better-use-of-AI-assistant-filling-in-items-specifics-and-not/...

[itolduandso]

Also, I don't want to sound bossy, but I am not sure if you are through some fantastically magic means of this Khoros forum aware that people are unhappy for not only having to fill too many details, but they are pain to fill in even for the most professional smart cookies here who are versed in using CSV files which is a technology from 1980's so one would suppose that Ebay has managed to implement CSV technology by now.

There are many item specifics but you expose NONE of them in the CSV import.

Yes we are aware they are available through API web services calls.  But I pass on that, because I have a full time job so I have no plans to learn API just by reading a book before I go to bed for good night sleep. I leave that to people who work with API's.

You only expose color, material and size through CSV. That was the stand of things last year. I don't know if things have changed, it is pain to test it, so I have no time to test every 6 months to see if I can load new fields with CSV or not. Even these fields are not very well documented and you know there are users in the forum who have worked hard to put together the information for others, that was actually Ebay's responsibility to do. 

When I send email to support Ebay, I get a polite (and rather quick response) that import of the additional item specifics is not supported in the CSV import. So that is how far the usefulness of the support goes for me at least.

When you redo the item specifics.. please do us a failure, make a list of fields you plan to open in the CSV, like c:Type, c:Model, c:Department, c:Connectivity  etc,.. 

Or even like Business Policies.  You need to allow importing these in CSV.

No, I am not talking about importing live listings. I know that works for business policies. But they can't be imported into DRAFTS.

So I have to do 2 steps import, including first downloading the item numbers and populate the numbers in my CSV file which I then use to reupload the policies. 

Things that can be imported, should be imported. Period. What's is the problem having these imported in the CSV? No problem.

[dhbookds]

@itolduandso 

You might post the suggestions on CVS on the Tools board........click on the Buying/Selling tab up at the top .........

[cool.jewels.by.jeff]

Maybe this should have been tested first. Instead of the typical shoot from the hip blind approach ebay usually does. How much can sellers expect sales to fall with this move? 

[cool.jewels.by.jeff]

LOL WOW those are about as stupid as the countless ones used in jewelry. Just shows that the people coming up with the ideas are absolutely CLUELESS. Funny how sellers called this incompetence out when it started and it took this long for the geniuses to realize. Then they act like "we will make it even better". 

[cool.jewels.by.jeff]

Maybe it would be wise to group related groups together.  When people look at the item specifics listed in the description it is the most confusing out of order nonsense. Here is the very small sample of the item specifics order for jewelry.

Ebays incompetency                             Common Sense

Brand                                                           Brand

Main Stone                                                Metal

Metal                                                            Base Metal 

 Metal Purity                                               Ring Size

Ring Size                                                     Main Stone

Type   (pointless)                                      Main Stone Color

Secondary Stone                                     Main Stone Shape

Main Stone Color

Color (redundant)

Base Metal

Number of Diamonds (pointless)

Number of Gemstones (pointless)

Main Stone Shape

[itolduandso]

Any fine art and collectibles is like this.  Look at stamps. The questions there scare a casual seller. I always thought automotive section is the most complicated. Nope, that one is easy.

[itolduandso]

Yep, but they don't read. Here is at least a thread they started so this pops up in their feed. But hey, I am sorry for infesting this beautiful long thread with unrelated stuff. 

Okay I need to take back my accusation here. It seems there has been some progress and improvement. These are the item specifics I tried to import with DRAFT and worked fine:

Department
Color
Type
Style
Material
Features
Model

So that helps.

But still not possible to import the business policies for example with Drafts!!!!

And that is brutal because as I described I need to do 2 step import.

I emailed to turbodata@ebay.com and posted here over the years many times. No change. This is the second thing I hate most when uploading new listings.

Okay I am done with my rant. 

[evelyb30]

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@cool.jewels.by.jeff wrote:

Maybe it would be wise to group related groups together.  When people look at the item specifics listed in the description it is the most confusing out of order nonsense. Here is the very small sample of the item specifics order for jewelry.

Ebays incompetency                             Common Sense

Brand                                                           Brand

Main Stone                                                Metal

Metal                                                            Base Metal 

 Metal Purity                                               Ring Size

Ring Size                                                     Main Stone

Type   (pointless)                                      Main Stone Color

Secondary Stone                                     Main Stone Shape

Main Stone Color

Color (redundant)

Base Metal

Number of Diamonds (pointless)

Number of Gemstones (pointless)

Main Stone Shape

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And NOT APPLICABLE needs to be a standard acceptable response for all of them.  A goldtone over brass locket with no stone doesn't have a ring size...or diamonds.   Did the maroons who wrote the forms figure that out?  They did not. 

[quicksilverdiecast]

Yes I gave up and the constant revising things awhile ago. It goes to show that whoever is running the show that they failed to see how it worked ahead of time and just tosses it on the wall and hope it sticks.  

Now if you are serious about doing it right the first time here is what you need to do....get whatever you have in place and test it before sticking we sellers with it....go out on the street and find a couple of people pay them a days wages(these have to be people who do not use  ebay) set them down and give them the basics and tell them to go buy some items.....and watch them....If they can successfully complete a transaction without any issues you have a winner and move forward with it. IF they have ANY problems that require your(ebays) help in completing or understanding it....go(ebay) back to the drawing board and start over! and try again.... You have lost sight of the golden rule in sales  KEEP THINGS SIMPLE! Issue after issue after issue why is it this is the only platform on the net including websites that have these issues.