Best practice listing strategies Part 1: Catalogue

No primary category set

There have been a number of changes recently to eBay all of which will affect the way that you list and describe your items. Catalogue, Mandatory Item Specifics, and Longer Listing Titles will all have an impact on how your items are found.

eBay Catalogue

Listing against the eBay Catalogue is now mandatory in many electronic categories, but you should match your products to eBay Catalogue entries whenever possible in all categories where it is available. Matching against eBay Catalogue will ensure that your item is found on product pages whenever they are displayed on eBay.

When a buyer searches on eBay they’ll be presented with “Product cards” in search results. This will roll all identical products up into a single entry in search results and clicking on one will then take you to the product page. If you didn’t match your product to the catalogue your item won’t be included in this group of products.

Once on the Product Page the buyer will see the lowest priced Buy it now item from a Top-rated seller highlighted in the Value Box. All other listings are shown below and are sorted by price, including postage (Buy it now) or time left to run (auctions). Only items matching the relevant catalogue entry will be displayed here which is why it’s essential to list using eBay catalogue.

Four options when listing against eBay’s catalogue

A common misconception when matching your listing is that you also have to use the catalogue information. This isn’t true – you can match your listing to a catalogue item and have it appear on the relevant product page without using any of the eBay supplied information. The options are:

  1. Match the item to eBay’s catalogue (Recommended and mandatory in some categories
  2. Use the suggested title (Optional)
  3. Use the stock photo (Optional, not recommended for used items
  4. Use the product information insert (Optional, bear in mind that it will push your description lower down the on the listing page).
  5. N.B. You can use some all or none of the suggested title, picture and product information.

    Errors in eBay Catalogue

    If you find an error in eBay’s catalogue then you can report it to [email protected]. You need to clearly describe the issue; Include the URL where the error can be found; Your email and phone number in case eBay need to contact you for additional information; and a Screenshot or file attachment of the issue if possible.

    Adding a product to eBay catalogue

    From September 15 all listings in the GPS systems category will need to be listed with a matching product from the catalogue If your GPS systems isn’t already included in eBay’s catalogue you can now .

    eBay have a .pdf guide to the new buyer experience and use of the catalogue when listing. There’s also an equivalent document for our German readers.

    Come back tomorrow for “Best practice listing strategies Part 2: Titles & Item Specifics” and “Best practice listing strategies Part 3: UPC EAN ISBN“.

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