Size is not allowed as a variation specific

[penco-art]

Hi all, I've recently not been able to edit listings with 'Size' as a variation. When I click 'Revise listing with displayed fees' it comes up with the message:-

'It looks like there's a problem with this listing.

• Size is not allowed as a variation specific.'

I spoke to eBay at length and they came back to me a few days later and told me that I can no longer use size as a variation and that this is a new change within eBay. This seems bonkers to me as most eBay listings with variations are about size variations and amongst all eBay sellers there must be millions of listings affected.

I myself have hundreds of listings with size variations and it's not possible to change the word 'size', because if you change the variation title, all the individual items and photos vanish and you have to re-enter every single item.  Put simply, delete 100's of listings and re-enter them as separately listed sizes resulting in months of extra work and then 1000's of listings instead of 100's.

This change simply does not make sense.

Anyone else had this problem?

Jeff

[sameasyou2]

Hi it's same in Color for me but not for all items but in most. For Color I use Colors and it's allowed like this. Maybe you can use Sizes is it good for you.

[penco-art]

Hi, many thanks for your response.  I'll try that , but I won't know if it'll work long term as 'size' is still being accepted if I re-list the same item, also for new listings and it even works for some existing listings, so I'm baffled.

[dollybeauty]

@penco-art  @sameasyou2 

What categories are you listing these item in?

[penco-art]

The category is:-

Crafts > Scrapbooking & Paper Crafts > Scrapbooking > Scrapbooking Tools > Paper Punches

[dollybeauty]

@penco-art 

1) For the category you have supplied, the correct category number is 11793. eBay does change/update category number from time to time.

2) The category 11793 does include 'Size' as an item specific.

3) The allowable entries for 'Size' in that category are specific and no user defined sizes are allowed.

4) The allowable entries for size in that category are..

• Less than 1"
• 1"-1.75"
• 2"-2.75"
• 3" or more

[dollybeauty]

@penco-art 

Note that the above category 'number' may not be important to you, if you are using the eBay listing flows to create/modify your listings. That 'number' is only needed for those using FileExchange or the eBay APIs.

I used that number to search the item specifics list provided by eBay's lookup tool to find the allowable entries for that item specific.

If you can not enter/choose on of the above entries in the eBay listing flows, that may mean that there is a bug in eBay's category setup. As I mentioned above, eBay makes changes to these often.

[penco-art]

The sizes I have listed are the same on a number of my items and one example is listing number 251269629061 with sizes:-

Mini CIRCLE 3/8" XCU261602, Midi CIRCLE 5/8" XCU261703, Large CIRCLE 1" XCU261803

This listing has been running for over 6 years with over a thousand sales.

Is there a way for me to change these without deleting each item within the listing?

Yes, I am using the category 11793.

[penco-art]

I tried changing the category to a much less accurate one and in doing do that it removed the brand and MPN that was there originally, but once I re-input  those it worked and I was able to update the listing, but having had to do this I'm worried that it may only be a temporary fix.

The whole episode doesn't exactly fill me with confidence.

[dollybeauty]

@penco-art 

First everyone should understand why the item specifics are changing.

eBay is attempting to standardize the item specifics so that Google and other search engines can more easily find content. By doing this, more sales. There may be some pain from some members as these item specifics change, but the long range outlook is good.

"Is there a way for me to change these without deleting each item within the listing?"

Yes there should be. The easiest course that I would take is to use FileExchange to modify your existing listings.

Do not let FileExchange intimidate you. It is not as hard as one might believe.

I do not use variation listings, but have advised several members about using FileExchange.

The main issue is that to redefine item specifics, using FileExchange, is that you must redefine all item specifics for the item, ie. you can not just update 'Size'. So the biggest issue is to create a list of your item specifics for an item, then create the update file containing all of them, plus the new values you wish to change. eBay does not offer a 'tool' to do this, but another member has (mentioned below).

I need to go away for a few, to find the right tools for you/others to use. I will repost with more info.

@shipscript  may reply here with info as well.

[dollybeauty]

Sorry I was distracted by RL concerns.

Here is the best place to start for this info - https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Gather-your-Item-Specifics-before-the-Category-changes/m-p/298...

Please repost if you need additional info or if you need help with the FileExchange revision file. It is a very simple file.

[shipscript]

@penco-art 

@sameasyou2 

When eBay has a predefined item specific name, that same name is generally not allowed within the variation. If your variations all use the same color and size as the master item specific, then don't put color and size into the variation.

If the purpose of your variation is to make a change to color and size, then you will need to choose a different label for the values within your variations, or else you will need to remove the master item specific that shares that name.

In looking at the 'punch' category, eBay does not allow removing the "size" specific, but does allow you to "enter your own value" which can be null.  Using a null value there might allow you to continue with "size" within variations. If not, then your variation specifics will need a non-conflicting label (like "colors" or "sizes", as previously suggested, or like "actual size".

It is possible to bulk edit all the variations within one listing to change the variation name.  A couple of months ago, eBay forum members helped forumulate a tutorial for variations.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/listings/creating-managing-listings/creating-listings-variations?i...

The tutorial is located here, and instructions for bulk modifying variation headings is found near the end under "Revising an Active Variation Listing":

http://shipscript.com/ebayhelp/lister_hub/creating_ebay_variations.htm

I went one step further and downloaded eBay's item specifics structure for that category from eBay's site:

https://developer.ebay.com/tools/item-specifics

I saved their download to my computer, opened it in a text editor instead of spreadsheet, and pasted the text content into this online item specifics tool and clicked "make list":

http://isdntek.com/ebaytools/ItemSpecificsEditor.htm

The "list" is a human readable report that says this about "size":

Size ( You may enter your own value up to 65 characters. Not allowed in variations. )
	Less than 1"
	1"-1.75"
	2"-2.75"
	3" or more

So there we have it straight from the eBay development engine that "Size" is not allowed in variations for that category because eBay has a predetermined set of sizes in the master record. Therefore, if all of your sizes fit within one master size, you can relabel your variation sizes as "Actual size".

If you feel the master grouping does not meet the requirements of buyers and sellers, I recommend using the "send us your feedback" link at the top of the listing form, in case the changes may have been made without consulting the actual users of the specific category.

[stockmonkey2000]

I've had the same frustration as you!

When filling out a listing, I tend to skip around instead of starting at the top and working my way down. (ADHD) 

I have found that if you fill in a size (in the area just below where you add photos) BEFORE you click on "variations," it will not let you then add size variations. 

So you must click on "variations" and fill out the size information in that section rather than filling out the size info that you use when it's a single listing.

Hope this helps!