eBay Trading APIVersion 1375
 

SetUserNotes

Use this call to add, replace, and delete My eBay notes for items that are being tracked in the My eBay Selling and Buying areas.

You can use SetUserNotes to add notes to items that are being tracked in a user's My eBay page, including items the user is selling, items the user is bidding on, and items in the user's watch list. A note is a small piece of text that can be used however a user wants, although its intended use is to help a user attach additional reminders to an item, such as "This item would make a great gift for Mom."

If the call to SetUserNotes is successful, it returns the fields of the abstract response object (there are no call-specific return fields). This serves as confirmation that the authentication URL information was successfully submitted. If unsuccessful, it returns an error construct (see Error Handling).

You only need to make this call when you are adding, updating, or deleting the notes for a user. eBay does not place any restrictions on the number of times a note can be changed.

You can test this call in the Sandbox. To test SetUserNotes:

  1. Find an item listed on the eBay Sandbox web site: http://sandbox.ebay.com
  2. Sign-in as a test user and add the item to that user's watch list.
  3. Get the item ID for the item, and use SetUserNotes to add a note to that item.
  4. On the test user's My eBay page, look at the watch list and see that the note has been added for the item.



Input

See also Samples.

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 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 does not include requester credentials. This is a documentation limitation only (see Standard Requester Credentials for Making Calls).

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<SetUserNotesRequest xmlns="urn:ebay:apis:eBLBaseComponents">
  <!-- Call-specific Input Fields -->
  <Action> SetUserNotesActionCodeType </Action>
  <ItemID> ItemIDType (string) </ItemID>
  <NoteText> string </NoteText>
  <OrderLineItemID> string </OrderLineItemID>
  <SKU> SKUType (string) </SKU>
  <TransactionID> string </TransactionID>
  <VariationSpecifics> NameValueListArrayType
    <NameValueList> NameValueListType
      <Name> string </Name>
      <Value> string </Value>
      <!-- ... more Value values allowed here ... -->
    </NameValueList>
    <!-- ... more NameValueList nodes allowed here ... -->
  </VariationSpecifics>
  <!-- Standard Input Fields -->
  <ErrorLanguage> string </ErrorLanguage>
  <MessageID> string </MessageID>
  <Version> string </Version>
  <WarningLevel> WarningLevelCodeType </WarningLevel>
</SetUserNotesRequest>
Argument Type Occurrence Meaning
Call-specific Input Fields [Jump to standard fields]
Action SetUserNotesActionCodeType Required The seller must include this field and set it to 'AddOrUpdate' to add a new user note or update an existing user note, or set it to 'Delete' to delete an existing user note.

Applicable values:

AddOrUpdate
(in) Creates or replaces an item's My eBay notes. Note that if the specified item already has notes in My eBay, the new notes will completely replace the existing notes. They will not be appended.
CustomCode
(in) Reserved for internal or future use.
Delete
(in) Deletes any existing My eBay notes for the specified item. Specifying Delete when no notes exist does nothing, but does not return an error.
ItemID ItemIDType (string) Conditional Unique identifier of the listing to which the My eBay note will be attached. Notes can only be added to items that are currently being tracked in My eBay.
NoteText string Conditional This field is needed if the Action is AddOrUpdate. The text supplied in this field will completely replace any existing My eBay note for the specified item.
Max length: 255.
OrderLineItemID string Conditional A unique identifier for an eBay order line item. This field is created as soon as there is a commitment to buy from the seller. OrderLineItemID can be used in the input instead of an ItemID/TransactionID pair to identify an order line item.

Notes can only be added to order line items that are currently being tracked in My eBay. Buyers can view user notes made on order line items in the PrivateNotes field of the WonList container in GetMyeBayBuying, and sellers can view user notes made on order line items in the PrivateNotes field of the SoldList and DeletedFromSoldList containers in GetMyeBaySellinging.
SKU SKUType (string) Optional SKU value of the item variation to which the My eBay note will be attached. Notes can only be added to items that are currently being tracked in My eBay. A SKU (stock keeping unit) value is defined by and used by the seller to identify a variation within a fixed-price, multiple- variation listing. The SKU value is assigned to a variation of an item through the Variations.Variation.SKU element.

This field can only be used if the Item.InventoryTrackingMethod field (set with the AddFixedPriceItem or RelistFixedPriceItem calls) is set to SKU.

If a specific order line item is targeted in the request with an ItemID/TransactionID pair or an OrderLineItemID value, any specified SKU is ignored by the call.
TransactionID string Optional Unique identifier for the order line item to which the My eBay note will be attached. Notes can only be added to order line items that are currently being tracked in My eBay. Buyers can view user notes made on order line items in the PrivateNotes field of the WonList container in GetMyeBayBuying, and sellers can view user notes made on order line items in the PrivateNotes field of the SoldList and DeletedFromSoldList containers in GetMyeBaySellinging.

The TransactionID value for auction listings is always 0 since there can be only one winning bidder/one sale for an auction listing.

Note: Beginning in July 2024, non-zero transaction IDs will start being returned for auction listings. If necessary, update code to handle non-zero transaction IDs for auction transactions before this time.
VariationSpecifics NameValueListArrayType Optional Container consisting of name-value pairs that identify (match) one variation within a fixed-price, multiple-variation listing. The specified name-value pair(s) must exist in the listing specified by either the ItemID or SKU values specified in the request. If a specific order line item is targeted in the request with an ItemID/TransactionID pair or an OrderLineItemID value, any specified VariationSpecifics container is ignored by the call.
VariationSpecifics
  .NameValueList
NameValueListType Optional,
repeatable: [0..*]
For the AddItem family of calls: Contains the name and value(s) for an Item Specific. Only required when the ItemSpecifics container is specified.
For the AddFixedPriceItem family of calls: The same NameValueList schema is used for the ItemSpecifics node, the VariationSpecifics node, and the VariationSpecifcsSet node.

If the listing has variations, any name that you use in the VariationSpecifics and VariationSpecificsSet nodes can't be used in the ItemSpecifics node.
When you list with Item Variations:
  • Specify shared Item Specifics (e.g., Brand) in the ItemSpecifics node.
  • Specify up to five VariationSpecifics in each Variation node.
  • Specify all applicable names with all their supported values in the VariationSpecificSet node.
See the Variation sample in the AddFixedPriceItem call reference for examples.

For PlaceOffer: Required if the item being purchased includes Item Variations.

For AddToWatchList and RemoveFromWatchList: The ItemID value of the multiple-variation listing and the name-value pair to identify each variation in the listing are required.

Note: As of August 30, 2018, California will require sellers to display a Proposition 65 warning on online retail sites if products contain chemicals and/or substances that may impact the health of California buyers. This requirement is applicable to most eBay US categories, including eBay Motors, Motors Parts & Accessories, and catalog-enabled categories. The warning message can be customized by the seller, but should contain the following basic information:
  • The name of at least one listed chemical that prompted the warning
  • Text stating that the product 'can expose you to' the chemical(s) in the product
  • The URL for OEHHA's new Proposition 65 warnings website, which is www.P65Warnings.ca.gov
Unlike standard item specifics that allow a maximum of 65 characters in the Value field, the matching value for the 'California Prop 65 Warning' item specific allows up to 800 characters of text. When a seller passes in this item specific, eBay will automatically insert a warning symbol icon for the listing.

VariationSpecifics
  .NameValueList.Name
string Optional Depending on the call and context, this value is either a name of an Item/Variation Specific, or a Parts Compatibility name.

For the AddItem and AddFixedPriceItem families of calls: In the Item.ItemSpecifics context, the value in this field will either be the name of a required/recommended/optional item specific name for the category, or it may be a seller's customized item specific name.

For the AddFixedPriceItem family of calls: In the Compatibility.NameValueList context, this value is a motor vehicle aspect such as Year, Make, and Model. A Compatibility.NameValueList container is applicable for motor vehicle parts and accessories listings.

For PlaceOffer: Required if the line item being purchased is an item variation within a multiple-variation listing.

Note: For required and recommended item specifics that are returned in the getItemAspectsForCategory method of the Taxonomy API, the seller should pass in the name of these item specifics just as they are shown in the getItemAspectsForCategory response. Similarly, for catalog-enabled categories, the seller should pass in the name of instance aspects just as they are shown in the getItemAspectsForCategory response. Instance aspects are additional details unique to a specific item or listing that a seller can include along with the product aspects that are already defined in the eBay catalog product associated with the listing. Instance aspects common to many catalog-enabled categories include 'Bundle Description' and 'Modification Description'. eBay US sellers who ship to California are required to pass in a 'California Prop 65 Warning' item specific if the item in the listing contains one or more chemicals known to be harmful to human health. This item specific is passed at the listing level for both single-variation and multiple-variation listings. The 'California Prop 65 Warning' is considered an instance specific because it will be retained on the listing even when the seller lists using an eBay catalog product. The 'California Prop 65 Warning' may be applicable in most eBay US categories, including eBay Motors, Motors Parts & Accessories, and catalog-enabled categories. Note: If Brand and MPN (Manufacturer Part Number) are being used to identify product variations in a multiple-variation listing, the Brand must be specified at the item level (ItemSpecifics container) and the MPN for each product variation must be specified at the variation level (VariationSpecifics container). The Brand name must be the same for all variations within a single listing.
Max length: 65.
VariationSpecifics
  .NameValueList.Value
string Optional,
repeatable: [0..*]
Depending on the call and context, this value is either the value of an Item/Variation Specific, a Parts Compatibility value, or a product identifier.

For the AddItem family of calls: Multiple values can only be specified for an Item Specific if the itemToAspectCardinality field of the getItemAspectsForCategory method shows a value of MULTI. If an item specific only supports a single value, only the first item specific value specified in the request will be used.

For the Compatibility.NameValueList context, this is the corresponding value of a motor vehicle aspect such as Year, Make, and Model. A Compatibility.NameValueList container is applicable for motor vehicle parts and accessories listings.

For PlaceOffer: Required if the line item being purchased is an item variation within a multiple-variation listing.

Note: The standard maximum length for the value of an item specific is 65, but the maximum allowed length increases for instance aspects such as 'Bundle Description' and 'Modification Description'. For item specifics with max lengths greater than 65, the actual max length will be returned in a corresponding aspectMaxLength field. The maximum allowed length for the new 'California Prop 65 Warning' item specific is 800 characters. For more information about the 'California Prop 65 Warning' item specific, see the ItemSpecifics.NameValueList field description.
Max length: 65 (but longer for some instance aspects, including 800 for 'California Prop 65 Warning').
Standard Input Fields  
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. Below are some examples from different countries.

ID Country
en_AU Australia
de_AT Austria
nl_BE Belgium (Dutch)
fr_BE Belgium (French)
en_CA Canada
fr_CA Canada (French)
zh_CN China
fr_FR France
de_DE Germany
zh_HK Hong Kong
en_IN India
en_IE Ireland
it_IT Italy
nl_NL Netherlands
en_SG Singapore
es_ES Spain
de_CH Switzerland
en_GB United Kingdom
en_US United States
MessageID string Optional Most Trading API calls support a MessageID element in the request and a CorrelationID element in the response. If you pass in a MessageID in a request, the same value will be returned in the CorrelationID field in the response. Pairing these values can help you track and confirm that a response is returned for every request and to match specific responses to specific requests. If you do not pass a MessageID value in the request, CorrelationID is not returned.

Note: GetCategories is 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.
Version string Conditional The version number of the API code that you are programming against (e.g., 1149). 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
    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 performed in the Production environment.

Applicable values:

High
(in) The WarningLevel value is set to High if the user wishes to receive warnings when the application passes unrecognized or deprecated elements in an API call request. Setting the WarningLevel value to High is not recommended in a production environment. Instead, it should only be used during the development/debugging stage.
Low
(in) The WarningLevel value is set to Low if the user does not wish to receive warnings when the application passes unrecognized or deprecated elements in an API call request. This is the default value if WarningLevel is not specified in the call request.

See Warning Level.



Output

See also Samples.

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 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).

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<SetUserNotesResponse xmlns="urn:ebay:apis:eBLBaseComponents">
  <!-- (No call-specific Output fields) -->

  <!-- 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 allowed here ... -->
    <LongMessage> string </LongMessage>
    <SeverityCode> SeverityCodeType </SeverityCode>
    <ShortMessage> string </ShortMessage>
  </Errors>
  <!-- ... more Errors nodes allowed here ... -->
  <HardExpirationWarning> string </HardExpirationWarning>
  <Timestamp> dateTime </Timestamp>
  <Version> string </Version>
</SetUserNotesResponse>
Return Value Type Occurrence Meaning
(No call-specific fields)
Standard Output 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 the Ack field.

Applicable values:

CustomCode
(out) Reserved for internal or future use.
Failure
(out) This value indicates that the call request processing failed.
Success
(out) This value indicates that the call request was processed successfully without any issues.
Warning
(out) This value indicates that the call request was successful, but processing was not without any issues. These issues can be checked in the Errors container, that will also be returned when one or more known issues occur with the call request.

(Not all values in AckCodeType apply to this field.)

Code so that your app gracefully handles any future changes to this list.
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 Most Trading API calls support a MessageID element in the request and a CorrelationID element in the response. If you pass in a MessageID in a request, the same value will be returned in the CorrelationID field in the response. Pairing these values can help you track and confirm that a response is returned for every request and to match specific responses to specific requests. If you do not pass a MessageID value in the request, CorrelationID is not returned.

Note: GetCategories is 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 Conditionally,
repeatable: [0..*]
A list of application-level errors (if any) that occurred when eBay processed the request.
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.

Code so that your app gracefully handles any future changes to this list.
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.

See Errors By Number.

Errors.ErrorParameters ErrorParameterType Conditionally,
repeatable: [0..*]
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 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.Value string Conditionally This is the value of the request parameter noted in the ParamID attribute. So, if the ParamID value was ItemID, the value in this field would be the actual value of that ItemID.
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) 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.

If the source of the problem is within the application (such as a missing required element), change the application before you retry the request.
  • If the problem is due to end-user input data, please 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, you can attempt to re-send the request to eBay.
  • If the source of the problem is on eBay's 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.


See the Error handling section of the Making a Trading API call guide for more information.
Warning
(out) The request was processed successfully, but something occurred that may affect your application or the user. For example, eBay may have changed a value the user sent in. In this case, eBay returns a normal, successful response and also returns the warning.

When a warning occurs, the error is returned in addition to the business data. In this case, you do not need to retry the request (as the original request was successful). However, depending on the cause or nature of the warning, you might need to contact either the end user or eBay to effect a long term solution to the problem to prevent it from reoccurring in the future.

Code so that your app gracefully handles any future changes to this list.
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 the Time Values section in the eBay Features Guide for information about this time format and converting to and from the GMT time zone.

Note: GetCategories and other Trading API calls 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 the Standard Data for All Calls section in the eBay Features Guide for information on using the response version when troubleshooting CustomCode values that appear in the response.



Detail Controls


DetailLevel

This call does not support varying Detail Levels. You do not need to pass DetailLevel in the request.



Samples

New to making API calls? Please see Making a 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

Sets a note on an item of interest.

Description

A prospective buyer is looking for toaster ovens and she thinks she found one at a good price.

Input

XML format.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> 
<SetUserNotesRequest xmlns="urn:ebay:apis:eBLBaseComponents"> 
  <RequesterCredentials> 
    <eBayAuthToken>A*******3</eBayAuthToken> 
  </RequesterCredentials> 
  <ItemID>8**********0</ItemID> 
  <Action>AddOrUpdate</Action> 
  <NoteText>This could be the best buy.</NoteText> 
</SetUserNotesRequest>

Output

XML format.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> 
<SetUserNotesResponse xmlns="urn:ebay:apis:eBLBaseComponents"> 
  <Timestamp>2019-11-07T18:40:10.893Z</Timestamp> 
  <Ack>Success</Ack> 
  <Version>1125</Version>
  <Build>E1125_CORE_API_19070409_R1</Build> 
</SetUserNotesResponse>



Change History

Change Date Description
705
2011-01-19
  • OrderLineItemID (modified): The OrderLineItemID value can now be used in Production to identify an order line item (instead of ItemID/TransactionID pair).
693
2010-10-27
  • OrderLineItemID (added): A unique identifier for an eBay transaction, which is based upon the concatenation of ItemID and TransactionID with a hyphen in between these two IDs. If you set your request version to 705, OrderLineItemID can be used instead of ItemID and TransactionID in the request.
629
2009-08-05
  • SKU, VariationSpecifics (added): You can now set private notes for variations.
535
2007-10-17
  • TransactionID (added): You can now associate a user note with a transaction.