In addition to defining the basic properties of an item, some categories support options that let you prefill item details by referencing a product definition in the eBay catalog.
Available options depend on the item's category:
- Listing the standard way
- Listing with eBay Catalog product details
With this option, you enter all the descriptive information about the item and listing yourself. This option is available in all categories.
With this option, you reference an available eBay Catalog product using an eBay Product Identifier, which also known as an ePID, and then eBay uses that catalog product's details to prefill some of your listing's details, including product title, product description, product aspects, and links to stock photo(s). This option is available in categories where catalog products exist.
Listing with product details
To include eBay Catalog product details in a listing, you pass in an eBay Product ID (ePID), which is a unique identifier of the catalog product.
If you do not know the ePID for a catalog product, you can also use an industry-standard product identifier, but it is possible that eBay will not be able to find the best catalog product match without an ePID. Common product identifiers include:
- A Universal Product Code (UPC)
- The product's brand and manufacturer part number (MPN)
- An International Standard Book Number (ISBN) for items like books, DVDs, music CDs, and video games
- A European Article Number (EAN)
eBay then attempts to match that identifier to a product in the catalog, and will add the catalog product details to your listing if a match is found.
For additional information about working with eBay Catalog Products, refer to Catalog products.
Additional considerations
Items in certain categories can have item specifics whose values are well known and do not vary from listing to listing. For example, in the Movies category, buyers would expect a popular movie's title, rating, and film credits to be the same no matter who the seller is. Rather than filling in this standard information for every listing, a seller can create a listing in which this information has already been partially filled out/prefilled. These data are called product details.
You can use key attributes such as ISBN, UPC, or Manufacturer Part Number (depending on the product type), as well as keywords like Title to pull up stock listing information on items in categories that support this feature. You can then select content, including stock photos, descriptions, and supplemental information (like song lists, film descriptions, etc.) that will be added to a listing automatically.
The use of product details is optional for all categories, but it can be an optimal way to create listings. For more information about using product identifiers refer to Product identifiers.
Sellers can call GetCategoryFeatures to determine which categories support product identifiers when listing items in that category. Alternatively, the seller can visit the Structured Data - Product Identifiers help page.
Buyers and sellers can use product information to list and find similar items more precisely and to ascertain the details of items more easily when viewing items. By using product details, sellers worldwide can describe their items more fully in fewer steps and in a way that makes their listings easier to find.
Product details do not replace a seller's own item description but add more information to the listing. Sellers still assume full responsibility for the content of the listing and the item offered.