GetMyMessages - Call Reference - eBay Trading Web Services

GetMyMessages

Used to retrieve information about the messages and alerts sent to a given user. Depending on the detail level, this information can include message and alert counts, resolution and flagged status, message and/or alert headers, and message and/or alert body text.

Note that this call requires a DetailLevel in the request. Omitting the Detail Level returns an error.

ItemID is not returned with this call. Use GetMemberMessages instead.

See:
Communication Between Members
GetMyMessages

GetMyMessages Input

The box below lists all fields that could be included in the call request. To learn more about an individual field or its type, click its name in the box (or scroll down to find it in the table below the box).

See also Samples.

See also the Deprecated Objects link above. Fields presented in this color are deprecated, and fields presented in this color are (or soon will be) non-operational.

The XML prototype may be missing some XML fields and attributes. This is a documentation limitation only (see Limitations of This Document).

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<GetMyMessagesRequest xmlns="urn:ebay:apis:eBLBaseComponents">
  <!-- Standard Input Fields -->
  <DetailLevel> DetailLevelCodeType </DetailLevel>
  <!-- ... more DetailLevel nodes here ... -->
  <ErrorLanguage> string </ErrorLanguage>
  <MessageID> string </MessageID>
  <OutputSelector> string </OutputSelector>
  <!-- ... more OutputSelector nodes here ... -->
  <Version> string </Version>
  <WarningLevel> WarningLevelCodeType </WarningLevel>
  <!-- Call-specific Input Fields -->
  <AlertIDs> MyMessagesAlertIDArrayType 
    <AlertID> MyMessagesAlertIDType (string) </AlertID>
    <!-- ... more AlertID nodes here ... -->
  </AlertIDs>
  <EndTime> dateTime </EndTime>
  <ExternalMessageIDs> MyMessagesExternalMessageIDArrayType 
    <ExternalMessageID> MyMessagesExternalMessageIDType (string) </ExternalMessageID>
    <!-- ... more ExternalMessageID nodes here ... -->
  </ExternalMessageIDs>
  <FolderID> long </FolderID>
  <MessageIDs> MyMessagesMessageIDArrayType 
    <MessageID> MyMessagesMessageIDType (string) </MessageID>
    <!-- ... more MessageID nodes here ... -->
  </MessageIDs>
  <StartTime> dateTime </StartTime>
</GetMyMessagesRequest>

Argument	Type	Reqd?	Meaning
Standard Input Fields [Jump to call-specific fields]
DetailLevel	DetailLevelCodeType (repeatable)	Optional	Detail levels are instructions that define standard subsets of data to return for particular data components (e.g., each Item, Transaction, or User) within the response payload. For example, a particular detail level might cause the response to include buyer-related data in every result (e.g., for every Item), but no seller-related data. Specifying a detail level is like using a predefined attribute list in the SELECT clause of an SQL query. Use the DetailLevel element to specify the required detail level that the client application needs pertaining to the data components that are applicable to the request. The DetailLevelCodeType defines the global list of available detail levels for all request types. Most request types support certain detail levels or none at all. If you pass a detail level that exists in the schema but that isn't valid for a particular request, eBay ignores it processes the request without it. For each request type, see the detail level tables in the Input/Output Reference to determine which detail levels are applicable and which elements are returned for each applicable detail level. (Some detail level tables are still in the eBay Web Services guide. They will be moved to the Input/Output Reference in a future release.) Note that DetailLevel is required input for GetMyMessages. With GetSellerList and other calls that retrieve large data sets, please avoid using ReturnAll when possible. For example, if you use GetSellerList, use a GranularityLevel or use the GetSellerEvents call instead. If you do use ReturnAll with GetSellerList, use a small EntriesPerPage value and a short EndTimeFrom/EndTimeTo range for better performance. Applicable values: • ReturnHeaders (in) Returns message headers. For GetMyMessages, if you include MessageIDs or AlertIDs in the request, this detail level returns header information, without body text, for the specified message ID or alert ID values. If you include a FolderID, header information is returned only for the messages and alerts in the specified folder. If you do not include MessageIDs or AlertIDs, this detail level returns header information for: - All alerts in priority order with the highest priority alerts first - All messages in ascending order by date received with the oldest messages first. Note that even when restricted by this detail level to return only header information, GetMyMessages may return a high volume of data. • ReturnMessages (in) Returns full message information. For GetMyMessages, if you include MessageIDs or AlertIDs in the request, this detail level returns message information for the specified message ID or alert ID values. If you include a FolderID, message information is returned only for the messages and alerts in the specified folder. • ReturnSummary (in) Returns the summary data. For GetMyMessages, this detail level returns the same data whether or not you include MessageIDs or AlertIDs in the request. Returns up to 10 FolderID and FolderName values. Currently, this detail level is the only way to retrieve FolderID and FolderName values. See "GetMyMessages" in the eBay Web Services Guide for a code sample that demonstrates this. (Not all values in DetailLevelCodeType apply to this field.)
ErrorLanguage	string	Optional	Use ErrorLanguage to return error strings for the call in a different language from the language commonly associated with the site that the requesting user is registered with. Specify the standard RFC 3066 language identification tag (e.g., en_US). ID--- country ----- ----- de_AT Austria de_CH Switzerland de_DE Germany en_AU Australia en_CA Canada en_GB United Kingdom en_SG Singapore en_US United States es_ES Spain fr_BE Belgium (French) fr_CA Canada (French) fr_FR France it_IT Italy nl_BE Belgium (Dutch) nl_NL Netherlands zh_CN China en_IN India en_IE Ireland zh_HK Hong Kong See Tags for the Identification of Languages.
MessageID	string	Optional	In most cases, all calls support a MessageID element in the request and a CorrelationID element in the response. If you pass a message ID in a request, we will return the same value in CorrelationID in the response. You can use this for tracking that a response is returned for every request and to match particular responses to particular requests. If you do not pass MessageID in the request, CorrelationID is not returned. Note: GetCategories, GetAttributesCS, GetCategory2CS, GetAttributesXSL, GetProductFinder, GetProductFinderXSL, and GetProductSearchPage are designed to retrieve very large sets of metadata that change once a day or less often. To improve performance, these calls return cached responses when you request all available data (with no filters). When this occurs, the MessageID and CorrelationID fields aren't applicable. However, if you specify an input filter to reduce the amount of data returned, the calls retrieve the latest data (not cached). When this occurs, MessageID and CorrelationID are applicable.
OutputSelector	string (repeatable)	Optional	You can use the OutputSelector field to restrict the data returned by this call. When you make a call such as GetItem that retrieves data from eBay, the OutputSelector field is useful for restricting the data returned. This field makes the call response easier to use, especially when a large payload would be returned. If you use the OutputSelector field, the output data will include only the fields you specified in the request. For example, if you are using GetItem and you want the item data in the response to be restricted to the ViewItemURL (the URL where a user can view the listing) and BuyItNowPrice, then within the GetItem request, specify those output fields. To use this field, see the information at the following link. See Selecting Fields to Retrieve.
Version	string	Conditional	The version number of the API code that you are programming against (e.g., 549). The version you specify for a call has these basic effects: - It indicates the version of the code lists and other data that eBay should use to process your request. - It indicates the schema version you are using. You need to use a version that is greater than or equal to the lowest supported version. For the SOAP API: If you are using the SOAP API, this field is required. Specify the version of the WSDL your application is using. For the XML API: If you are using the XML API, this field has no effect. Instead, specify the version in the X-EBAY-API-COMPATIBILITY-LEVEL HTTP header. (If you specify Version in the body of an XML API request and it is different from the value in the HTTP header, eBay returns an informational warning that the value in the HTTP header was used instead.) See: HTTP Headers (XML API Only) eBay Schema Versioning Strategy Lowest Supported Version
WarningLevel	WarningLevelCodeType	Optional	Controls whether or not to return warnings when the application passes unrecognized or deprecated elements in a request. An unrecognized element is one that is not defined in any supported version of the schema. Schema element names are case-sensitive, so using WarningLevel can also help you remove any potential hidden bugs within your application due to incorrect case or spelling in field names before you put your application into the Production environment. WarningLevel only validates elements; it doesn't validate XML attributes. It also doesn't control warnings related to user-entered strings or numbers, or warnings for logical errors. We recommend that you only use this during development and debugging. Do not use this in requests in your production code. Applicable values: • High (in) Return warnings when the application passes unrecognized or deprecated elements in a request. • Low (in) Do not return warnings when the application passes unrecognized or deprecated elements in a request. This is the default value if WarningLevel is not specified. See Warning Level.
Call-specific Input Fields
AlertIDs	MyMessagesAlertIDArrayType	Conditional	Contains a list of up to 10 AlertID values. When AlertID values are used as input, you must generally specify either AlertID values, or MessageID values, or both.
AlertIDs.AlertID	MyMessagesAlertIDType (string) (repeatable)	Conditional	An ID that uniquely identifies an alert for a given user. When AlertID values are used as input, you must generally specify either AlertID values, or MessageID values, or both.
EndTime	dateTime	Conditional	Used as end of date range filter.
ExternalMessageIDs	MyMessagesExternalMessageIDArrayType	Conditional	An ID that Uniquely identifies a message for a given user.If provided at the time of message creation this ID will be used to retrieve messages and will take precedence over message ID.
ExternalMessageIDs .ExternalMessageID	MyMessagesExternalMessageIDType (string) (repeatable)	Conditional	An ID that Uniquely identifies a message for a given user. If provided at the time of message creation this ID will be used to retrieve messages and will take precedence over message ID. It can contain upto 10 message IDs.
FolderID	long	Optional	An ID that uniquely identifies the My Messages folder from which to retrieve alerts or messages.
MessageIDs	MyMessagesMessageIDArrayType	Conditional	Contains a list of up to 10 MessageID values. When MessageID values are used as input, you must generally specify either AlertID values, or MessageID values, or both.
MessageIDs.MessageID	MyMessagesMessageIDType (string) (repeatable)	Conditional	An ID that uniquely identifies a message for a given user. When MessageID values are used as input, you must generally specify either AlertID values, or MessageID values, or both.
StartTime	dateTime	Optional	Used as beginning of date range filter.

GetMyMessages Output

The box below lists all fields that might be returned in the call response. To learn more about an individual field or its type, click its name in the box (or scroll down to find it in the table below the box).

See also Samples.

See also the Deprecated Objects link above. Fields presented in this color are deprecated, and fields presented in this color are not returned (or soon will not be returned) or are not operational (or soon will be non-operational).

The XML prototype may be missing some XML fields and attributes. This is a documentation limitation only (see Limitations of This Document).

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<GetMyMessagesResponse xmlns="urn:ebay:apis:eBLBaseComponents">
  <!-- Standard Output Fields -->
  <Ack> AckCodeType </Ack>
  <Build> string </Build>
  <CorrelationID> string </CorrelationID>
  <Errors> ErrorType 
    <ErrorClassification> ErrorClassificationCodeType </ErrorClassification>
    <ErrorCode> token </ErrorCode>
    <ErrorParameters ParamID="string"> ErrorParameterType 
      <Value> string </Value>
    </ErrorParameters>
    <!-- ... more ErrorParameters nodes here ... -->
    <LongMessage> string </LongMessage>
    <SeverityCode> SeverityCodeType </SeverityCode>
    <ShortMessage> string </ShortMessage>
  </Errors>
  <!-- ... more Errors nodes here ... -->
  <HardExpirationWarning> string </HardExpirationWarning>
  <Timestamp> dateTime </Timestamp>
  <Version> string </Version>
  <!-- Call-specific Output Fields -->
  <Alerts> MyMessagesAlertArrayType 
    <Alert> MyMessagesAlertType 
      <ActionURL> string </ActionURL>
      <AlertID> MyMessagesAlertIDType (string) </AlertID>
      <ExpirationDate> dateTime </ExpirationDate>
      <ExternalAlertID> string </ExternalAlertID>
      <Folder> MyMessagesFolderType 
        <FolderID> long </FolderID>
      </Folder>
      <ForwardDetails> MyMessagesForwardDetailsType 
        <ForwardMessageEncoding> string </ForwardMessageEncoding>
        <UserForwardDate> dateTime </UserForwardDate>
      </ForwardDetails>
      <IsTimedResolution> boolean </IsTimedResolution>
      <ItemID> ItemIDType (string) </ItemID>
      <LastReadDate> dateTime </LastReadDate>
      <Priority> string </Priority>
      <Read> boolean </Read>
      <ReceiveDate> dateTime </ReceiveDate>
      <RecipientUserID> string </RecipientUserID>
      <ResolutionStatus> MyMessagesAlertResolutionStatusCode </ResolutionStatus>
      <ResponseDetails> MyMessagesResponseDetailsType 
        <ResponseEnabled> boolean </ResponseEnabled>
        <ResponseURL> anyURI </ResponseURL>
      </ResponseDetails>
      <Sender> string </Sender>
      <Subject> string </Subject>
      <Text> string </Text>
    </Alert>
    <!-- ... more Alert nodes here ... -->
  </Alerts>
  <Messages> MyMessagesMessageArrayType 
    <Message> MyMessagesMessageType 
      <Content> string </Content>
      <ExpirationDate> dateTime </ExpirationDate>
      <ExternalMessageID> string </ExternalMessageID>
      <Flagged> boolean </Flagged>
      <Folder> MyMessagesFolderType 
        <FolderID> long </FolderID>
      </Folder>
      <ForwardDetails> MyMessagesForwardDetailsType 
        <ForwardMessageEncoding> string </ForwardMessageEncoding>
        <UserForwardDate> dateTime </UserForwardDate>
      </ForwardDetails>
      <ItemID> ItemIDType (string) </ItemID>
      <ListingStatus> ListingStatusCodeType </ListingStatus>
      <MessageID> MyMessagesMessageIDType (string) </MessageID>
      <MessageType> MessageTypeCodeType </MessageType>
      <QuestionType> QuestionTypeCodeType </QuestionType>
      <Read> boolean </Read>
      <ReceiveDate> dateTime </ReceiveDate>
      <RecipientUserID> string </RecipientUserID>
      <ResponseDetails> MyMessagesResponseDetailsType 
        <ResponseEnabled> boolean </ResponseEnabled>
        <ResponseURL> anyURI </ResponseURL>
      </ResponseDetails>
      <Sender> string </Sender>
      <SendToName> string </SendToName>
      <Subject> string </Subject>
      <Text> string </Text>
    </Message>
    <!-- ... more Message nodes here ... -->
  </Messages>
  <Summary> MyMessagesSummaryType 
    <FlaggedMessageCount> int </FlaggedMessageCount>
    <FolderSummary> MyMessagesFolderSummaryType 
      <FolderID> long </FolderID>
      <FolderName> string </FolderName>
      <NewAlertCount> int </NewAlertCount>
      <NewMessageCount> int </NewMessageCount>
      <TotalAlertCount> int </TotalAlertCount>
      <TotalMessageCount> int </TotalMessageCount>
    </FolderSummary>
    <!-- ... more FolderSummary nodes here ... -->
    <NewAlertCount> int </NewAlertCount>
    <NewMessageCount> int </NewMessageCount>
    <TotalAlertCount> int </TotalAlertCount>
    <TotalMessageCount> int </TotalMessageCount>
    <UnresolvedAlertCount> int </UnresolvedAlertCount>
  </Summary>
</GetMyMessagesResponse>

Return Value	Type	Returned?	Meaning
Standard Output Fields [Jump to call-specific fields]
Ack	AckCodeType	Always	A token representing the application-level acknowledgement code that indicates the response status (e.g., success). The AckCodeType list specifies the possible values for Ack. Applicable values: • CustomCode (out) Reserved for internal or future use. • Failure (out) Request processing failed • Success (out) Request processing succeeded • Warning (out) Request processing completed with warning information being included in the response message (Not all values in AckCodeType apply to this field.)
Build	string	Always	This refers to the specific software build that eBay used when processing the request and generating the response. This includes the version number plus additional information. eBay Developer Support may request the build information when helping you resolve technical issues.
CorrelationID	string	Conditionally	In most cases, all calls support a MessageID element in the request and a CorrelationID element in the response. If you pass a message ID in a request, we will return the same value in CorrelationID in the response. You can use this for tracking that a response is returned for every request and to match particular responses to particular requests. If you do not pass MessageID in the request, CorrelationID is not returned. Note: GetCategories, GetAttributesCS, GetCategory2CS, GetAttributesXSL, GetProductFinder, GetProductFinderXSL, and GetProductSearchPage are designed to retrieve very large sets of metadata that change once a day or less often. To improve performance, these calls return cached responses when you request all available data (with no filters). When this occurs, the MessageID and CorrelationID fields aren't applicable. However, if you specify an input filter to reduce the amount of data returned, the calls retrieve the latest data (not cached). When this occurs, MessageID and CorrelationID are applicable.
Errors	ErrorType (repeatable)	Conditionally	A list of application-level errors (if any) that occurred when eBay processed the request. See Error Handling.
Errors.ErrorClassification	ErrorClassificationCodeType	Conditionally	API errors are divided between two classes: system errors and request errors. Applicable values: • CustomCode (out) Reserved for internal or future use. • RequestError (out) An error has occurred either as a result of a problem in the sending application or because the application's end-user has attempted to submit invalid data (or missing data). In these cases, do not retry the request. The problem must be corrected before the request can be made again. If the problem is due to something in the application (such as a missing required field), the application must be changed. If the problem is a result of end-user data, the application must alert the end-user to the problem and provide the means for the end-user to correct the data. Once the problem in the application or data is resolved, resend the request to eBay with the corrected data. • SystemError (out) Indicates that an error has occurred on the eBay system side, such as a database or server down. An application can retry the request as-is a reasonable number of times (eBay recommends twice). If the error persists, contact Developer Technical Support. Once the problem has been resolved, the request may be resent in its original form.
Errors.ErrorCode	token	Conditionally	A unique code that identifies the particular error condition that occurred. Your application can use error codes as identifiers in your customized error-handling algorithms.
Errors.ErrorParameters	ErrorParameterType (repeatable)	Conditionally	This optional element carries a list of context-specific error variables that indicate details about the error condition. These are useful when multiple instances of ErrorType are returned.
Errors.ErrorParameters [ attribute ParamID ]	string	Conditionally	The index of the parameter in the list of parameter types returned within the error type.
Errors.ErrorParameters.Value	string	Conditionally	The value of the variable (e.g., the attribute set ID)
Errors.LongMessage	string	Conditionally	A more detailed description of the condition that raised the error.
Errors.SeverityCode	SeverityCodeType	Conditionally	Indicates whether the error is a severe error (causing the request to fail) or an informational error (a warning) that should be communicated to the user. Applicable values: • CustomCode (out) Reserved for internal or future use • Error (out) Application-level error • Warning (out) Warning or informational error
Errors.ShortMessage	string	Conditionally	A brief description of the condition that raised the error.
HardExpirationWarning	string	Conditionally	Expiration date of the user's authentication token. Only returned within the 7-day period prior to a token's expiration. To ensure that user authentication tokens are secure and to help avoid a user's token being compromised, tokens have a limited life span. A token is only valid for a period of time (set by eBay). After this amount of time has passed, the token expires and must be replaced with a new token.
Timestamp	dateTime	Always	This value represents the date and time when eBay processed the request. The time zone of this value is GMT and the format is the ISO 8601 date and time format (YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.SSSZ). See Time Values in the eBay Web Services guide for information about this time format and converting to and from the GMT time zone. Note: GetCategories, GetAttributesCS, GetCategory2CS, GetAttributesXSL, GetProductFinder, GetProductFinderXSL, and GetProductSearchPage are designed to retrieve very large sets of metadata that change once a day or less often. To improve performance, these calls return cached responses when you request all available data (with no filters). When this occurs, this time value reflects the time the cached response was created. Thus, this value is not necessarily when the request was processed. However, if you specify an input filter to reduce the amount of data returned, the calls retrieve the latest data (not cached). When this occurs, this time value does reflect when the request was processed.
Version	string	Always	The version of the response payload schema. Indicates the version of the schema that eBay used to process the request. See "Standard Data for All Calls" in the eBay Web Services Guide for information on using the response version when troubleshooting "CustomCode" values that appear in the response.
Call-specific Output Fields
Alerts	MyMessagesAlertArrayType	Conditionally	Contains the alert information for each alert specified in AlertIDs. The amount and type of information returned varies based on the requested detail level. Contains one MyMessagesAlertType object per alert. Returned as an empty node if user has no alerts. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Alerts.Alert	MyMessagesAlertType (repeatable)	Conditionally	Contains the data for one alert. Returned for detail levels ReturnHeaders and ReturnMessages. Parent returned as an empty node if user has no alerts. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Alerts.Alert.ActionURL	string	Conditionally	A URL that the recipient must visit to resolve an alert. May be returned as an empty tag if there is no applicable URL. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Alerts.Alert.AlertID	MyMessagesAlertIDType (string)	Conditionally	An ID that uniquely identifies an alert for a given user. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Alerts.Alert.ExpirationDate	dateTime	Conditionally	The date and time at which an alert expires. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Alerts.Alert.ExternalAlertID	string	Conditionally	An ID used by an external application to uniquely identify an alert. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders.
Alerts.Alert.Folder	MyMessagesFolderType	Conditionally	Details relating to a My Messages folder. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Alerts.Alert.Folder.FolderID	long	Conditionally	An ID that uniquely identifies a My Messages folder. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Alerts.Alert.ForwardDetails	MyMessagesForwardDetailsType	Conditionally	Details relating to the forwarding of an alert or message. Only returned if the alert or message is forwarded. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Alerts.Alert.ForwardDetails .ForwardMessageEncoding	string	Conditionally	Encoding used to forward an alert or message. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Alerts.Alert.ForwardDetails .UserForwardDate	dateTime	Conditionally	The date and time a user forwarded an alert or message. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Alerts.Alert.IsTimedResolution	boolean	Conditionally	Indicates whether or not a time-delayed resolution is applicable for an alert. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Alerts.Alert.ItemID	ItemIDType (string)	Conditionally	A unique eBay item ID associated with an alert. Max length: 19 (Note: The eBay database specifies 38. Currently, Item IDs are usually 9 to 12 digits). DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders.
Alerts.Alert.LastReadDate	dateTime	Conditionally	The date and time an alert was last viewed by a given user. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Alerts.Alert.Priority	string	Conditionally	A number ranging from 0 to 10000 (inclusive), with 10000 having the highest priority. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Alerts.Alert.Read	boolean	Conditionally	Whether or not an alert was viewed by a given user. Note that retrieving an alert with the API does not mark it as read. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Alerts.Alert.ReceiveDate	dateTime	Conditionally	The date and time that an alert was received by My Messages and stored in a database for the recipient. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Alerts.Alert.RecipientUserID	string	Conditionally	The displayable user ID of the recipient. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Alerts.Alert.ResolutionStatus	MyMessagesAlertResolutionStatusCode	Conditionally	Whether or not an alert was resolved, and how. Applicable values: • CustomCode (out) • ResolvedByAutoResolution (out) The alert was resolved by auto resolution, for example, by expiring after a certain date. • ResolvedByUser (out) The alert was resolved by user. If the alert requires user action, resolved status means that the user took the necessary action on the alert. If the alert does not require user action, resolved status means that the alert was read by the user. • Unresolved (out) The alert has not been resolved. If the alert requires user action, an unresolved status means that the user did not take action on the alert. If the alert does not require user action, an unresolved status means that the alert has not been read. Note that an unresolved alert can not be deleted. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Alerts.Alert.ResponseDetails	MyMessagesResponseDetailsType	Conditionally	Details relating to the response to an alert or message. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Alerts.Alert.ResponseDetails .ResponseEnabled	boolean	Conditionally	Whether or not an alert or message can be responded to. To respond to an alert or message, use the URL in ResponseURL. You may need to log into the eBay Web site to complete the response. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Alerts.Alert.ResponseDetails .ResponseURL	anyURI	Conditionally	A URL that the recipient must visit to respond to an alert or message. Responding may require logging into the eBay Web site. DetailLevel: ReturnMessages.
Alerts.Alert.Sender	string	Conditionally	The display name of the eBay application that sends the alert. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Alerts.Alert.Subject	string	Conditionally	The subject of the alert. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Alerts.Alert.Text	string	Conditionally	The alert body. This can be either plain text or HTML, depending on which format the alert was originally written in. Note that the API does not currently check the user email format preferences that can be specified in My Messages on the eBay.com Web site. DetailLevel: ReturnMessages.
Messages	MyMessagesMessageArrayType	Conditionally	Contains the message information for each message specified in MessageIDs. The amount and type of information returned varies based on the requested detail level. Contains one MyMessagesMessageType object per message. Returned as an empty node if user has no messages. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Messages.Message	MyMessagesMessageType (repeatable)	Conditionally	Contains the data for one message. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Messages.Message.Content	string	Conditionally	The message body. Plain text. Returned only for messages created after September 2008 activation. The API does not currently check the user email format preferences that can be specified in My Messages on the eBay.com Web site. DetailLevel: ReturnMessages.
Messages.Message .ExpirationDate	dateTime	Conditionally	The date and time at which a message expires. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Messages.Message .ExternalMessageID	string	Conditionally	An ID used by an external application to uniquely identify a message. Returned only when specified by the external application on message creation. This value is equivalent to the value used for MessageID in GetMemberMessages. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Messages.Message.Flagged	boolean	Conditionally	Whether or not a message has been flagged. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Messages.Message.Folder	MyMessagesFolderType	Conditionally	Details relating to a My Messages folder. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Messages.Message.Folder .FolderID	long	Conditionally	An ID that uniquely identifies a My Messages folder. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Messages.Message .ForwardDetails	MyMessagesForwardDetailsType	Conditionally	Details relating to the forwarding of an alert or message. Only returned if the alert or message is forwarded. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Messages.Message .ForwardDetails .ForwardMessageEncoding	string	Conditionally	Encoding used to forward an alert or message. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Messages.Message .ForwardDetails .UserForwardDate	dateTime	Conditionally	The date and time a user forwarded an alert or message. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Messages.Message.ItemID	ItemIDType (string)	Conditionally	A unique eBay Item ID associated with a message. Max length: 19 (Note: The eBay database specifies 38. Currently, Item IDs are usually 9 to 12 digits). DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders.
Messages.Message.ListingStatus	ListingStatusCodeType	Conditionally	Coming soon. Specifies an active or ended listing's status in eBay's processing workflow. If a listing ends with a sale (or sales), eBay needs to update the sale details (e.g., total price and buyer/high bidder) and the final value fee. This processing can take several minutes. If you retrieve a sold item and no details about the buyer/high bidder are returned or no final value fee is available, use this listing status information to determine whether eBay has finished processing the listing. Note: Starting in September 2008, for the GetMyMessages call the listing status reflects the status of the listing at the time the question was created. The listing status for this call may not match the listing status returned by other calls such as GetItemTransactions. This is returned only if Messages.Message.MessageType is AskSellerQuestion. As of early July 2008, this tag is not returned for the Sandbox environment. Applicable values: • Active (out) The listing is still active or the listing has ended with a sale but eBay has not completed processing the sale details (e.g., total price and high bidder). A multi-item listing is considered active until all items have winning bids or purchases or the listing ends with at least one winning bid or purchase. If the listing has ended with a sale but this Active status is returned, please allow several minutes for eBay to finish processing the listing. • Completed (out) The listing has closed and eBay has completed processing the sale. All sale information returned from eBay (e.g., total price and high bidder) should be considered accurate and complete. Although the Final Value Fee for FixedPriceItem, StoresFixedPrice, and Buy It Now Dutch listing types is returned by GetSellerTransactions and GetItemTransactions on a transaction by transaction basis, all other listing types, including Chinese and Dutch (no Buy It Now purchases), require the listing status to be Completed before the Final Value Fee is returned. • Custom (out) Reserved for internal or future use. • CustomCode (out) Reserved for internal or future use. • Ended (out) The listing has ended. If the listing ended with a sale, eBay has completed processing of the sale. All sale information returned from eBay (e.g., total price and high bidder) should be considered accurate and complete. However, the final value fee is not yet available.
Messages.Message.MessageID	MyMessagesMessageIDType (string)	Conditionally	An ID that uniquely identifies a message for a given user. This value is not the same as the value used for the GetMemberMessages MessageID. Use the GetMemberMessages value (used as the GetMyMessages ExternalID) instead. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Messages.Message.MessageType	MessageTypeCodeType	Conditionally	Specifies the type of message being retrieved through GetMyMessages. Applicable values: • All (in/out) All message types. • AskSellerQuestion (in/out) Member to Member message initiated by bidder/potential bidder to a seller of a particular item. • ContactEbayMember (in/out) Member to Member message initiated by any eBay member to another eBay member. • ContacteBayMemberViaCommunityLink (in/out) Member to Member message initiated by any eBay member to another eBay member who has posted on a community forum within the past 7 days. • ContactMyBidder (in/out) Member to Member message initiated by sellers to their bidders during an active listing. • ContactTransactionPartner (in/out) Member message between transaction partners within 90 days after the transaction. • CustomCode (in/out) Reserved for future or internal use. • ResponseToASQQuestion (in/out) Member to Member message initiated as a response to an Ask A Question message. • ResponseToContacteBayMember (in/out) Member to Member message initiated as a response to a Contact eBay Member message.
Messages.Message.QuestionType	QuestionTypeCodeType	Conditionally	Coming soon. Specifies the context of the question and it corresponds to the subject of the message. This is returned only if Messages.Message.MessageType is AskSellerQuestion. Note: This tag will be returned with data starting in September 2008. As of early July 2008, this tag is not returned for the Sandbox environment. Applicable values: • CustomCode (in/out) Reserved for future or internal use. • CustomizedSubject (in/out) Customized subjects set by the seller using SetMessagePreferences or the eBay Web site. • General (in/out) General questions about the item. • MultipleItemShipping (in/out) Questions related to the shipping of this item bundled with other items also purchased on eBay. • Payment (in/out) Questions related to the payment for the item. • Shipping (in/out) Questions related to the shipping of the item.
Messages.Message.Read	boolean	Conditionally	Whether or not a message has been viewed by a given user. Note that retrieving a message with the API does not mark it as read. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Messages.Message.ReceiveDate	dateTime	Conditionally	The date and time that a message was received by My Messages and stored in a database for the recipient. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Messages.Message .RecipientUserID	string	Conditionally	The displayable user ID of the recipient. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Messages.Message .ResponseDetails	MyMessagesResponseDetailsType	Conditionally	Details relating to the response to an alert or message. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Messages.Message .ResponseDetails .ResponseEnabled	boolean	Conditionally	Whether or not an alert or message can be responded to. To respond to an alert or message, use the URL in ResponseURL. You may need to log into the eBay Web site to complete the response. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Messages.Message .ResponseDetails.ResponseURL	anyURI	Conditionally	A URL that the recipient must visit to respond to an alert or message. Responding may require logging into the eBay Web site. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Messages.Message.Sender	string	Conditionally	The display name of the eBay user that sent the message. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Messages.Message.SendToName	string	Conditionally	The displayable name of the user or eBay application to which the message is sent. Only returned for M2M, and if a value exists. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Messages.Message.Subject	string	Conditionally	The subject of the message. DetailLevel: ReturnHeaders, ReturnMessages.
Messages.Message.Text	string	Conditionally	The message body. This can be either plain text or HTML, depending on which format the message was originally written in. Note that the API does not currently check the user email format preferences that can be specified in My Messages on the eBay.com Web site. DetailLevel: ReturnMessages.
Summary	MyMessagesSummaryType	Conditionally	Summary data for a given user's alerts and messages. This includes the numbers of new alerts and messages, unresolved alerts, flagged messages, and total alerts and messages. The amount and type of data returned is the same whether or not the request included specific AlertID or MessageID values. Always/Conditionally returned logic assumes a detail level of ReturnMessages. DetailLevel: ReturnSummary.
Summary.FlaggedMessageCount	int	Conditionally	The number of messages that have been flagged. Always returned for detail level ReturnSummary. DetailLevel: ReturnSummary.
Summary.FolderSummary	MyMessagesFolderSummaryType (repeatable)	Conditionally	Folder summary for each folder. Always returned for detail level ReturnSummary. DetailLevel: ReturnSummary.
Summary.FolderSummary.FolderID	long	Conditionally	An ID that uniquely identifies a My Messages folder. Always returned for detail level ReturnSummary. DetailLevel: ReturnSummary.
Summary.FolderSummary .FolderName	string	Conditionally	The name of a specified My Messages folder. For GetMyMessages, Inbox (FolderID = 0) and Sent (FolderID = 1) are not returned. DetailLevel: ReturnSummary.
Summary.FolderSummary .NewAlertCount	int	Conditionally	The number of new alerts in a given folder. Always returned for detail level ReturnSummary. DetailLevel: ReturnSummary.
Summary.FolderSummary .NewMessageCount	int	Conditionally	The number of new messages in a given folder. Always returned for detail level ReturnSummary. DetailLevel: ReturnSummary.
Summary.FolderSummary .TotalAlertCount	int	Conditionally	The total number of alerts in a given folder. Always returned for detail level ReturnSummary. DetailLevel: ReturnSummary.
Summary.FolderSummary .TotalMessageCount	int	Conditionally	The total number of messages in a given folder. Always returned for detail level ReturnSummary. DetailLevel: ReturnSummary.
Summary.NewAlertCount	int	Conditionally	The number of new alerts that a given user has. Always returned for detail level ReturnSummary. DetailLevel: ReturnSummary.
Summary.NewMessageCount	int	Conditionally	The number of new messages that a given user has. Always returned for detail level ReturnSummary. DetailLevel: ReturnSummary.
Summary.TotalAlertCount	int	Conditionally	The total number of alerts for a given user. Always returned for detail level ReturnSummary. DetailLevel: ReturnSummary.
Summary.TotalMessageCount	int	Conditionally	The total number of messages for a given user. Always returned for detail level ReturnSummary. DetailLevel: ReturnSummary.
Summary.UnresolvedAlertCount	int	Conditionally	The number of alerts that are not yet resolved. Always returned for detail level ReturnSummary. DetailLevel: ReturnSummary.

GetMyMessages Detail Controls

Detail Control: DetailLevel

The DetailLevel input field influences which call-specific fields may be returned. (All standard output fields are returned regardless of DetailLevel.)

Y	The field is always returned.
(Y)	The field is conditionally returned. See the field description for clarification of conditions.

Output Field	ReturnHeaders	ReturnMessages	ReturnSummary
Alerts	(Y)	(Y)	-
Alerts.Alert	(Y)	(Y)	-
Alerts.Alert.ActionURL	(Y)	(Y)	-
Alerts.Alert.AlertID	(Y)	(Y)	-
Alerts.Alert.ExpirationDate	(Y)	(Y)	-
Alerts.Alert.ExternalAlertID	(Y)	-	-
Alerts.Alert.Folder	(Y)	(Y)	-
Alerts.Alert.Folder.FolderID	(Y)	(Y)	-
Alerts.Alert.ForwardDetails	(Y)	(Y)	-
Alerts.Alert.ForwardDetails.ForwardMessageEncoding	(Y)	(Y)	-
Alerts.Alert.ForwardDetails.UserForwardDate	(Y)	(Y)	-
Alerts.Alert.IsTimedResolution	(Y)	(Y)	-
Alerts.Alert.ItemID	(Y)	-	-
Alerts.Alert.LastReadDate	(Y)	(Y)	-
Alerts.Alert.Priority	(Y)	(Y)	-
Alerts.Alert.Read	(Y)	(Y)	-
Alerts.Alert.ReceiveDate	(Y)	(Y)	-
Alerts.Alert.RecipientUserID	(Y)	(Y)	-
Alerts.Alert.ResolutionStatus	(Y)	(Y)	-
Alerts.Alert.ResponseDetails	(Y)	(Y)	-
Alerts.Alert.ResponseDetails.ResponseEnabled	(Y)	(Y)	-
Alerts.Alert.ResponseDetails.ResponseURL	-	(Y)	-
Alerts.Alert.Sender	(Y)	(Y)	-
Alerts.Alert.Subject	(Y)	(Y)	-
Alerts.Alert.Text	-	(Y)	-
Messages	(Y)	(Y)	-
Messages.Message	(Y)	(Y)	-
Messages.Message.Content	-	(Y)	-
Messages.Message.ExpirationDate	(Y)	(Y)	-
Messages.Message.ExternalMessageID	(Y)	(Y)	-
Messages.Message.Flagged	(Y)	(Y)	-
Messages.Message.Folder	(Y)	(Y)	-
Messages.Message.Folder.FolderID	(Y)	(Y)	-
Messages.Message.ForwardDetails	(Y)	(Y)	-
Messages.Message.ForwardDetails.ForwardMessageEncoding	(Y)	(Y)	-
Messages.Message.ForwardDetails.UserForwardDate	(Y)	(Y)	-
Messages.Message.ItemID	(Y)	-	-
Messages.Message.MessageID	(Y)	(Y)	-
Messages.Message.Read	(Y)	(Y)	-
Messages.Message.ReceiveDate	(Y)	(Y)	-
Messages.Message.RecipientUserID	(Y)	(Y)	-
Messages.Message.ResponseDetails	(Y)	(Y)	-
Messages.Message.ResponseDetails.ResponseEnabled	(Y)	(Y)	-
Messages.Message.ResponseDetails.ResponseURL	(Y)	(Y)	-
Messages.Message.Sender	(Y)	(Y)	-
Messages.Message.SendToName	(Y)	(Y)	-
Messages.Message.Subject	(Y)	(Y)	-
Messages.Message.Text	-	(Y)	-
Summary	-	-	(Y)
Summary.FlaggedMessageCount	-	-	(Y)
Summary.FolderSummary	-	-	(Y)
Summary.FolderSummary.FolderID	-	-	(Y)
Summary.FolderSummary.FolderName	-	-	(Y)
Summary.FolderSummary.NewAlertCount	-	-	(Y)
Summary.FolderSummary.NewMessageCount	-	-	(Y)
Summary.FolderSummary.TotalAlertCount	-	-	(Y)
Summary.FolderSummary.TotalMessageCount	-	-	(Y)
Summary.NewAlertCount	-	-	(Y)
Summary.NewMessageCount	-	-	(Y)
Summary.TotalAlertCount	-	-	(Y)
Summary.TotalMessageCount	-	-	(Y)
Summary.UnresolvedAlertCount	-	-	(Y)

GetMyMessages Samples

An inline sample will be added in a future release. Please refer to the Samples section of the eBay Web Services Guide chapter for GetMyMessages.

GetMyMessages Change History

Version	Description
573 2008-07-09	Messages.Message.ListingStatus (added): Specifies the listing status at the time the question was created. Messages.Message.MessageType (added): This specifies the type of message being retrieved through GetMyMessages. Messages.Message.QuestionType (added): This specifies context of the question and it corresponds to the subject of the message. Messages.Message.ExternalMessageID (added): An ID used by an external application to uniquely identify a message. Messages.Message.Content (added): The message body. This can be plain text.
479 2006-09-20	Messages.Message.Folder (doc change): Messages.Message.Folder is conditionally returned.
445 2006-1-25	Messages.Message.SendToName (added): A new value is returned, the displayable name of the user or eBay application to which the message is sent. Only returned for M2M, and if a value exists.
439 2005-12-28	Alerts.Alert.ResponseDetails.ResponseEnabled (added): Indicates whether or not an alert or message can be responded to. To respond to an alert or message, use the URL in ResponseURL. You may need to log into the eBay Web site to complete the response. Messages.Message.ResponseDetails.ResponseEnabled (added): Indicates whether or not an alert or message can be responded to. To respond to an alert or message, use the URL in ResponseURL. You may need to log into the eBay Web site to complete the response.

User-Contributed Notes

This document was generated with a customized version of the apireferencedocs tool [0.5M zip].

eBay Trading API Call Reference Version 579

eBay Trading API
Call Reference Version 579