Ebay FAQ/en

How do I connect "csv4you.com" to an eBay account?

Under "My Account -> Basic Settings", click the "eBay" tab. Scroll down, select an eBay Marketplace, and then click the "Apply for AuthToken" button. This authentication for your eBay account is necessary to transfer product data to eBay via the API (e.g., eBay item attributes).

How are eBay business policies used?

In the Export Profile of the "eBay Marketplace API" interface, you'll find the section Business Policies on the Other tab. Paste here the (exact) names of the business policies from your eBay account for payment, returns and shipping that you want to use. Without them, listing and updating of your products via the eBay API is not possible.

Can I manage two eBay shops under one account?

Yes. Under My Account ->Base Settings ->eBay you can create multiple connections to eBay (Auth Token).
Under My Account ->Base Settings ->DataSources there is a button [ Actions ] for each DataSource. Select [Assign External Account] and assign the appropriate eBay account to the data source.

What is the difference between the "eBay CSV Manager"- and the "eBay Marketplace API"- interface?

The "eBay Marketplace API" 'is an particular interface that allows you to transfer product data directly to eBay's servers. Data of individual or even all products together is transferred directly between csv4you and eBay. Confirmations of success or errors of a transmission are provided by our system via on-screen messages and so-called response files. With the eBay CSV-Manager interface, one first has to download a CSV file and then upload it again on the eBay website, which makes the transfer quite tedious and time-consuming.

Can I transfer my products to eBay via the csv-Manager too?

Yes. To do this, subscribe to the eBay csv-Manager interface. Exported csv-files from csv4you.com can be uploaded to eBay via the eBay "csv-Manager". You have to be loged in to your eBay account. This is not necessary with the eBay Marketplce API interface. We generally recommend the use of the "eBay Marketplace API" interface for creating and updating product listings on eBay. Note that when you use the eBay "csv-Manager", you should regularly synchronize your most important data (stocks) with eBay. This is done under Listings ->eBay.

Why can I not send items to eBay anymore?

Check the "Type of listing" setting in the [Other] tab of your export profile. If there is 'Update ...' selected and no items are yet listed on eBay, the system can naturally not find anything. In this case, change the value to 'New ...' or create an additional export profile only for creating product listings.

Why does the data transfer to eBay take more than 5 minutes?

Occasionally, eBay too has temporary problems. In such cases, cancel the transfer to eBay and send your product data a bit later once more.

Why does the button 'Send product data to eBay' not appear?

Check the settings for your "eBay Marketplace API" interface. On the [Other] tab, under 'File Handling', select Transfer and save the change.

How do I correct/update erroneous listings?

The [Get eBay Data] button in Data Pool -> Products -> eBay Listings makes exactly what the name says: it gets your listing data and stock levels from eBay and imports them into our system. Thus, the system knows which listing is faulty and which is not. However, a "'matching"' of your inventory with eBay's is here "'not"'possible. But, there are several other ways to do this:

1. You go to the page with the eBay listed products. Click on the "Faulty Listings" tab, then select one or more products, and correct the faults by clicking the [Group Function] button.
2. You create an export profile using the eBay Marketplace API and transfer the stock levels to eBay. This can also be done automatically via a cronjob.
3. You set the checkmark to activate the Correction of faulty listings on eBay for an inventory import cronjob. This means that every time you import your inventory data, the stock level is also changed on eBay. This function is still in the test phase.

How can I temporarily disable my listings on eBay while on vacation?

Update all products that have a 'Zero' stock level in your DataPool. This requires that you activate the following function on your eBay account: 'Out-of-Stock' option for 'Good ’Til Cancelled' listings.

Why are special characters like ä, ö or ü incorrectly displayed on eBay?

Under Export -> Export Profiles in the [Settings] tab there is the option Character encoding (default: UTF-8). Select here "ISO-8859-1" and save the change. After re-transferring the export data, umlauts and various other special characters should appear correctly on eBay.

How can Special Prices and MSRPs (manfacturer suggested retail price) be transferred?

First of all: Please pay attention to the current legal regulations on the subject of MSRP and seek advice on this subject! In addition, you may need an authorization from eBay to work with MSRP.

In the export profile of the eBay Marketplace-API, turn the setting Transfer MSRP to Yes and in the Price Selection choose the price that should be displayed as the special price on eBay. MSRPs and special prices must of course be stored as value in the data pool.

Can I change format/duration of already listed products?

No, the format or duration of an eBay listing is taken into account only when the product is newly created.

For exports to Amazon or eBay - do I need Internal Categories?

Yes, because the assignment of the products to the eBay and Amazon categories as well as most of their product attributes gets effected there. Although product attributes can also be assigned individually to each article, this is often a disproportionate expenditure for many products. Via the category assignment of product attributes, all items automatically assume the attributes of the respective internal category.

Why are no products created in some categories?

One reason could be that PayPal is a "required" payment method for certain eBay categories or listing formats ( e.g., when you have selected the "Immediate Payment required" option for your listings). The payment methods can be adjusted in your "Business Policies" on eBay.

Variant items for eBay

Fundamentals of eBay variants:

Only a listing gets an eBay ItemID. In the case of variants, the parent and the respective variants get the same eBay ItemID, since the variants are considered attributes of the main (parent) item. If this eBay ItemID is sent to eBay with the option 'close' (delete), then the parent and all variants belonging to this parent will be terminated (deleted). Please note, that individual variants therefore cannot be separately terminated (deleted) via API transfer.

How do I change the stock level of a variant item on eBay?

Read these information from eBay: Option 'Out-of-Stock' for 'Good ’Til Cancelled'-listings and follow the instructions. Then set the stock of the relevant variant items to 0 (individually, per group function in the DataPool or via import) and after that transfer the changes via 'Update'. With the correct setting in your account, these variants are then displayed on eBay as Out of Stock.

How can I add one or more variant items to a listing on eBay?

To do this, delete the listing on eBay and most important: Update thereafter your products in the DataPool (Listings ->eBay ->Read data from eBay) This removes the old eBay IDs from the data pool. Then add the desired variants to the item and transfer your changes to eBay via the 'Export Profiles' section. Alternatively, you can make such changes manualy in that listing on eBay.

Can I deactivate individual variants of a listing?

Yes. Individual variants of an item can be deactivated on eBay by transmitting them with Quantity 0 and the setting 'Update'. These variants are then displayed on eBay as Out of Stock. Please read - as earlier mentioned above - the appropriate information: Option 'Out-of-Stock' for 'Good ’Til Cancelled'-listings.

Why are my variants listed individually on eBay and not under their parent?

In the export profile on the [Variants] tab, change the value of 'Export with Parents' to 'Yes' . Then, variants should be listed under their parents on eBay.

Why are my images not updated on eBay?

There is a Workaround from eBay.

Why are some images not displayed or not transferred to eBay?

Make sure that all product and gallery images you want to transfer to eBay, comply with the eBay Picture Policy.

Where can I find further information about messages (error codes) in eBay response files?

For explanations on some messages (eBay error codes), please visit our Error Messages page. This page is "Work in Progress". It will be extended whenever we are confronted with new eBay error messages.