eBay have confirmed that Item Specific updates announced in the early Spring Seller Release will now come into effect, either from May or from mid July.
eBay have reiterated their focus on Item Specifics for 2019 so be prepared, although this does mean a ton of work as listings will fail to list or renew if the mandatory Item Specifics aren’t present.
eBay say that they have updated Seller Hub to let you know about listings that are missing required item specifics. eBay also highlight required item specifics when you attempt to list without them.
As for most sellers this is a highly manual process and could involve remeasuring every single item you list, eBay have made promises to sellers:
eBay promises to sellers
eBay have committed to:
- Let you know the most important 3 or 4 Item specifics you need to fill in for each category that could benefit your conversion rate
- Provide you with 8 weeks notice when Item specifics are required in a category
- The requirements will apply to all new and revised listings
- Any Good ‘Til Cancelled listings will remain the same until they are revised, however, they encourage you to add the relevant Item specifics to those listings to see the benefits of the changed approach
Spring Seller Release Item Specifics Updates
- From 1 May, you’ll need to provide item specifics for certain subcategories within Clothes, Shoes & Accessories.
- From 10 July, you’ll need to provide item specifics for certain categories in Home & Garden.
2019 Item specifics updates so far
|
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Women’s Clothing | Tops & Shirts | November 2018 |
| Dresses | January 2019 | |
| Skirts | May 2019 | |
| Shorts | May 2019 | |
| Coats & Jackets | May 2019 | |
| Boots | May 2019 | |
| Sandals & Beach Shoes | May 2019 | |
| Tops & Shirts | May 2019 | |
| Jumpers & Cardigans | May 2019 | |
| Men’s clothing | Shorts | May 2019 |
| Coats & Jackets | May 2019 | |
| Trainers | May 2019 | |
| T-Shirts | May 2019 | |
| Hoodies & Sweatshirts | May 2019 | |
| Casual Shirts & Tops | May 2019 | |
| Formal shirts | May 2019 | |
| Home & Garden | Bedding | 10th July 2019 |
| Rugs & Carpets | 10th July 2019 | |
| Furniture | 10th July 2019 | |
| Electronics | TBA | Later in 2019 |
Future Item specifics updates Plans
“Later in the year, we’ll require more item specifics in the Home & Garden, Fashion and Electronics categories. We’ll let you know about these closer to the time and you’ll continue to get at least 8 weeks notice to help you prepare.
Our continued analysis of search filters will determine the item specifics we need you to provide. We know it takes more time to provide detailed information for your listings, but we strongly believe the benefits to you on eBay and beyond are worth the effort. Thanks for your cooperation”
– eBay Seller Release
