New Way to Specify Item Condition: Available in the Sandbox

We are releasing a new way of specifying Item Condition with the API. Previously you had to use attributes or custom item specifics to specify the condition of an item. Now you can use a first class data element. This new element will replace the old ways of specifying item condition.

<Item>
  <Title>Apple  MacBook Pro MB990LL/A 13.3 in. Notebook NEW</Title>
  <Description>Brand  New Apple MacBook Pro MB990LL/A 13.3 in. Notebook!</Description>
  <PrimaryCategory>
  <CategoryID>111422</CategoryID>
  </PrimaryCategory>
    <ConditionID>1000</ConditionID>

More Granular Conditions

In addition, the item condition values are being made more granular in many categories. For example, we previously had the condition "Refurbished." We are splitting that value into "Manufacturer refurbished" and "Seller refurbished." This will better reflect the conditions that are relevant and appropriate in each category. This will also better set buyers expectations about the items that they are purchasing.

Defaults and Values per Category

The new item condition values are the result of extensive testing with sellers and category experts. The default set of values for most categories is:

• New
• New other (see details)
• Manufacturer refurbished
• Seller refurbished
• Used
• For parts or not working

Not Always Inheritance

However, child categories will not always reflect the same conditions as their parent categories. For example, for Sporting Goods, most child categories follow the default set of values. However, Running Shoes are soft goods that are more similar to the Clothing Shoes & Accessories >Shoes category. Sporting Goods> Exercise & Fitness> Running> Shoes uses that set of condition values instead. There are a significant number of exceptions similar to this one. Use GetCategoryFeatures to determine what the condition values are for your category.

Timeline

March 22: New item condition values available in two categories in the Sandbox:

• Video Games
• Computers & Networking

End of April: New item condition values roll to eBay.com for a single category, Video Games. During the migration period, you can continue to use the old way or the new way of specifying item condition.

Early May: New item condition values roll to eBay.com for the remaining applicable categories.

End of July: Only the new way of specifying item condition will be supported. If you continue to use the old methods of specifying item condition, your call will fail.

Note: A small number of categories may continue to use either attributes or custom item specifics to specify item condition. Use GetCategoryFeatures to determine which categories support the new way of specifying item condition.

Important! Item condition is only available in the 655 or later version of the API. You will need to upgrade your WSDL or Schema file to take advantage of the feature. Advanced users can manually upgrade only the AddItem call. See Specifying an Item's Condition for information on which version to pass in the request.

How to Specify Item Condition in the API

Numeric values are used in AddItem to indicate the item condition values. In most cases, the numeric value is consistent across categories (e.g., 1000 indicates the highest level of "New" across categories). However, the display string will vary across categories to display whatever is most appropriate for that category. For example, 1000 used in Clothing, Shoes & Accessories will display as "New with tags." 1000 used in Technology will display as "New".

It is very important that sellers understand how condition will be displayed for their category. It is part of the contract between the buyer and the seller. To support this, we are providing the display string in GetCategoryFeatures. We are also providing a link to the definition for that condition level. We recommend that developers display that link prominently in their listing interfaces.

More Information

For more information, see:

• Shopping API Release Notes
• Trading API Release Notes
• Trading API: Specifying an Item's Condition