PlaceOfferRequestType
Enables a user to bid (make an offer) on an item or make a best offer. For competitive-bid auction listings (such as a Chinese auction), a user can make a bid. For fixed-price listings (Basic Fixed-Price and eBay Stores Inventory listings), a user can purchase an item. A user can make a best offer on an item for which Best Offer is enabled. For information about the Best Offer feature (including rules for counteroffers), see Enabling Best Offer.

For more information about each use of PlaceOffer (including information about making a best offer or counteroffer, and information about accepting or declining a counteroffer), please see PlaceOffer Input.

Important note: Before using this call, please carefully review the PlaceOffer Policies and Guidelines. The PlaceOffer Policies are required for use of PlaceOffer in the production environment. Please carefully write your application to follow all the PlaceOffer Policies.

Note: PlaceOffer is available for evaluation by all in the Sandbox (test) environment.

For information about becoming authorized to use PlaceOffer in the Production environment, please contact Developer Relations, developer-relations@ebay.com.

Important notes: When you use PlaceOffer to make a best offer, no affiliate-related commissions are paid. Affiliate-commission functionality is not available in the Sandbox environment. Affiliate commissions from PlaceOffer require that the call be made to the site on which the item is listed. Affiliate commissions from PlaceOffer also require that the affiliate has signed up with the eBay Partner Network for the site on which the item is listed.

If you make a PlaceOffer request and eBay returns a BotBlock container, your application must use the contents of the BotBlock container to show that the application-user is a human and not a bot.

Capture the contents of the BotBlock container (BotBlockUrl, BotBlockAudioUrl, and BotBlockToken) returned by PlaceOffer. The application-user must input the value for BotBlockUrl or BotBlockAudioUrl. Your application must capture this value and, in the next PlaceOffer call, include a BotBlock container (containing the user-input value and the token you captured from the BotBlockToken field). eBay then uses your BotBlock container (in your second PlaceOffer call) to validate that the user is a human and not a bot.

You can use GetChallengeToken to test your application's ability to show that a PlaceOffer user is a human and not a bot. Make a GetChallengeToken request and capture ChallengeToken, ImageChallengeURL, and AudioChallengeURL. The application-user must input the value for ImageChallengeURL or AudioChallengeURL. Your application must capture this value and, in a PlaceOffer call, include a BotBlock container. The BotBlock container will contain the user-input value along with the value from ChallengeToken (from the GetChallengeToken response). eBay then uses your BotBlock container to validate that the user is a human and not a bot.

If PayPal is the required payment method, then the user making a bid or purchase must have a PayPal account.

If a user has placed a bid on an item with Bid Assistant (available on the eBay site), then a subsequent PlaceOffer call on behalf of that user, on that item, will not succeed.
Fields
AffiliateTrackingDetails ( AffiliateTrackingDetailsType ) [0..1]
Container for affiliate-related tags, which enable the tracking of user activity. If you include AffiliateTrackingDetails in your PlaceOffer call, then it is possible to receive affiliate commissions based on calls made by your application. (See the eBay Partner Network for information about commissions.) Please note that affiliate tracking is not available in the Sandbox environment, and that affiliate tracking is not available when you make a best offer.
See the Field Index to learn which calls use AffiliateTrackingDetails.

BlockOnWarning ( boolean ) [0..1]
If a warning message exists and BlockOnWarning is true, the warning message is returned and the bid is blocked. If no warning message exists and BlockOnWarning is true, the bid is placed. If BlockOnWarning is false, the bid is placed, regardless of warning.
See the Field Index to learn which calls use BlockOnWarning.

ItemID ( ItemIDType (string) ) [0..1]
Unique item ID that identifies the item listing for which the offer is being submitted.

If the item was listed with Variations, you must also specify VariationSpecifics in the request to uniquely identify the variant being purchased.
See the Field Index to learn which calls use ItemID.

Offer ( OfferType ) [0..1]
Specifies the type of offer being made. If the item is a competitive-bidding listing, the offer is a bid. If the item is a fixed-price listing, then the offer purchases the item. If the item is a competitive-bidding listing and the offer is of type with an active, unexercised Buy It Now option, then the offer can either purchase the item or be a bid. See the schema documentation for OfferType for details on its properties and their meanings.
See the Field Index to learn which calls use Offer.

VariationSpecifics ( NameValueListArrayType ) [0..1]
Name-value pairs that identify a single variation within the listing identified by ItemID. Required when the seller listed the item with Item Variations.

If you want to buy items from multiple variations in the same listing, use a separate PlaceOffer request for each variation. For example, if you want to buy 3 red shirts and 2 black shirts from the same listing, use one PlaceOffer request for the 3 red shirts, and another PlaceOffer request for the 2 black shirts.
See the Field Index to learn which calls use VariationSpecifics.

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