Alert! - Finding API and Shopping API to be decommissioned in 2025

[shipscript]

The traditional Finding API and Shopping API are now deprecated as of  2024/01/04.

They will be decommissioned on 2025/02/05.

https://developer.ebay.com/develop/apis/api-deprecation-status 

Developers may transition to the RESTful Browse API

[apsm100]

This is a massive disappointment for me. 
I have switched over to the Browse API for testing and it renders my app useless. Compared to the Finding API, I am missing several items in search results, and there seems to be a delay of 10-15 minutes before new listings show in the Browse API response.
Missing the "Most watched" sort and watch count fields hurts as well.

Not sure why the can't keep it going, given it looks to be a simple proxy of the production eBay server.
I am guessing this is a move to stop apps like mine from existing (and saving on the potential commissions etc.). I've personally spent thousands using my app (no commission of course) that I wouldn't have been able to if I used eBay.ca alone. 

If a lot of devs are affected by this, I hope they change their mind.

Or... maybe a good time to work on my eBay addiction and stop using it all together 😂

Thank you for your help on this forum.

[overallproducts]

How to obtain the Item Specifics of an item via the Browse API ?

I've been using the Shopping API for years which contains the Item Specifics.

eBay dropped the ball in not porting this with same name or referencing Item Specifics to what ever way they are doing it with Browse.

[toned_coins]

Very, very sad to be honest. I already transitioned to using the Browse API but it is giving more issues than I ever had with Finding API. I can't make the same search requests as before like "(Cartier, Tiffany & Co., Boucheron, Fabergé, Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian, Art Nouvea, Art Deco, Van Cleef & Arpels) +(antique jewely)" because it returns either nothing or an error on my page. I can't even get "most bids" options anymore which was a big part of my website content.

I keep getting days where no items are shown anywhere on my site and after asking my programmer, he says it's from the API, probably a glitch or something. So no matter how much I try to look for a way to work around this, nothing works.

So eBay, if you forced us to move to something like Browse API to replace the Finding API, can you atleast make it work?

[apsm100]

That is concerning. I haven't seen issues like that in my testing. Could be something to do with escaped characters. 
I am not switching to the Browse API until the very last moment, still quite some time left. 

[mclemore]

I see if one 'applies' for access, that one can potentially get WatchCount in search results.  Great, however, that doesn't address how to -search- by say BidCount > 0 and/or WatchCount > 5 (for example) or to show results ordered by one of their fields descending (order by watchcount desc, limit 50).  

Originally, the Trading API had some calls that were useful, but the useful calls were entirely turned off more than a decade ago... 

Then GetMostWatchedItems in the Merchandising API had huge flaws (and didn't get any love after 2010 -- 14 years ago) -- in particular if a category had a lot of new merchandise with listings that were repeatedly renewed over and over then the climbing watchcounts on such items would pollute all the results and make it impossible to find special, unique items in certain categories.   Even an eBay FAQ doesn't seem to be aware that the API missed tons of unique items ( https://developer.ebay.com/support/kb-article?KBid=1440).  WatchCount is great for looking at unique items, however, the Merchandising API just didn't work well for this case. 

Then the Finding API didn't really solve the problem either. 

And now the Browse API seems to hide the golden needles (high end collectibles) even deeper into the haystack.

Am I missing something?  If so, please let me know.