Working with Attribute-Based Features

To make it easier for sellers to predict category-specific search keywords (like "Softcover") that buyers will use, eBay provides a special Item Specifics section in the item description. The Item Specifics section contains a set of well-known fields that are common to (or "specific" to) all items in a particular category. For example:

If you are listing in the Fiction & Nonfiction category, Format (e.g., Hardcover or Softcover) and Condition (e.g., New or Used) could be some Item Specifics for a book.
If you are listing in the Event Tickets category, Event (e.g., Concert) and Venue (e.g., Fillmore Theater) could be some Item Specifics for a ticket.

That is, information like "Format=Hardcover" would be specific to book listings, and information like "Venue=Fillmore Theater" would be specific to event ticket listings. But it would make no sense to ask a seller to fill in a "Venue" field for a book listing.

By using Item Specifics, sellers worldwide can describe different kinds of items in a standardized manner for similar categories. For example, all fiction book categories let you specify "Softcover" in a standardized way.

Buyers and sellers can use Item Specifics to find particular types of items more easily when searching eBay. For example, in the browsing flow, buyers use product finders to filter search results according to Item Specifics. Item Specifics also help buyers ascertain the details of items more easily when viewing items. Thus, items that are listed with Item Specifics are more likely to be sold and typically are sold more quickly than items that do not include Item Specifics.

In this manual, the terms Item Specifics and attributes are both commonly used. Item Specifics is the name of an eBay feature, and it is a term buyers and sellers would see on the US eBay Web site UI. Attribute is a term developers would see in the API code. This chapter provides definitions of these terms and other terms that you should understand when working with Item Specifics and other features that are implemented with attributes.

This chapter summarizes how to use the API to support the following attribute-based features in your application:

Item Specifics (including item condition)
Pre-filled Item Information (based on eBay catalog products)
Return policies

It also summarizes how to determine the attributes that are available in each category, how to find catalog products that are similar to your item, and how to specify that you want to include that information in your listing description. Later chapters provide more detailed descriptions of how to execute calls that support these features.

Overview of Implementing eBay Listing Options

The Attributes (Item Specifics & Return Policy) API

The Catalog Product (Pre-filled Item) API