eBay Claims It Has Fixed the Item Specifics Problem

eBay issued a “final update” to the problems with item specifics that go back to the October 15 category and items specifics update. In its statement to sellers, the marketplace says it has fixed the problem, yet some updates to listings still must be completed.

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“We’d like to thank you for your patience and understanding as we resolve the final issues from the 15 October category and item specifics update. We apologize for the frustration and disruption caused to sellers. From the moment your experience was disrupted, we’ve listened to your feedback and worked quickly to address the issues.”

eBay Statement

Final status update

Here is a list of problems eBay says are fixed now:

• Left-hand navigation filters – The left-hand navigation filters are now working again and this issue is fully resolved.
• Missing values -eBay is continuing to copy the Additional item specifics sellers previously provided into the Required item specifics fields. The company expects the transfers to be completed in the coming weeks.
• Irrelevant item specifics values – The consolidation of irrelevant values is in progress and sellers will start seeing only appropriate values in the drop-down menus by the end of this week. Sellers will notice marked improvements already.

Actions for Sellers

While eBay is “finalizing” the fixes, they are reminding sellers they should still update listings in Toys, Fashion, Home & Garden, Collectibles, and Media & Gift Cards categories:

• For existing listings: sellers need to provide required item specifics when revising existing listings.
• Use tool to find problems with existing listings: eBay recommends using the Optiseller Aspect Finder Tool to help sellers quickly identify and correct existing listings that are missing key item specifics.
• New listings: sellers should follow the prompts and include all required item specifics, plus as many recommended specifics as sellers see fit.

What Happened with Item Specifics?

This year, eBay introduced several item specifics changes to approximately 70% of Home & Garden and 80% of Consumer Electronics listings worldwide with little to no disruption.

Because it felt comfortable with how the previous changes were implemented, the company made Category and Classification changes to other categories, including the fashion category on October 15th.

However, while making these changes, eBay also made some item specifics “Required.” These two changes together had an unforeseen, temporary impact on the ability to edit existing listings in the fashion category.

Although editing of existing listings was temporarily blocked, listing data was accessible, and listings were visible in search results. eBay was able to restore the editing of listings within a short period of time.

Here is What eBay Says They Learned from This Issue

eBay says they do not take these interruptions lightly and are “committed to working harder for sellers and their business.”

When asking sellers to update their listings, as part of a Seller Update, eBay will not make multiple updates and item specifics requirements simultaneously. Instead, the company will make changes gradually, so the flow-on effect is not felt all at once by sellers.

With the busy holiday season, eBay has no further planned changes in 2019 so sellers can focus on selling during this busy time of the year.