719 Trading, Shopping, Merchant Data API Docs Now Available

Please remember to use a test environment when updating applications to use a new schema version.

To find out when a version of the API will be available, see the table at the top of the Release Notes for that API.

You can find the latest API documentation at the eBay Developer Documentation Center.

Search Call Deprecations and the Java and .NET SDKs

The deprecation of GetSearchResults and GetCategoryListings will affect users of the Java and .NET SDKs. Users of current versions of these SDKs will continue to have access to the deprecated calls and types until October 11, 2011. Users who adopt newer versions of these SDKs, starting with the April 28, 2011, point release, will not have access to the deprecated types. The April 28 release will include samples that show how to access the search functions in the Finding API from the Trading SDKs.

717 Trading, Shopping, Merchant Data API Docs Now Available

Please remember to use a test environment when updating applications to use a new schema version.

To find out when a version of the API will be available, see the table at the top of the Release Notes for that API.

You can find the latest API documentation at the eBay Developer Documentation Center.

Finding API Migration

The Developers Program launched the Finding API in July 2009. Today Finding API is successfully serving over 130 millions of requests daily. We are ready for our next critical milestone – support all developers to fully migrate to Finding API to take advantage of the eBay’s next generation search technology used to power the eBay site search ; and deprecate Trading APIs: GetSearchResults and GetCategoryListings, and Shopping APIs: FindItemsAdvanced and FindItems. These APIs will stop working after October 2011.

To better support developers’ migration, asks and needs, we have been focusing on Finding API for new and enhanced features, as well as technical support. Meanwhile the deprecation of Trading and Shopping Search APIs has started since January 2011. Although those four API calls are still working till October, developers should have noticed that the deprecated API calls and related schema have been removed from the public WSDL and XSD files. Related documentation has also been removed. These calls are also being removed from SDKs.  For adoption of newer version SDKs after April 2011, the deprecated types will no longer be accessible. A warning message will be returned by these API calls after June 2011, indicating the API is scheduled to be removed. Your application might be broken if it doesn’t follow eBay requirements for error handling. The search capabilities provided by these calls are supported in the Finding API. If you're building new search applications, start with the Finding API. If you have applications that use these calls, please migrate your item search functions to the Finding API.

 

Why Finding API?

The Finding API leverages eBay’s next generation search technology and have been designed to provide greater flexibility, better performance and scalability. Increased search relevancy and parity with the eBay site search features are some of the highlights of the new API. The latest Best Match and Fitment algorithms are available in Finding API. A series of benchmark testing has been conducted that shows on par performance of Finding API to the Shopping API (FindItemsAdvanced & FindItems); and significant improvement over the Trading API (GetSearchResults & GetCategoryListings).

The following are the functionalities and features added by Finding API for item searches:

1.       Retrieve aspect histograms and filter by aspects and/or domains – supply data by item attributes which enables eBay site alike left navigation as well as search refinement by applying constraints aligned with eBay search classification.

2.       Support new search capabilities:

• Item Condition histogram and filters
• Restrict searches to as many as 3 categories at a time
• Expedited Shipping filters
• Top-Rated Sellers Only filter
• Returns Accepted Only filter

 

3.       Image Search API (findItemsByImage): expend eBay’s capabilities in fashion to developers for the “More Like This” functionality.

4.       Three sizes of gallery image: 140x140, 96x96, 80x80 that users can choose to use based on their application’s needs.

As our commitment to the Developer Community, we are always working continuously and diligently to enable the latest, high performance, world-class eBay search technology and features to Finding API. Enhancements to picture URL, Multi-variations, LocatedIn etc. filters and more will be released in May.

 

How to Migrate to Finding API?

The following migration guides map input and output fields for GetSearchResults in the Trading API and FindItemsAdvanced in the Shopping API to the corresponding input and output fields in findItemsAdvanced in the Finding API:

• Migration Guide for FindItemsAdvanced to findItemsAdvanced
• Migration Guide for GetSearchResults to findItemsAdvanced

Please contact us for questions or more information on Finding API or migration.

 

 

715 Trading, Shopping, Merchant Data API Docs Now Available

Please remember to use a test environment when updating applications to use a new schema version.

To find out when a version of the API will be available, see the table at the top of the Release Notes for that API.

You can find the latest API documentation at the eBay Developer Documentation Center.

Trading and Shopping Search API deprecation: New Deprecation Date

In June, we announced that the deprecation deadline was to be extended. We are now anouncing the following deprecated API calls have a new deprecation date of October 2011: FindItemsAdvanced, FindItems, GetSearchResults and GetCategoryListings.

We strongly encourage all developers to prioritize and expedite their efforts in upgrading to Finding API. The Finding API leverages eBay's next generation search technology and have been designed to provide greater flexibility, better performance and scalability. For more information on Finding APIs, please visit  http://developer.ebay.com/products/finding/. 

The following migration guides map input and output fields for GetSearchResults in the Trading API and FindItemsAdvanced in the Shopping API to the corresponding input and output fields in findItemsAdvanced in the Finding API:

§  Migration Guide for FindItemsAdvanced to findItemsAdvanced

§  Migration Guide for GetSearchResults to findItemsAdvanced

 

Please contact us for questions or more information on Finding API or migration.

Item Specifics Updates for Clothing, Shoes & Accessories

(Updated June 7, 2011 -- Note that support for ID-based attributes in these categories has been extended to July 20, 2011. Also, GetCategorySpecifics returns required custom item specifics for applicable categories as of early June 2011.)

From April through July 2011, eBay is making changes in fashion categories for fashion enthusiasts. Here’s what developers need to know to support these changes. (These changes will affect eBay US and international sites.)

Upload properly formatted payload files for Large Merchant Services (LMS) jobs

LMS jobs would hang or take too long if the uploaded payload file contained the requests on very few lines. Such jobs also negatively impacted the execution times of other jobs that were being processed.

In order to avoid this situation, the LMS team has implemented a feature to proactively detect and reject payload files that do not have line breaks (>20000 chars on a single line). This feature will be turned on in production during the week of 4th of April 2011.

Call for action: Please ensure that you incorporate line breaks between requests to avoid this situation. Also make sure that individual requests are properly formatted and are not on a single line.

Motors Parts & Accessories: Required Return Policy, Handling Time, Item Condition

Beginning May 9, 2011, AddItem, AddFixedPriceItem, RelistItem, and RelistFixedPriceItem must include ReturnPolicy, DispatchTimeMax (handling time), and ConditionID for all US eBay (site 100) Motors Parts & Accessories items that are newly listed or relisted.

We encourage you to also start adding this information to existing Good 'Til Cancelled (GTC) listings, which will require these changes in early 2012.

In GetCategoryFeatures, see ReturnPolicyEnabled, HandlingTimeEnabled, ConditionEnabled (and ConditionValues) to determine which categories require these fields. For a list of the handling time values allowed for each site, use DispatchTimeMaxDetails in GeteBayDetails.

For general information about these changes, see this 2011 Spring Seller Update:

Return policy, handling time and item condition required for all new listings and relistings
http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/news/motorspaupdate.html

Also, as previously announced in the Trading API release notes, Parts & Accessories categories on the US eBay Motors site support the ability to allow buyers to return Parts & Accessories items within 60 days, and the ability for the seller to choose whether the seller or buyer pays return shipping costs.

Return Policy Updates for Motors Parts & Accessories (API Release Notes)
http://developer.ebay.com/DevZone/XML/docs/WebHelp/ReleaseNotes.html#709RtrnPlcyMtrsPnA