How Do I Set Up My Store's eBay Listing Templates?

eBay Listing Templates

By now, you should have your Shift4Shop store connected to the eBay API (Sandbox or Production) and your basic settings configured.

The next portion of the process involves setting up your eBay product's listing template, which is a set of variables used by the eBay listing. During this process, you will configure a series of settings that allow you to control how the product will be viewed on the eBay site, the purchasing and shipping options it uses, and several other factors. When designating products to be included on eBay, you will use the created template to display it on eBay's pages.

Some of the configurable items on the eBay Listing Template include:

• The eBay Website on which you plan to host the item such as:

  • Australia eBay

  • English Canada eBay

  • U.K. eBay

  • U.S. eBay

  • eBay Motors

• The category/navigation on the eBay site that the product will be found in

• The duration of the listing

• Item Specifics

• Purchase options such as:

  • Buy Now

  • Auction

• Payment Options

• Shipping Calculations and restrictions for the item

• Item conditions and Return policies

• and more

For the purposes of this article, we will outline the basic settings used when creating one eBay Listing Template. For your store, however, you will likely need to create several eBay Listing Templates. For example, one listing may be for items you wish to make available for Auction pricing only, and another listing will be needed for Buy Now pricing. Or perhaps you will create one eBay Listing Template for refurbished condition items, one for eBay Motors items, etc.

To begin creating an eBay listing template, follow these steps.

From your Shift4Shop Online Store Manager:

1. Use the left navigation menu and go to Modules.

2. Use the search bar at the top and search for "eBay" to locate and view the module.

3. Click on the Listing Templates link.

4. Click + Add New at the top right of the page to create a new eBay Listing template.

5. Name your template (this will be a name that is easily referenced when you assign it to individual products).

6. Select the eBay Web Site where the product listing will be used.

General Tab

When selecting the eBay website for the template, some additional settings will appear below the name and website selectors. These settings are:

• Hide the bidder's user id on list
  Marking the "Yes" checkbox will hide bidder usernames from being listed on the item when bids are placed.

• Make this the default template
  Select this checkbox if you'd like to make this the default template selection for all your products when it comes time to list them.

Below these two checkboxes, you will see a section where you can set the eBay categories where your products (using this listing) can be found.

• Primary eBay Category
  Click the "Change" link to specify the primary eBay Category taxonomy that the products using this template will use. 
  This will help eBay users find your products easier.

• Secondary eBay Category
  (optional) Click the "Change" link to specify the secondary eBay Category taxonomy the products using this template will use.
  (If using eBay Motors, only the primary eBay category will be allowed.)

• Use eBay variations
  This setting will only come up for certain eBay categories, and it will affect the way products with Advanced Options are listed on eBay.

  • If marked "Yes," then the product will be listed as one product with each advanced option related to a variation on eBay.

  • If not marked, each advanced option will be listed as its own individual product on eBay.

• Product Identifier
  Most new and manufacturer-refurbished items will have unique product identifiers assigned to them. Selecting the Product Identifier that eBay uses for products using this template will help boost the product's visibility.
  Your choices here are:

  • GTIN
    The Global Trade Item Number of the products

  • MPN
    Manufacturer Part Numbers of the products

  • Does not apply
    If the products do not have any known identifiers, select this option.

• Listing Duration
  Select the number of days the listing will be active on eBay.

• Measurement System (Only if listing on ebay.ca or ebay.co.uk)
  Select whether product measurements will reflect Metric or Standard measurement units.

After setting and selecting the above configuration option, you will be done with the general settings of the listing template. You should also see a series of tabs at the top of the page for Specifics, Pricing, Payment, etc.

Next, we'll describe these tabs and the settings found within them.

Specifics Tab

This tab will contain a series of item specifics and variants you can select for the eBay listing.

The Specifics Tab will be split into two halves. At the top, you will set Item Specifics, and at the bottom you will set Variations.

Item Specifics will usually be things like Brand and country of manufacturer.

For Specifics, your selection choices will be either specifics from eBay or those present on the product in your Shift4Shop store from the various custom fields.

Variations will typically be things like options and features of the item.

For Variations, your selection choices will be either variants directly from eBay or those present on the product in your Shift4Shop store from your store's product option tables.

Note that the Shift4Shop store variations will be based on options set for all products on your store - meaning that all of your store's option sets will be listed when selecting variations from your Shift4Shop store. In other words, if you have some products that use color option sets and others that use size option sets, they will all be listed in the "Use Cart" set of variations.

When it comes time to list the actual items, however, you will be able to specify which option sets are used for the product.

Pricing Tab

The Pricing Tab will let you set how the template will list pricing for its assigned items when listing them on eBay.

The drop-down labeled "Select the pricing method" will let you select whether products using this template will be available for "Auction" or "Buy it Now" purchase.

Auction

The following configuration options will be listed when selecting the "Auction" method.

• Starting Price
  These settings are available to set the Starting Bid price on items using this template.

• Reserve Price
  Settings in this section are available to set the bidding's Reserve price, which is a minimum bid amount you can designate on products using this template. If the item's reserve is not met during bidding, the seller is under no obligation to sell the item. Buyers will not see the reserve price. Rather, they will see if/when the reserve is met.

• Buy it Now Price
  As part of the Auction pricing method, you can also designate "Buy it Now" pricing options which allow eBay users to purchase the item outright instead of bidding on it.

Each of the pricing methods listed above will have the following options available:

• Same Price
  This will set the product's price to the same as the product's current pricing on your Shift4Shop store (at the time of listing).
  If the item is on sale, it will be listed with the sale price.  However, this does not update the price back and forth if a price change is made on your store.

• Product Price
  The product's current price on your Shift4Shop store with variables (plus or minus) a specific amount or percent.

• Product Cost
  The product's current cost on your Shift4Shop store with variables (plus or minus) a specific amount or percent.

• This Price
  Use this to designate a specific price.

Buy it Now:

The Buy it Now pricing method is available if you'd like to have the eBay product listing available for only direct purchase instead of bidding/auction. The settings for this method are the same as listed for the "Buy it Now" option under Auction.