getProductMetadataBulk

All eBay Electronics categories require sellers to list with a product whenever there's a product match in the associated eBay catalog. Starting in September 2011, listing with a product will be required in some categories. When listing with a product is required and the catalog does not contain a matching product, the seller must add the product to the catalog before listing.

Use this call to retrieve the product metadata for a given category. In turn, this product metadata is used to construct an addProducts call (Product API) for submitting new products for inclusion into an eBay catalog. Product metadata consists of the property names and the related value constraints used to construct the name-value pairs that describe a product.

Note: This call is not supported in the Sandbox environment. Product creation is supported in production for a subset of categories on the US (global ID EBAY-US) and UK (global ID EBAY-GB) sites only. Use GetCategoryFeatures in the Trading API to determine which categories support product creation.

See Product Creation for more information about when you should add a product to an eBay catalog, and how to do it.

See also the reference documentation for this call (in the Trading API Call Reference):

GetCategoryFeatures - Returns information about the features that are applicable to different categories, such as Product Creation.

See also the reference documentation for this call (in the Product API Call Reference):

addProducts - Adds products to the eBay catalog.

getProductMetadataBulk 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).

getProductMetadataBulk Output

The box below lists all fields that might be returned in the 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.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<getProductMetadataBulkResponse xmlns="http://www.ebay.com/marketplace/marketplacecatalog/v1/services">
  <!-- Standard Output Fields -->
  <ack> AckValue </ack>
  <errorMessage> ErrorMessage
    <error> ErrorData
      <category> ErrorCategory </category>
      <domain> string </domain>
      <errorId> long </errorId>
      <exceptionId> token </exceptionId>
      <message> string </message>
      <parameter name="string"> ErrorParameter (string) </parameter>
      <!-- ... more parameter nodes here ... -->
      <severity> ErrorSeverity </severity>
      <subdomain> string </subdomain>
    </error>
    <!-- ... more error nodes here ... -->
  </errorMessage>
  <timestamp> dateTime </timestamp>
  <version> string </version>
  <!-- Call-specific Output Fields -->
  <productMetadataResponse> ProductMetadataResponse (BaseResponse)
    <ack> AckValue </ack>
    <errorMessage> ErrorMessage
      <error> ErrorData
        <category> ErrorCategory </category>
        <domain> string </domain>
        <errorId> long </errorId>
        <exceptionId> token </exceptionId>
        <message> string </message>
        <parameter name="string"> ErrorParameter (string) </parameter>
        <!-- ... more parameter nodes here ... -->
        <severity> ErrorSeverity </severity>
        <subdomain> string </subdomain>
      </error>
      <!-- ... more error nodes here ... -->
    </errorMessage>
    <productMetadata> ProductMetadata
      <groupProperties> GroupProperties
        <description> string </description>
        <groupName> string </groupName>
        <groupProperty> GroupProperty
          <propertyName> string </propertyName>
          <tag> Tag
            <dataType> token </dataType>
            <description> string </description>
            <name> token </name>
            <value> string </value>
            <!-- ... more value nodes here ... -->
          </tag>
          <!-- ... more tag nodes here ... -->
        </groupProperty>
        <!-- ... more groupProperty nodes here ... -->
        <groupType> token </groupType>
      </groupProperties>
      <!-- ... more groupProperties nodes here ... -->
      <productMetadataVersion> string </productMetadataVersion>
      <propertyMetadata> PropertyMetadata
        <alternatePropertyName> string </alternatePropertyName>
        <!-- ... more alternatePropertyName nodes here ... -->
        <canonicalName> string </canonicalName>
        <dataType> token </dataType>
        <description> string </description>
        <multiValued> boolean </multiValued>
        <propertyName> string </propertyName>
        <propertyTags> Tag
          <dataType> token </dataType>
          <description> string </description>
          <name> token </name>
          <value> string </value>
          <!-- ... more value nodes here ... -->
        </propertyTags>
        <!-- ... more propertyTags nodes here ... -->
        <typeSpecificInformation> TypeSpecificInformation
          <mediaTypeSpecificInformation> MediaTypeSpecificInformation </mediaTypeSpecificInformation>
          <numericTypeSpecificInformation> NumericTypeSpecificInformation
            <maximumValueAllowed> long </maximumValueAllowed>
            <unitOfMeasurement> token </unitOfMeasurement>
          </numericTypeSpecificInformation>
          <stringTypeSpecificInformation> StringTypeSpecificInformation
            <managedValue> string </managedValue>
            <!-- ... more managedValue nodes here ... -->
            <maximumCharactersAllowed> int </maximumCharactersAllowed>
          </stringTypeSpecificInformation>
          <uriTypeSpecificInformation> URITypeSpecificInformation </uriTypeSpecificInformation>
        </typeSpecificInformation>
      </propertyMetadata>
      <!-- ... more propertyMetadata nodes here ... -->
    </productMetadata>
    <requestInformation> ProductMetadataRequest (BaseRequest)
      <categoryId> string </categoryId>
      <groupType> token </groupType>
      <!-- ... more groupType nodes here ... -->
      <includeGroupPropertiesOnly> boolean </includeGroupPropertiesOnly>
      <includeManagedValues> boolean </includeManagedValues>
    </requestInformation>
    <timestamp> dateTime </timestamp>
    <version> string </version>
  </productMetadataResponse>
  <!-- ... more productMetadataResponse nodes here ... -->
</getProductMetadataBulkResponse>

Return Value	Type	Occurrence	Meaning

Standard Output Fields [Jump to call-specific fields]

ack	AckValue	Always	Applicable values: • Failure (out) The request that triggered the error was not processed successfully. When a serious application-level error occurs, the error is returned instead of the business data. • PartialFailure (out) The request that triggered the error was processed successfully but with some warnings. • Success (out) The request was processed successfully, but something occurred that may affect your application or the user. • Warning (out) The request that triggered the error was processed successfully but with some warnings.
errorMessage	ErrorMessage	Conditionally	Description of an error or warning that occurred when eBay processed the request. Not returned if the ack value is Success.
errorMessage.error	ErrorData	Conditionally, repeatable: [0..*]	Details about a single error.
errorMessage.error.category	ErrorCategory	Conditionally	There are three categories of errors: request errors, application errors, and system errors. Applicable values: • Application (out) An error occurred due to a problem with the request, with the most likely source being the application sending the request. For example, the request is missing a required data element or it contains an invalid field. The problem must be corrected before the request can be resent. Inspect the error message to find the cause of the problem. If the problem is due to an application error, modify the application and resend the request. If the error is due to invalid data, the source of the data must be corrected before you resend the resend request to eBay. • Request (out) An error occurred due to a problem with the request, with the most likely source being missing or invalid data in the request. The problem must be corrected before the request can be retried. Inspect the error message to find the cause of the problem. If the problem is a result of end-user data, alert the end-user to the problem and provide the means for them to correct the problem. Once the problem is resolved, resend the request to eBay. • System (out) Indicates that an error has occurred on the eBay system side. For example, a database or server could be down. Inspect the error message to find the cause of the problem. If the problem is on the eBay side, 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.
errorMessage.error.domain	string	Conditionally	Name of the domain in which the error occurred. domain values: Marketplace A business or validation error occurred in the service. SOA An exception occurred in the Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) framework.
errorMessage.error.errorId	long	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.
errorMessage.error.exceptionId	token	Conditionally	Unique identifier for an exception associated with an error.
errorMessage.error.message	string	Conditionally	A detailed description of the condition that caused in the error.
errorMessage.error.parameter	ErrorParameter (string)	Conditionally, repeatable: [0..*]	Various warning and error messages return one or more variables that contain contextual information about the error. This is often the field or value that triggered the error.
errorMessage.error.parameter [ attribute name ]	string	Conditionally	The name of the input parameter returned with the error. Inspecting the parameter (or its input value) will often aid in understanding the cause of the error. Not all error messages contain this value.
errorMessage.error.severity	ErrorSeverity	Conditionally	Indicates whether the reported problem is fatal (an error) or is less- severe (a warning). Review the error message details for information on the cause. If the request fails and the application is the source of the error (for example, a required element is missing), update the application before you retry the request. If the problem is due to incorrect user data, alert the end-user to the problem and provide the means for them to correct the data. Once the problem in the application or data is resolved, re-send the request to eBay. If the source of the problem is on eBay's side, you can retry the request a reasonable number of times (eBay recommends you try the request twice). If the error persists, contact Developer Technical Support. Once the problem has been resolved, you can resend the request in its original form. If a warning occurs, warning information is returned in addition to the business data. Normally, you do not need to resend the request (as the original request was successful). However, depending on the cause of the warning, you might need to contact the end user, or eBay, to effect a long term solution to the problem. Applicable values: • Error (out) eBay encountered a fatal error during the processing of the request, causing the request to fail. When eBay encounters an error, it returns error data instead of the requested business data. Inspect the error details and resolve the problem before resubmitting the request. • Warning (out) The request was successfully processed, but eBay encountered a non-fatal error during the processing that could affect the data returned. For example, eBay might have changed the value of an input field. In this case, eBay returns a successful response, but it also returns a warning. For best results, requests should return without warnings. Inspect the warning details and resolve the problem before resubmitting the request.
errorMessage.error.subdomain	string	Conditionally	Name of the subdomain in which the error occurred. subdomain values: MarketplaceCatalog The error is specific to the Marketplace Catalog subdomain. MarketplaceCommon The error is common to all Marketplace services.
timestamp	dateTime	Always	This value represents the date and time when eBay processed the request. This value is returned in GMT, the ISO 8601 date and time format (YYYY- MM- DDTHH:MM:SS.SSSZ). See the "dateTime" type for information about the time format, and for details on converting to and from the GMT time zone.
version	string	Always	Version number for the current search metadata (product or compatibility). If you are maintaining search metadata locally, compare this value to the version of the search metadata you last downloaded to determine whether the data may have changed.

Call-specific Output Fields

productMetadataResponse	ProductMetadataResponse (BaseResponse)	Always, repeatable: [1..*]	Product metadata for the category specified in the corresponding productMetadataRequest in the request. Product metadata consists of individual property metadata, group properties, the metadata version, and the corresponding request.+++
productMetadataResponse.ack	AckValue	Always	Applicable values: • Failure (out) The request that triggered the error was not processed successfully. When a serious application-level error occurs, the error is returned instead of the business data. • PartialFailure (out) The request that triggered the error was processed successfully but with some warnings. • Success (out) The request was processed successfully, but something occurred that may affect your application or the user. • Warning (out) The request that triggered the error was processed successfully but with some warnings.
productMetadataResponse .errorMessage	ErrorMessage	Conditionally	Description of an error or warning that occurred when eBay processed the request. Not returned if the ack value is Success.
productMetadataResponse .errorMessage.error	ErrorData	Conditionally, repeatable: [0..*]	Details about a single error.
productMetadataResponse .errorMessage.error.category	ErrorCategory	Conditionally	There are three categories of errors: request errors, application errors, and system errors. Applicable values: • Application (out) An error occurred due to a problem with the request, with the most likely source being the application sending the request. For example, the request is missing a required data element or it contains an invalid field. The problem must be corrected before the request can be resent. Inspect the error message to find the cause of the problem. If the problem is due to an application error, modify the application and resend the request. If the error is due to invalid data, the source of the data must be corrected before you resend the resend request to eBay. • Request (out) An error occurred due to a problem with the request, with the most likely source being missing or invalid data in the request. The problem must be corrected before the request can be retried. Inspect the error message to find the cause of the problem. If the problem is a result of end-user data, alert the end-user to the problem and provide the means for them to correct the problem. Once the problem is resolved, resend the request to eBay. • System (out) Indicates that an error has occurred on the eBay system side. For example, a database or server could be down. Inspect the error message to find the cause of the problem. If the problem is on the eBay side, 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.
productMetadataResponse .errorMessage.error.domain	string	Conditionally	Name of the domain in which the error occurred. domain values: Marketplace A business or validation error occurred in the service. SOA An exception occurred in the Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) framework.
productMetadataResponse .errorMessage.error.errorId	long	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.
productMetadataResponse .errorMessage.error .exceptionId	token	Conditionally	Unique identifier for an exception associated with an error.
productMetadataResponse .errorMessage.error.message	string	Conditionally	A detailed description of the condition that caused in the error.
productMetadataResponse .errorMessage.error.parameter	ErrorParameter (string)	Conditionally, repeatable: [0..*]	Various warning and error messages return one or more variables that contain contextual information about the error. This is often the field or value that triggered the error.
productMetadataResponse .errorMessage.error.parameter [ attribute name ]	string	Conditionally	The name of the input parameter returned with the error. Inspecting the parameter (or its input value) will often aid in understanding the cause of the error. Not all error messages contain this value.
productMetadataResponse .errorMessage.error.severity	ErrorSeverity	Conditionally	Indicates whether the reported problem is fatal (an error) or is less- severe (a warning). Review the error message details for information on the cause. If the request fails and the application is the source of the error (for example, a required element is missing), update the application before you retry the request. If the problem is due to incorrect user data, alert the end-user to the problem and provide the means for them to correct the data. Once the problem in the application or data is resolved, re-send the request to eBay. If the source of the problem is on eBay's side, you can retry the request a reasonable number of times (eBay recommends you try the request twice). If the error persists, contact Developer Technical Support. Once the problem has been resolved, you can resend the request in its original form. If a warning occurs, warning information is returned in addition to the business data. Normally, you do not need to resend the request (as the original request was successful). However, depending on the cause of the warning, you might need to contact the end user, or eBay, to effect a long term solution to the problem. Applicable values: • Error (out) eBay encountered a fatal error during the processing of the request, causing the request to fail. When eBay encounters an error, it returns error data instead of the requested business data. Inspect the error details and resolve the problem before resubmitting the request. • Warning (out) The request was successfully processed, but eBay encountered a non-fatal error during the processing that could affect the data returned. For example, eBay might have changed the value of an input field. In this case, eBay returns a successful response, but it also returns a warning. For best results, requests should return without warnings. Inspect the warning details and resolve the problem before resubmitting the request.
productMetadataResponse .errorMessage.error.subdomain	string	Conditionally	Name of the subdomain in which the error occurred. subdomain values: MarketplaceCatalog The error is specific to the Marketplace Catalog subdomain. MarketplaceCommon The error is common to all Marketplace services.
productMetadataResponse .productMetadata	ProductMetadata	Always	Product metadata for the specified category. This product metadata provides all the requirements and constraints to submit a new product for inclusion into the eBay catalog associated with the given category. Product metadata consists of metadata for individual properties, property group information, and the version of the product metadata for the category.
productMetadataResponse .productMetadata .groupProperties	GroupProperties	Conditionally, repeatable: [0..*]	Some product properties share a common characteristic, such as being required for product creation or qualifying as a globally unique identifier (GUID). The required properties group contains the minimum set of properties you must submit to add a product to an eBay catalog. GUID properties make products easier to find and can improve search rankings for associated listings.
productMetadataResponse .productMetadata .groupProperties.description	string	Conditionally	Reserved for future use.
productMetadataResponse .productMetadata .groupProperties.groupName	string	Conditionally	A displayable name for the given group type.
productMetadataResponse .productMetadata .groupProperties.groupProperty	GroupProperty	Conditionally, repeatable: [1..*]	Basic information for an individual property, consisting of the property name and any supplemental tags (name-value pair information) to describe the property, when needed. Use property metadata for more details about a property, including datatype constraints.
productMetadataResponse .productMetadata .groupProperties.groupProperty .propertyName	string	Conditionally	Name of the property for use as input in the corresponding propertyName field in the addProducts request. See the corresponding propertyMetadata container with the same propertyName for property details.
productMetadataResponse .productMetadata .groupProperties.groupProperty .tag	Tag	Conditionally, repeatable: [0..*]	Name-value pairs that provide additional descriptive details about the property when needed. This information is not used for adding a product to an eBay catalog, but can provide clarification about an individual property. For example, tag information could indicate that a specific property constitutes a unique product identifier.
productMetadataResponse .productMetadata .groupProperties.groupProperty .tag.dataType	token	Conditionally	The datatype of the value part of the name-value pair (e.g., BOOLEAN, STRING, or NUMERIC).
productMetadataResponse .productMetadata .groupProperties.groupProperty .tag.description	string	Conditionally	Reserved for future use.
productMetadataResponse .productMetadata .groupProperties.groupProperty .tag.name	token	Conditionally	The name part of the name-value pair.
productMetadataResponse .productMetadata .groupProperties.groupProperty .tag.value	string	Conditionally, repeatable: [1..*]	Value part of the name-value pair. One or more values may be associated with a given name.
productMetadataResponse .productMetadata .groupProperties.groupType	token	Conditionally	Identifies the nature of a given group of properties. Allowed values: REQUIRED_PROPERTIES Properties that must be specified to add a product to the eBay catalog for the given category. GUID_PROPERTIES Properties (e.g., EAN or MPN) that qualify as globally unique identifiers (GUIDs) for a product. GUID properties make products easier to find and can improve search rankings for associated listings.
productMetadataResponse .productMetadata .productMetadataVersion	string	Always	Specifies the current version of the metadata for the given category.
productMetadataResponse .productMetadata .propertyMetadata	PropertyMetadata	Always, repeatable: [1..*]	Contains all the metadata associated with a specific property, such as Title or Brand.
productMetadataResponse .productMetadata .propertyMetadata .alternatePropertyName	string	Conditionally, repeatable: [0..*]	Value that may be used in place of the property name value (propertyMetadata.propertyName) when adding a product to an eBay catalog. Only returned when there are synonymous property names available.
productMetadataResponse .productMetadata .propertyMetadata .canonicalName	string	Always	The official unique property name for use as a primary key for locally stored metadata. This value is not used for product creation. Use productMetadata.propertyName instead for adding a product to an eBay catalog.
productMetadataResponse .productMetadata .propertyMetadata.dataType	token	Always	The data type for the property value. dataType values: STRING A string of characters. This data type typically applies to text-based property values, such as names, titles, and descriptions. All characters in the Unicode character set are supported. Refer to typeSpecificInformation.stringTypeSpecificInformation for additional value constraints. NUMERIC A number, which typically describes a product dimension, such as weight or memory capacity. Refer to typeSpecificInformation.numericTypeSpecificInformation for additional value constraints. URI Specifies a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI), a compact sequence of characters that identifies an abstract or physical resource. Refer to typeSpecificInformation.uriTypeSpecificInformation for additional value constraints. MEDIA Reserved for future use. Refer to typeSpecificInformation.stringTypeSpecificInformation for additional value constraints.
productMetadataResponse .productMetadata .propertyMetadata.description	string	Conditionally	Describes the given property.
productMetadataResponse .productMetadata .propertyMetadata.multiValued	boolean	Always	Indicates whether or not more than one value can be specified for a given property when adding a product to an eBay catalog. When true, multiple values can be specified for the given property.
productMetadataResponse .productMetadata .propertyMetadata.propertyName	string	Always	this is label for the property that should be used for making products data.
productMetadataResponse .productMetadata .propertyMetadata.propertyTags	Tag	Conditionally, repeatable: [0..*]	Name-value pairs that provide additional descriptive details about the property when needed. This information is not used for adding a product to an eBay catalog, but can provide clarification about an individual property. For example, propertyTags information could indicate that a specific property constitutes a unique product identifier.
productMetadataResponse .productMetadata .propertyMetadata.propertyTags .dataType	token	Conditionally	The datatype of the value part of the name-value pair (e.g., BOOLEAN, STRING, or NUMERIC).
productMetadataResponse .productMetadata .propertyMetadata.propertyTags .description	string	Conditionally	Reserved for future use.
productMetadataResponse .productMetadata .propertyMetadata.propertyTags .name	token	Conditionally	The name part of the name-value pair.
productMetadataResponse .productMetadata .propertyMetadata.propertyTags .value	string	Conditionally, repeatable: [1..*]	Value part of the name-value pair. One or more values may be associated with a given name.
productMetadataResponse .productMetadata .propertyMetadata .typeSpecificInformation	TypeSpecificInformation	Always	Container for any type-specific constraints for property values.
productMetadataResponse .productMetadata .propertyMetadata .typeSpecificInformation .mediaTypeSpecificInformation	MediaTypeSpecificInformation	Conditionally	Specifies the constraints, if any, for property values that are of type media. Currently, there are no constraints for media type properties, which apply to images only. Media type properties are specified as a URL in the addProducts request.
productMetadataResponse .productMetadata .propertyMetadata .typeSpecificInformation .numericTypeSpecificInformation	NumericTypeSpecificInformation	Conditionally	Specifies the constraints for property values that are of type numeric.
productMetadataResponse .productMetadata .propertyMetadata .typeSpecificInformation .numericTypeSpecificInformation .maximumValueAllowed	long	Conditionally	Specifies the highest numeric value that can be submitted for the given property value. Always returned for numeric values.
productMetadataResponse .productMetadata .propertyMetadata .typeSpecificInformation .numericTypeSpecificInformation .unitOfMeasurement	token	Conditionally	Specifies the unit of measurement (e.g., lb or kg) associated with the given numeric value.
productMetadataResponse .productMetadata .propertyMetadata .typeSpecificInformation .stringTypeSpecificInformation	StringTypeSpecificInformation	Conditionally	Specifies the constraints for property values that are of type string. In most cases, this is simply the maximum number of characters allowed in the string. In some cases, a list of managed (known good) values may also be returned.
productMetadataResponse .productMetadata .propertyMetadata .typeSpecificInformation .stringTypeSpecificInformation .managedValue	string	Conditionally, repeatable: [0..*]	Specifies a known good value for the given property. For example, for digital cameras, eBay may maintain a list of brands, camera types, lens types, focus types, etc. When possible, use a managed value to ensure consistent spelling and capitalization.
productMetadataResponse .productMetadata .propertyMetadata .typeSpecificInformation .stringTypeSpecificInformation .maximumCharactersAllowed	int	Conditionally	Specifies the maximum number of characters that can be submitted for the given property value. Always returned for string values.
productMetadataResponse .productMetadata .propertyMetadata .typeSpecificInformation .uriTypeSpecificInformation	URITypeSpecificInformation	Conditionally	Specifies the constraints for property values that are of type URI. Currently, there are no constraints for URI type properties.
productMetadataResponse .requestInformation	ProductMetadataRequest (BaseRequest)	Always	The corresponding productMetadataRequest that was passed in the getProductMetadataBulk request.
productMetadataResponse .requestInformation.categoryId	string	Always	Specifies the leaf category from which you want to retrieve product metadata information that can be used to add products into the corresponding eBay catalog. If the specified category is not enabled for product creation, eBay returns an error. Use GetCategoryFeatures (Trading API) with FeatureID set to "ProductCreationEnabled" to identify categories that are enabled for product creation. Max length: 10.
productMetadataResponse .requestInformation.groupType	token	Conditionally, repeatable: [0..*]	Reserved for future use. Currently, all supported group types are returned.
productMetadataResponse .requestInformation .includeGroupPropertiesOnly	boolean	Conditionally	Reserved for future use. Currently, both group properties (productMetadataResponse.productMetadata.groupProperties) and property metadata (productMetadataResponse.productMetadata.propertyMetadata) are always returned. Default: false.
productMetadataResponse .requestInformation .includeManagedValues	boolean	Conditionally	If true, the response will include managed values (approved standard values) for certain string-based properties, such as brand or device type. Managed values are not maintained for all properties, but when they are available, they can be used as an enumeration list to create a selection list. When possible, use a managed value to ensure consistent spelling and capitalization. Default: false.
productMetadataResponse .timestamp	dateTime	Always	This value represents the date and time when eBay processed the request. This value is returned in GMT, the ISO 8601 date and time format (YYYY- MM- DDTHH:MM:SS.SSSZ). See the "dateTime" type for information about the time format, and for details on converting to and from the GMT time zone.
productMetadataResponse .version	string	Always	Version number for the current search metadata (product or compatibility). If you are maintaining search metadata locally, compare this value to the version of the search metadata you last downloaded to determine whether the data may have changed.

getProductMetadataBulk Samples

New to making API calls? Please see Making an API Call.

Note: Some item IDs, user IDs, or other data in these samples might no longer be active on eBay. If necessary, you can substitute current eBay data in your requests.

Sample: Basic Call

Retrieves metadata needed to add a product to the catalog for the specified category.

Description

Basic call to demonstrate how the calls works.

Input

Basic request.

XML format (HTTP POST). Also available is the .txt version of this XML.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<getProductMetadataBulkRequest xmlns="http://www.ebay.com/marketplace/marketplacecatalog/v1/services">
   <productMetadataRequest>
      <categoryId>156955</categoryId>
   </productMetadataRequest>
</getProductMetadataBulkRequest>

Output

Standard response.

XML format. Also available is the .txt version of this XML.

<getProductMetadataBulkResponse xmlns="http://www.ebay.com/marketplace/marketplacecatalog/v1/services">
   <ack>Success</ack>
   <errorMessage/>
   <version>1.3.0</version>
   <timestamp>2011-07-01T17:02:36.877Z</timestamp>
   <productMetadataResponse>
      <ack>Success</ack>
      <errorMessage/>
      <productMetadata>
         <propertyMetadata>
            <propertyName>Seller Product ID</propertyName>
            <dataType>STRING</dataType>
            <typeSpecificInformation>
               <stringTypeSpecificInformation>
                  <maximumCharactersAllowed>4000</maximumCharactersAllowed>
               </stringTypeSpecificInformation>
            </typeSpecificInformation>
            <multiValued>false</multiValued>
            <canonicalName>RESERVED_SELLER_SKU</canonicalName>
            <propertyTags>
               <name>Property Identifier</name>
               <dataType>STRING</dataType>
               <value>SKU</value>
            </propertyTags>
         </propertyMetadata>
         <propertyMetadata>
            <propertyName>Title</propertyName>
            <dataType>STRING</dataType>
            <typeSpecificInformation>
               <stringTypeSpecificInformation>
                  <maximumCharactersAllowed>4000</maximumCharactersAllowed>
               </stringTypeSpecificInformation>
            </typeSpecificInformation>
            <multiValued>false</multiValued>
            <canonicalName>RESERVED_SOURCE_TITLE</canonicalName>
            <propertyTags>
               <name>Property Identifier</name>
               <dataType>STRING</dataType>
               <value>TITLE</value>
            </propertyTags>
         </propertyMetadata>
         <propertyMetadata>
            <propertyName>Product Description</propertyName>
            <dataType>STRING</dataType>
            <typeSpecificInformation>
               <stringTypeSpecificInformation>
                  <maximumCharactersAllowed>4000</maximumCharactersAllowed>
               </stringTypeSpecificInformation>
            </typeSpecificInformation>
            <multiValued>false</multiValued>
            <canonicalName>RESERVED_PRODUCT_DESCRIPTION</canonicalName>
            <propertyTags>
               <name>Property Identifier</name>
               <dataType>STRING</dataType>
               <value>DESCRIPTION</value>
            </propertyTags>
         </propertyMetadata>
         <propertyMetadata>
            <propertyName>ImageURL</propertyName>
            <dataType>MEDIA</dataType>
            <typeSpecificInformation>
               <mediaTypeSpecificInformation/>
            </typeSpecificInformation>
            <multiValued>false</multiValued>
            <canonicalName>RESERVED_PRODUCT_IMAGE</canonicalName>
            <propertyTags>
               <name>Property Identifier</name>
               <dataType>STRING</dataType>
               <value>IMAGE</value>
            </propertyTags>
         </propertyMetadata>
         <propertyMetadata>
            <propertyName>EAN</propertyName>
            <dataType>STRING</dataType>
            <typeSpecificInformation>
               <stringTypeSpecificInformation>
                  <maximumCharactersAllowed>4000</maximumCharactersAllowed>
               </stringTypeSpecificInformation>
            </typeSpecificInformation>
            <multiValued>true</multiValued>
            <canonicalName>UPC</canonicalName>
            <propertyTags>
               <name>Property Identifier</name>
               <dataType>STRING</dataType>
               <value>EAN</value>
            </propertyTags>
         </propertyMetadata>
         <propertyMetadata>
            <propertyName>Brand</propertyName>
            <dataType>STRING</dataType>
            <typeSpecificInformation>
               <stringTypeSpecificInformation>
                  <managedValue>TomTom</managedValue>
                  <managedValue>GPSNewBrandValue34</managedValue>
                  <managedValue>715Belkin</managedValue>
                  <managedValue>Belkin</managedValue>
                  <managedValue>Garmin</managedValue>
                  <managedValue>Megallen</managedValue>
                  <maximumCharactersAllowed>4000</maximumCharactersAllowed>
               </stringTypeSpecificInformation>
            </typeSpecificInformation>
            <multiValued>false</multiValued>
            <canonicalName>Brand</canonicalName>
            <propertyTags>
               <name>Property Identifier</name>
               <dataType>STRING</dataType>
               <value>BRAND</value>
            </propertyTags>
         </propertyMetadata>
         <propertyMetadata>
            <propertyName>Model</propertyName>
            <dataType>STRING</dataType>
            <typeSpecificInformation>
               <stringTypeSpecificInformation>
                  <maximumCharactersAllowed>4000</maximumCharactersAllowed>
               </stringTypeSpecificInformation>
            </typeSpecificInformation>
            <multiValued>false</multiValued>
            <canonicalName>Model</canonicalName>
         </propertyMetadata>
         <propertyMetadata>
            <propertyName>MPN</propertyName>
            <dataType>STRING</dataType>
            <typeSpecificInformation>
               <stringTypeSpecificInformation>
                  <maximumCharactersAllowed>4000</maximumCharactersAllowed>
               </stringTypeSpecificInformation>
            </typeSpecificInformation>
            <multiValued>true</multiValued>
            <canonicalName>MPN</canonicalName>
            <propertyTags>
               <name>Property Identifier</name>
               <dataType>STRING</dataType>
               <value>MPN</value>
            </propertyTags>
         </propertyMetadata>
         <propertyMetadata>
            <propertyName>PDA Interface</propertyName>
            <dataType>STRING</dataType>
            <typeSpecificInformation>
               <stringTypeSpecificInformation>
                  <managedValue>PDAInternfaceTest</managedValue>
                  <maximumCharactersAllowed>4000</maximumCharactersAllowed>
               </stringTypeSpecificInformation>
            </typeSpecificInformation>
            <multiValued>true</multiValued>
            <canonicalName>PDA Interface</canonicalName>
         </propertyMetadata>
         <propertyMetadata>
            <propertyName>Installed Memory</propertyName>
            <dataType>NUMERIC</dataType>
            <typeSpecificInformation>
               <numericTypeSpecificInformation>
                  <maximumValueAllowed>9223372036854775806</maximumValueAllowed>
               </numericTypeSpecificInformation>
            </typeSpecificInformation>
            <multiValued>false</multiValued>
            <canonicalName>Installed Memory (MB)</canonicalName>
         </propertyMetadata>
         <propertyMetadata>
            <propertyName>Weight</propertyName>
            <dataType>NUMERIC</dataType>
            <typeSpecificInformation>
               <numericTypeSpecificInformation>
                  <maximumValueAllowed>9223372036854775806</maximumValueAllowed>
               </numericTypeSpecificInformation>
            </typeSpecificInformation>
            <multiValued>false</multiValued>
            <canonicalName>Weight (lbs)</canonicalName>
         </propertyMetadata>
         <propertyMetadata>
            <propertyName>Receiver type</propertyName>
            <dataType>STRING</dataType>
            <typeSpecificInformation>
               <stringTypeSpecificInformation>
                  <managedValue>regelm��ig</managedValue>
                  <managedValue>ReceiverTypeTest</managedValue>
                  <maximumCharactersAllowed>4000</maximumCharactersAllowed>
               </stringTypeSpecificInformation>
            </typeSpecificInformation>
            <multiValued>false</multiValued>
            <canonicalName>Receiver Type</canonicalName>
         </propertyMetadata>
         <propertyMetadata>
            <propertyName>Seller ID</propertyName>
            <dataType>STRING</dataType>
            <typeSpecificInformation>
               <stringTypeSpecificInformation>
                  <maximumCharactersAllowed>4000</maximumCharactersAllowed>
               </stringTypeSpecificInformation>
            </typeSpecificInformation>
            <multiValued>false</multiValued>
            <canonicalName>RESERVED_SELLER_ID</canonicalName>
         </propertyMetadata>
         <propertyMetadata>
            <propertyName>Seller Brand</propertyName>
            <dataType>STRING</dataType>
            <typeSpecificInformation>
               <stringTypeSpecificInformation>
                  <maximumCharactersAllowed>4000</maximumCharactersAllowed>
               </stringTypeSpecificInformation>
            </typeSpecificInformation>
            <multiValued>false</multiValued>
            <canonicalName>RESERVED_SELLER_BRAND</canonicalName>
         </propertyMetadata>
         <groupProperties>
            <groupType>REQUIRED_PROPERTIES</groupType>
            <groupName>Required Set</groupName>
            <groupProperty>
               <propertyName>Title</propertyName>
            </groupProperty>
            <groupProperty>
               <propertyName>Product Description</propertyName>
            </groupProperty>
            <groupProperty>
               <propertyName>ImageURL</propertyName>
            </groupProperty>
         </groupProperties>
         <groupProperties>
            <groupType>GUID_PROPERTIES</groupType>
            <groupName>GUID Set</groupName>
            <groupProperty>
               <propertyName>EAN</propertyName>
            </groupProperty>
            <groupProperty>
               <propertyName>MPN</propertyName>
            </groupProperty>
         </groupProperties>
      </productMetadata>
      <requestInformation>
         <categoryId>156955</categoryId>
      </requestInformation>
   </productMetadataResponse>
</getProductMetadataBulkResponse>

getProductMetadataBulk Change History

Version	Description
1.3.0 7/20/2011	(added) New call.

User-Contributed Notes

productMetadataRequest	ProductMetadataRequest (BaseRequest)	Required, repeatable: [1..3]	Request to retrieve product metadata for a single category. Your getProductMetadtaBulk request may contain three productMetadataRequest containers. Each container must specify a valid category ID for the eBay site specified in the X-EBAY-SOA-GLOBAL-ID header.
productMetadataRequest .categoryId	string	Required	Specifies the leaf category from which you want to retrieve product metadata information that can be used to add products into the corresponding eBay catalog. If the specified category is not enabled for product creation, eBay returns an error. Use GetCategoryFeatures (Trading API) with FeatureID set to "ProductCreationEnabled" to identify categories that are enabled for product creation. Max length: 10.
productMetadataRequest .groupType	token	Optional, repeatable: [0..*]	Reserved for future use. Currently, all supported group types are returned.
productMetadataRequest .includeGroupPropertiesOnly	boolean	Optional	Reserved for future use. Currently, both group properties (productMetadataResponse.productMetadata.groupProperties) and property metadata (productMetadataResponse.productMetadata.propertyMetadata) are always returned. Default: false.
productMetadataRequest .includeManagedValues	boolean	Optional	If true, the response will include managed values (approved standard values) for certain string-based properties, such as brand or device type. Managed values are not maintained for all properties, but when they are available, they can be used as an enumeration list to create a selection list. When possible, use a managed value to ensure consistent spelling and capitalization. Default: false.