Developer

First eBay: On Location City Announced

2010-02-08T18:36:18-08:00

eBay just announced the first of their eBay: On Location events happening in Atlanta March 19-20.

eBay: On Location is a new series of day-and-a-half long, in-person, educational and networking events designed to give part-time eBay sellers and small businesses on eBay practical information and business insights. Courses and interactive sessions will be presented by both eBay experts and third-party business and branding leaders.

Early Bird registration ends February 16.

eBay Sellers will find eBay: On Location a great way to learn from eBay and from each other. eBay Developers should keep their eyes on the Developers Program blog for information on the upcoming 2010 eBay Developers Conference.

The eBay DevCon call for papers closes February 26, so get your proposals in now and share your expertise with the rest of the eBay Developer Community.

For more information on eBay: On Location, see http://ebayonlocationevents.com.
For information on the eBay Developers Conference and the Call for Papers, see http://devcon.ebay.com.

February 2010 Categories & Item Specifics Changes Now Live

2010-02-08T18:22:15-08:00

The category structure will be updated in two releases: one in February and another in March. The February release went live on Feb 7.

If you sell in the areas below, please click on the links to review the February changes.

Please note: March changes will be available for review closer to the release date.

Baby (February release)

Strollers: Removing stroller subcategories in favor of more flexible Custom Item Specifics functionalities.

Business & Industrial (March release)

Retail & Services: Moving the Jewelry Retail Packaging & Display to B&I, out of Jewelry & Watches

Clothing, Shoes & Accessories (March release)

Children’s Clothing: Streamlining the category structure and using more flexible Custom Item Specifics to allow searching for clothing by size.
Women’s Handbags & Bags: Creating new section for Handbag Accessories
Women’s Accessories: removing various categories to be replaced by Custom Item Specifics

Collectibles (March release)

Knives, Swords & Blades: Removing Brand categories in the Fixed and Folding Knives sections

Computers & Networking (February release)

Minor changes, including adding new category in Wireless Networks for 802.11n.

Crafts (February release)

Removing subcategories in multiple sections, to be replaced with more flexible Custom Item Specifics.

Electronics (March release)

Renaming “DVD Players & Recorders” to “Blu-Ray & DVD Players”

Health & Beauty (February release)

Fragrances: Removing brand- and gender-specific subcategories in favor of more flexible Custom Item Specifics.

Home & Garden (February release)

Tools & Home Improvement: Splitting Tools and Home Improvement into separate sections, to simplify click-through to each.
Plants, Seeds & Bulbs: Updating categories and Custom Item Specifics to improve classification and finding of items.
Minor additional subcategory removals in multiple sections, to accommodate Custom Item Specifics and improve finding

Jewelry & Watches (February and March releases)

Loose Diamonds & Gemstones (February): Removing cut- and carat-specific subcategories for Diamonds, and cut- and color-specific subcategories in Gemstones, to be replaced with Item Specifics.
Designer Brands (March): Adding additional Brand categories. Removing jewelry type subcategories below each brand, in favor of Custom Item Specifics.
Ethnic, Regional & Tribal (March): Removing jewelry type subcategories
Fashion Jewelry; Men’s Jewelry (March): Removing metal, stone, and jewelry style subcategories, to be replaced by Custom Item Specifics.
Jewelry Boxes, Cases & Display (March): Renaming “Jewelry Boxes, Cases & Display” to “Jewelry Boxes & Organizers.” Moving Retail Packaging & Display to Business & Industrial. See above.

Motors (March release)

Adoption of Item Specifics will become mandatory for sellers in the following categories:

Parts & Accessories> Car & Truck Parts> Wheels, Tires & Parts> Wheels
Parts & Accessories> Car & Truck Parts> Wheels, Tires & Parts> Tires
Parts & Accessories> Car & Truck Parts> Wheels, Tires & Parts> Wheel/Tire Packages

Minor category additions in Parts & Accessories.
Minor reorganizing of the category structure in Car Electronics.
Adjusting the character limit allowed in certain Item Specifics, including Manufacturer Part Number and Interchange Part Number
Renaming certain Item Specifics, including Rim Diameter and Bolt Pattern.

Music (February release)

Combining DVD Audio and Super Audio CDs into the Other Formats category

Musical Instruments (February release)

Removing subcategories in Guitars in favor of more flexible Custom Item Specifics.

Sporting Goods (February release)

Golf: Removing brand and condition subcategories, to be replaced with more flexible Custom Item Specifics.

Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop (February release)

Fan Apparel & Souvenirs: Removing team- and product-specific categories, to be replaced with more flexible Custom Item Specifics.

Stamps (February release)

Minor category changes for Australia and Asia.

Toys & Hobbies (March release)

Action Figures: Removing subcategories under Transformers to be replaced with Custom Item Specifics.
Diecast & Toy Vehicles: Updating categories and Item Specifics to improve classification and finding of items.
Radio Control & Control Line: Updating categories and Item Specifics to improve classification and finding of items.
Toy Soldiers: Removing material subcategories in favor of more flexible Custom Item Specifics.

Travel (March release)

Minor changes in Vacation Packages.

655 Trading, Shopping, Client Alerts, Merchant Data API Docs Now Available

2010-02-05T17:36:27-08:00

Please remember to use a test environment when updating applications to use a new schema version.

To find out when a version of the API will be available, see the table at the top of the Release Notes for that API.

You can find the latest API documentation at the eBay Developer Documentation Center.

Trading

Trading Release Notes

Release Highlights

See the Trading API System Announcements for bug fixes included in this release.

Shopping

Shopping Release Notes

See the Shopping API System Announcements for bug fixes included in this release.

Client Alerts

Client Alerts Release Notes

See the Client Alerts API System Announcements for bug fixes included in this release.

Merchant Data

Merchant Data Release Notes

Release Highlights

See the Large Merchant Services API System Announcements for bug fixes included in this release.

John Darrow
API Tech Docs and Tools

Mismatched CONTENT-TYPE Will Now Cause Call Failure

2010-01-22T19:39:43-08:00

As of January 15, 2010, eBay evaluates the CONTENT-TYPE header against the request payload format. If the CONTENT-TYPE value is incorrect for the payload, the request will fail. Previously, eBay did not validate the CONTENT-TYPE header in requests.

This HTTP header is optional. If you do not submit the CONTENT-TYPE header with your request, eBay will determine the content type from the payload.

The following table lists the correct CONTENT-TYPE header values for HTTP POST request formats:

Request Payload Format	Content-Type Value
XML	text/xml
SOAP12	application/soap+xml
SOAP11	text/xml (in conjection with SOAPAction header being sent - value can be anything)

See File Transfer Service: Making An API Call for more information about the call format for the File Transfer API.

Type Change for Values in Sold and Active Inventory Reports

2010-01-29T12:38:43-08:00

Starting with release version 657, all amount values in the Merchant Data API will be returned strictly as xs:double as specified in the schema and documentation. Currently, monetary amounts in the Sold Report and the Active Inventory Report use grouping separators where applicable (e.g. the comma in 1,234.55). The new values will be returned regardless of the version passed in the request.

A conversion summary for a few currencies can be seen below for reference:

USD

Before 657	657 and Later
2.00	2.0
2.50	2.5
2.55	2.55
1,234.55	1234.55

EUR

Before 657	657 and Later
2,00	2.0
2,50	2.5
2,55	2.55
1.234,00	1234.0

This change was deemed necessary to:

Stay in line with the standards established across other eBay APIs and Products. Sellers often use multiple tools, the data returned should stay as consistent as possible.
Reduce the complexity of managing different currencies when engaging in Cross Border Trade (CBT).
Correct any outstanding inconsistencies between the Schema and the reports.

Join Us for a Webinar on the Spring 2010 API Changes

2010-01-28T01:51:15-08:00

Please join us today for a webinar on the Spring 2010 changes. This webinar is open to anyone developing with the eBay API.

We'll be reviewing the announced Spring 2010 changes and answering any questions you may have about the new features.

Meeting Link: https://intercall.webex.com/intercall/j.php?ED=133766222&RG=1&UID=0&RT=MiM0
Starting date:   Thursday, January 28, 2010
Starting time:   1:00 pm, Pacific Standard Time (San Jose, GMT-08:00)
Meeting number:   592 777 078
Teleconference:

Call-in toll-free number	1-866-9363229 (US/Canada)
Call-in number	1-678-2245140 (US/Canada)
Conference Code: 625 487 9

We heard your requests! Several API enhancements

2010-01-27T17:09:16-08:00

The 653 Version of the Trading API with Developer-Requested API Enhancements is now available!

Enhancements in this release include:

Shipping: Tracking Number and Carrier Used
New VerifyRelistItem Call
VerifyOnly Field for ReviseItem
GetPromotionalSaleDetails Enhancement to Filter by Status
Sellers Can Subscribe to Notification for SellerClosedDisputes
Updates to GetMyeBaySelling

Shipping: Tracking Number and Carrier Used

Tracking Number and Carrier Used are now returned by GetOrders and GetOrderTransactions for both Trading and Half.com. On Half.com, you can use the GetOrders and GetOrderTransactions calls to retrieve unshipped Half.com orders, such as orders that the seller has received but has not yet processed.

New VerifyRelistItem Call

The new VerifyRelistItem request allows you to preview the response and fees for an item you want to relist, before you make the actual RelistItem call. This call requests and returns the same data as RelistItem (same inputs, same outputs, and same usage rules), but without actually listing the item to an eBay site.

Applications can use this call to test the definition of an item before actually listing it to eBay with RelistItem, reducing item listing-related errors.

VerifyOnly Field for ReviseItem

You can use the VerifyOnly boolean field with the flag set to 'true', if you want the response to include the calculated listing price change (if there is an increase in the BIN/Start price) but you do not want the values to persist in the database. See ReviseItem for more details.

Including the VerifyOnly field in ReviseItem is similar to using VerifyAddItem or VerifyRelistItem.

GetPromotionalSaleDetails Enhancement to Filter by Status

A new input field, PromotionalSaleStatus, has been added to GetPromotionalSaleDetails call to restrict the promotional sales returned to those that match the specified status only.

Sellers Can Subscribe to Notification for SellerClosedDisputes

Previously, Buyers have been able to subscribe to get notified when a seller has closed a listing dispute. Now the Seller can also subscribe to the SellerClosedDisputes notification. For more information, see options for platform notification.

Updates to GetMyeBaySelling

In response to your product feedback, these enhancements have been made to GetMyeBaySelling:

Listings with variations now return Variation.StartPrice.
A new OrderStatusFilter in the request enables you to filter SoldList based on whether transactions have been marked as Paid and/or Shipped in My eBay.

For more information about the contents of the 653 release, see the Trading API release notes.

Welcome New eBay Developers Program Marketing Manager, JoAnn Peach!

2010-01-26T15:46:37-08:00

We are pleased to introduce you to the newest member of our eBay Developers Program Team: JoAnn Peach!

JoAnn is our new eBay Developers Program Marketing Manager. Prior to joining eBay, JoAnn worked in marketing and communications for several startups in the Silicon Valley and in France including Six Apart, Wikimedia, Modu, Palm, Zannel and Macromedia (now Adobe). She also guest lectures on social media at George Washington University for the marketing program. JoAnn is also an active member of Girls In Tech and She's Geeky, focusing on mentoring outreach to middle and high school girls in science and technology magnet schools in the Silicon Valley.

A San Jose native, JoAnn pursued a degree in Journalism at San Jose State University before moving to San Francisco. In 2005, she moved to Paris, France where she consulted with a technology PR agency, introducing French startups to the American media. She also studied French language and civilization at La Sorbonne Universite. During her two and a half years in Paris, JoAnn fed her travel bug by traveling to a different European country each month.

JoAnn is married (Nico) and she and her husband have a large Pitbull mastiff puppy (Milo). In her spare time, she spends as much time as she can outdoors hiking, snowboarding or camping. Indoors, she spends her time cooking and learning the recipes inherited from her husband's Italian grandmother.

Snapshots of JoAnn's days can be seen at www.twitter.com/joannpeach. Most common hashtags are #awesomesauce, #fempire and #meh.

653 Trading, Shopping, Client Alerts, Merchant Data API Docs Now Available

2010-01-26T12:48:00-08:00

Please remember to use a test environment when updating applications to use a new schema version.

To find out when a version of the API will be available, see the table at the top of the Release Notes for that API.

You can find the latest API documentation at the eBay Developer Documentation Center.

Trading

Trading Release Notes

Release Highlights

See the Trading API System Announcements for bug fixes included in this release.

Shopping

Shopping Release Notes

See the Shopping API System Announcements for bug fixes included in this release.

Client Alerts

Client Alerts Release Notes

See the Client Alerts API System Announcements for bug fixes included in this release.

Merchant Data

Merchant Data Release Notes

See the Large Merchant Services API System Announcements for bug fixes included in this release.

John Darrow
API Tech Docs and Tools

Developer Impact: Spring 2010 Announcements

2010-01-26T10:25:28-08:00

Today, Dinesh Lathi posted an important announcement about the Spring 2010 Release (SR10.1). Here is the developer impact for those features. More details will follow in the documentation as each feature is released.

OUR LOWEST INSERTION FEES EVER COMING THIS SPRING: FREE AUCTION-STYLE LISTINGS; FIXED PRICE AS LOW AS 3¢ WITH FULL SEARCH EXPOSURE
Great news: Starting March 30 the upfront cost of selling on eBay will be dramatically reduced for sellers of all sizes with our lowest Insertion Fees ever. Whether you're running a business or selling to earn extra cash, choose from a range of options designed to make your selling easier and more profitable:
Choose the option that's best for you:
1. New "eBay everyday" standard rates: List Auction-style FREE—pay only if it sells
The new eBay standard rates are perfect if you sell occasionally.

List up to 100 items a month Auction-style free—no Insertion Fees—when you start your Auction-style listing under $1.
Get new, lower Insertion Fees for all other start prices.
Either way, pay one easy Final Value Fee of 9% of the winning bid—and never more than $50—pay only if your item sells.
List in Fixed Price for 50¢ with Final Value Fees mostly the same as today

2. New eBay Stores subscription packages: Fixed Price with full search exposure as low as 3¢ plus great low rates for auctions
The new eBay Stores subscription packages are the right choice for most sellers with 50 or more listings a month:

List in Fixed Price with full search exposure for as low as 3¢ Insertion Fees with Final Value Fees for the most part the same as today
Get FREE pictures
Get deeply discounted fees on Auction-style listings

Developer Impact:
No API changes are needed to support this change. Any rate or subscription changes will be automatically reflected in the API. Sellers are encouraged to review their listing strategy to see which options work best for them.

Only one Fixed Price format
"Full search exposure" is key because starting March 30, there will be just one Fixed Price listing format on eBay. Store Inventory Format listings will automatically become regular Fixed Price listings with the same duration and renew at the new rates—and surface in search results right along with all other listings.

Developer Impact:
In the API, the FixedPriceItem (FPI) listing format will be replacing the StoresFixedPrice (SFP) listing format. We are offering a migration phase where AddItem will continue to accept either FPI or SFP as listing formats. However, the item will be displayed as FPI on the site and in search results. GetItem and other Get calls will return the format you originally used in the request (FPI or SFP).

In early 2011, SFP will no longer be an accepted option, and your AddItem call will fail if you include it. We recommend you take the following actions as early as possible to avoid issues:

Remove StoresFixedPrice as a listing option from your user interface
Start using FixedPriceItem in your AddItem instead of StoresFixedPrice.

Starting with 653 (late Jan), the existing eBayNotes field in will start returning whether or not that item has had sales in the last 16 months. Sellers can use that information to help them make decisions about which selling strategy works best for them.

As of March 30th, 2010, any existing SFP listings will be treated as FPI on the site. Items will immediately get the higher FPI exposure, and will renew or relist at the FPI price.

Any listing enhancements (e.g., bold, subtitle, etc.) will also renew or relist at FPI rates. Sellers will want to evaluate their use of listing enhancements to see if it supports their listing strategy at the higher rates.

This feature will be available in the Sandbox for testing after the Production release. Note, however, that most Sandbox items will not meet the criteria for having sales information returned in eBayNotes (a listing with no sales for 16 months).

Developers who do not yet support the eBayNotes field in GetMyeBaySelling should consider adding support for it. Sellers will find that information particularly valuable between now and late March as they evaluate their existing SFP listings.

Subscribe or upgrade your subscription early and save!
We want to make sure you have plenty of time to get ready: Use the handy Fee Illustrator to determine which option will be most cost-effective for you. Then subscribe or upgrade now with no additional monthly fee until April.

Developer Impact:
No new API changes for this feature.

BUILDING BUYER CONFIDENCE—NEW EBAY BUYER PROTECTION PROGRAM
We're making a big move to bring buyers and keep them on eBay with the new eBay Buyer Protection program. All over eBay, the message to buyers will be loud and clear: "eBay's got you covered," so buy on eBay with the confidence and satisfaction you expect from a trusted retailer. As always, direct communication between buyers and sellers to get issues resolved will continue to be encouraged.

Developer Impact:
No new API changes for this feature.

The eBay Top-rated seller badge also ensures quality service and keeps buyers coming back. More and more of you are now enjoying the benefits. U.S. sellers can also now qualify for Top-rated status in more countries.

Developer Impact:
We know that sellers appreciate visibility into their performance on eBay. Sellers who sell on UK/IE/DE/AT/CH currently have only 3 possible status levels returned in GetSellerDashboard for those sites: BelowStandard, Standard (default), and TopRated. We are adding an additional level of granularity to the response so sellers can also see if they are AboveStandard.

AboveStandard indicates that the seller is performing above the standard level for that country. UK and DE PowerSellers who are AboveStandard are eligible for Final Value Fee discounts.
Starting early Feb, if you specify version 653 or later in your request, you'll also start seeing AboveStandard (when applicable) in the response.

AboveStandard is an already existing enum (as of 635) so you do NOT need to upgrade to the 653 WSDL to pick up this tag. You probably already support it for the US site.
3rd-party developers will want include this status tag in any user dashboard, or listing cost estimates they provide. Note that a default status value is returned for all sites (whether or not there have been any sales on that site), so developers may want to filter out values for sites that the seller does not sell on.

MORE UPDATES TO BOOST SELLER EFFICIENCY
Sellers in eBay Motors Parts & Accessories will be able to create one listing with a complete list of compatible vehicles—a huge saving in Insertion Fees and time.

Developer Impact:
The API fully supports Parts Compatibility. Developers with sellers who list in Motors: Parts & Accessories will want to add support for this feature to their applications.

Parts Compatibility is available today in the Motors Sandbox in selected test categories. Starting in mid-March, Parts Compatibility will be supported in limited Parts & Accessories categories in the Production environment.

Trading API SDK support for Parts Compatibility will also follow in March.

Listing with Parts Compatibility:

Use the new Product API to retrieve the correct eBay Product ID (ePID) for your part (if available). Include that ePID value in the ProductReferenceID container in your AddItem request. The Product API will be available with 655 (early Feb).
Use the new Product Metadata API to retrieve a list of parts compatibility information specified as name and value pairs. For example, to specify a part's compatibility with a vehicle, the name would map to standard vehicle characteristics (e.g., Year, Make, Model, Trim, and Engine). The values would describe the specific vehicle, such as a 2006 Honda Accord. Pass those name value pairs in the new Item.ItemCompatibilityList container in AddItem. The Product Metadata API will be available with 655 (early Feb).
Specify parts compatibility manually by specifying the part's relevant dimensions and characteristics (e.g., Section Width, Aspect Ratio, Rim Diameter, Load Index, and Speed Rating for a tire) using attributes in Item.AttributeSetArray. A table of attribute values is available now.

Finding Parts Compatibility Items:
Parts compatibility improves search relevancy and frees up item titles and descriptions for more useful descriptions of the part. Listings with parts compatibility information also get a Best Match boost in search results. The compatibility match is also displayed in the search results (e.g., Fits: 2004 Honda Accord).

This new search behavior is supported by the Finding API and the Best Match Item Details API. The deprecated calls FindItems, FindItemsAdvanced, GetSearchResults and GetCategoryListings do not support Parts Compatibility items.

For more information, see the Trading API Release Notes.

You'll be able to list multiple variations of a product in one Fixed Price listing in many more categories.

Developer Impact:
The Items with Variations feature has been added to more categories. For technical information on how to use this feature in the API, see Describing Variations in a Listing.

Return policy and handling time will be required for new listings and re-listings in eBay Motors Parts & Accessories in June—editing tools make updating listings easy

Developer Impact:
Return Policy is specified in Item.ReturnPolicy. ReturnsNotAccepted is a valid value. Handling time is specified in Item.DispatchTimeMax.

Most listing-tool developers should already support required Return Policy and Handling Time in other eBay categories. In late 2010, they will also be required in Motors: Parts & Accessories.

Only new, relisted, and renewed items will be checked for compliance.

Developers can help sellers comply with the new requirement by flagging non-compliant listings for their review. Also by offering bulk editing tools to so sellers can search live listings and revise.

Category and Item Specifics changes are also coming with the rest of these.

Developer Impact:
Please refresh your cached categories and item specifics when the changes go live.

In keeping with the practice started last year, we're continuing to consolidate changes that impact your business into two or three major releases a year. Get details on all the updates coming in the spring 2010 update, including the new fee structure.
For more insight into the upcoming changes, including fees, you're also invited to:

Take part in the upcoming webinar on Thursday, January 28.
Join me and other leaders from eBay and PayPal in a Town Hall meeting on Thursday, January 29. Check the Announcement Board for more details coming soon.
Talk with members of my staff during the next two days on a special discussion board we've set up for this purpose.

We recommend taking advantage of the resources that Dinesh mentions above. eBay developers can also get their questions answered:

On a special technical discussion thread hosted by the eBay Developers Program.
At an upcoming technical webinar on Thursday, January 28 immediately following the general one.

eBay DevCon - Call for Papers

2010-01-21T17:14:49-08:00

Are you ready for DevCon 2010?

We’re pleased to announced that the Call for Papers for this year’s DevCon has been opened and we’d like your participation. We are looking for interesting subjects and points of view that address real world challenges and advancements in e-commerce, from both business and technical perspectives.

Share experiences you encountered in learning or building applications on the eBay or PayPal API platforms. Speak on topics of interest to developers who are involved in all the elements of e-commerce, including shipping, security, storage, checkout or marketing your solution to your customers.

By submitting your topic no later than February 26, 2010, you may be chosen to lead a conference session! Plus, selected speakers receive free registration for DevCon and one night hotel stay.

Where? When? Stay tuned -- we’ll be releasing details about dates and location soon!