Sellers offering items in certain Clothing, Shoes & Accessories categories will have to specify brand, style, size type and size in their listings beginning July 20.
Affected listings that don't include this information will be "blocked," says a reminder posted in eBay's General Announcements. According to eBay, buyers look for items using details like size and style, so requiring this information will help shoppers more easily find the items they want. eBay advises merchants to review their listings and make adjustments as soon as possible to prevent problems with their items.
Auctiva Senior Product Manager Tony Maxey says requiring the new information makes sense.
"It's really just stating the obvious that buyers want to search items in the Clothing, Shoes & Accessories categories with terms for brand, style, size, etc.," he says. "If I'm buying shoes, for example, the first question I always have is whether the style I'm interested in is available from that seller in my size."
Sellers can use eBay's bulk editing feature to make the needed changes to their listings. To access this feature, sellers need to log into their eBay accounts and select their active listings under "My eBay selling." They can then click the Edit button at the bottom of the page and click on individual or multiple listings on the ensuing page to make changes.
Maxey says policy changes like this one can be disruptive for sellers, but that Auctiva tries to buffer customers from the impact as much as it can.
"We encourage customers to persevere and work through this, as the resulting benefit, in terms of better buyer experience searching your listings, should pay off in more sales," he says.
Merchants can see exactly which categories will need to include the new item specifics by visiting eBay's look-up table.
Auctiva staff writers constantly monitor trends and best practices of those selling on eBay and elsewhere online. They attend relevant training seminars and trade shows and regularly discuss the market with PowerSellers and other market experts.
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