Product identifiers
Product identifiers are essentially unique codes that can be used to identify a specific product. They work like barcodes and include: European Article Numbers (EANs), International Standard Book Numbers (ISBNs) and Manufacturer Part Number (MPN).
For many categories, an item identifier required. If one is not available for your product, you can select ‘Does not apply.’ Item identifiers are used for the following by eBay:
- Appearance in Google shopping. Google’s shopping search requires product identifiers to appear in their search results. A large proportion of eBay traffic comes from Google shopping
- Product reviews. eBay collect product reviews across multiple listings. It links these reviews to product across listings using product identifiers
- Customer search. Customer use barcodes to search for products on eBay
- Catalogue. eBay has a catalogue of product information which it assigns to product based on barcode.
By assigning product identifiers to product, you increase the exposure of your inventory.
Item Specifics
Item specifics are category-specific attributes added to products to help buyers find the products on eBay. The item specifics available for a product are based on the chosen category for that product.
Item specifics may include brand, size, type, colour, style or other relevant info about the item you are selling. Item specifics are required in several categories on eBay, including the Fashion, Home & Garden, Toys & Games, and Vehicle Parts & Accessories categories.
The above image shows the item specifics recommended for a product in the mobile phone category. Specifics are divided into required, required soon and recommended. It is a clever idea to complete all items specifics for a product as this will maximise its search visibility. Above each specific is the number of searches for which that specific is used.
