News

eBay have announced that they will be rolling out new mandatory item specifics from this month.  The deadline for the latest string of changes is February 22, 2021.  The new eBay Item Specific mandates cover a substantial number of categories in Home & Garden, Fashion, Lifestyle and Business & Industrial.  All listings affected across these categories will have to have the changes in place by the February deadline. 

Why Another eBay Mandate For Item Specifics?

The increase in the number of item specifics benefits both eBay buyers and retailers.  For buyers, the ability to search for products in a more structured and specific way enhances the customer experience across the marketplace.  For sellers, the eBay-mandated changes are designed to increase the search visibility of their listings, so that they are more easily find-able on the site.

The Importance Of Item Specifics On eBay

Throughout 2019 and 2020, eBay have continued to emphasise the importance of item specifics and how they increase the visibility of listings on both eBay and external search engines.  The trend is continuing into 2021, with eBay having made clear that item specifics are here to stay, established as they are at the core to the eBay buying and selling experience.

The need for data has a simple explanation.  The more data sellers give eBay about what they are selling, the better the platform can match an item to what a buyer is looking for.  User searches take into account titles and item specifics.  Moreover, searches carried out through left-hand navigation filters, and queries on category merchandising pages also use item specifics. 

The Timeline For The New Mandatory eBay Changes

With the new announcement, sellers have to keep their item specifics up to date following these new category mandates or face not being able to revise their listings.  The good news is that eBay are not applying the changes to item specifics until February 22, 2021.  As a result, eBay sellers have plenty of time to get listings updated.

As it has been the case in prior mandates, eBay encourage sellers to add the new item specifics ahead of the February deadline.  Sellers will have to add them for new listings or when they revise existing listings in the future.  It is also worth bearing in mind that "Good Til Cancelled" listings will continue to renew, even if sellers don't add the new mandatory eBay item specifics requirements.  However, when adding new stock in the future, sellers will be unable to revise their listings until they update the relevant item specifics. 

A Tool To Simplify Item Specifics Optimisation 

Updating all listings to ensure they comply with eBay's new mandate is a time-consuming process.  However, whether they have a few listings or thousands of them, eBay sellers can benefit from Optiseller's Aspect Finder+.  The tool quickly identifies the listings that present item specifics that are currently required, soon to be required, and recommended across all listings, in all categories.

Aspect Finder+ helps eBay sellers comply with the eBay mandate, but that is not all.  Listing optimisation with Aspect Finder+ can increase the view count or impressions of eBay listings.  Because the eBay marketplace platform relies on item specifics to help buyers find the products they need, the use of Aspect Finder+ boosts the search visibility of listings, which in turn drives sales.