eBay: how to set up product descriptions

About this article

This article describes how to up product information on eBay.

Table of contents

Introduction

Aspects

Description template

Introduction

There are multiple ways to add product content to the offers you create on eBay. These include designating aspects on your products - for short descriptions - and creating a description template (with HTML formatting) - for long descriptions.

Aspects 

One of the options is configuring custom fields to export to eBay. These custom fields are exported as aspects to eBay, among other key attributes that you map in Mappings. 

Attributes that you map in Mappings, Content mappings are sent to eBay as aspects. Only 25 aspects are allowed in your data export to eBay, so:

• The Required attributes are added first,
• and then the Optional attributes,
• and then the attributes from the setting Extra fields to export.

If no maximum length is set on a text attribute that gets exported as an aspect, ChannelEngine truncates comma-separated values to 50 characters. If the text contains commas, each value that is separated by commas is truncated to 50 characters. 

Ensure that your key product attributes are described in 50-character, comma-separated snippets.

For overall guidance on setting up short and long product descriptions, check out eBay: how to set up product descriptions.

Aspects are only meant for short characteristics of your product – and not for long summaries of all possible features, warranty procedures, etc. That kind of information is best described in the product description.

To configure custom fields to export to eBay, do the following:

1. On ChannelEngine, go to your eBay marketplace and click the Setup page.

2. Scroll down to the Extra fields to export dropdown menu and from the dropdown list, select (or deselect) the desired attributes you wish to include in your product offer on eBay. By default, the first 20 attributes are automatically selected – ignoring the IsPublic status on custom attributes, which is normally used to determine if an attribute is exported to a marketplace.
   

   There are important restrictions to be aware of:

   • You can include a maximum of 20 extra fields within this setting.
   • Some attributes are automatically included in the export, such as the Brand, the Condition, and K-type numbers (if applicable).
   • The maximum length of the title of an extra field is 40 characters.
   • The maximum length of the value of an extra field is 50 characters.
   • HTML is either not allowed or parsed in case of product aspects, so it is visible as plain text.

Description template

If you want to set up extensive descriptions for your product (aka the 'listing description' on eBay), you can use the Product description attribute:

1. Go to Mappings, Content mapping, All products.
2. Find the optional attribute Product description.
3. Map your product description template. HTML is supported. Note that the maximum number of characters allowed is 500,000.

Requirements and restrictions

The following guidance is based on eBay's Listing an item developer documentation article.

The listing description informs prospective buyers what the item is, and what makes it unique and appealing. The length of the listing description may vary depending on the item. The listing description should highlight/cover the most essential product aspects, but does not need to cover all aspects, since this detailed information can be seen in the Item specifics section of the View item page. E.g.: a listing description for a smartphone might touch on the model number, color, storage capacity, and network, but all other product aspects can be isolated and viewed in the Item specifics section.

Merchants can use HTML- or XML-reserved characters in listing descriptions, but cannot use active content such as animation or video via JavaScript, Flash, plugins, or form actions. All active content is blocked/removed from a listing. The HTML tags used in a listing description count toward the maximum allowed character limit, which is 500,000 for most sites.

Additionally, the following type of content is not supported:

• Elements that belong to the head section of an HTML page, such as title, meta, link, and script elements
• Scripts, including JavaScript
• Cookies
• iFrames
• Forms
• Links to external ZIP or EXE files (see the Allowed file linking section below)

HTML content dimensions

• All HTML content within listing descriptions should use relative widths and heights.
• Images and other fixed-size objects should not exceed 700 px in width.

Allowed file linking

The only external links (to sites outside of eBay) allowed in listings are:

• Links to externally-hosted images
• Links to product videos
• Links to freight shipping services (if freight shipping is offered for an item)
• Links to any legally-required information

Any external links must use the HTTPS protocol. If your external image server does not support HTTPS, it cannot be used. All external links should use the target="_blank" attribute.

For more information, see eBay's Links policy article.

Example template

Below is a basic example template for eBay that you can use and modify:

<table width="100%" align="center" style="font-family: sans-serif; background-color: #8cb8ff; border: 1px dotted black">
<tbody> 
	<tr> 
		<td style="text-align: center"><img src="https://www.channelengine.com/Themes/ChannelEngine/images/ChannelEngine.svg"></td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
		<td style="text-align: left">
		<br />
		<br />	
		<h3>Key product characteristics</h3><br />
		<ul>
			<li>Contemporary, vibrant, and chic &ndash; the SuperToaster&trade; ST4000 4-Slice Toaster captures the essence of capital cities.</li>
			<li>It'll look great on any kitchen countertop &ndash; and you can match it with other items in the Super Products range.</li>
			<li>With loads of functions available you can toast bread, bagels or a toasted sandwich, defrost any frozen slices and reheat anything you forgot to eat earlier.</li>
			<li>And if you're worried about a slice getting burnt &ndash; the mid-cycle cancel feature lets you save your breakfast.</li>
		</ul>
		</td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
		<td style="text-align: left">	
			<br />
			<br />	
			<h3>This product comes with ChannelEngine's satisfaction guarantee</h3>
			<p><em><strong>Refunds and Returns:
			 </strong>We work hard with all of our customers to ensure that they are getting an excellent shopping experience. Replace / refunds are available for returned items. <br />
			 <strong>If you do have a concern or want to return an item please contact us before opening a return case.</strong> <br />
			 Return cases negatively affect selling accounts and we will professionally handle your concerns/returns.</em>
			</p> 
			<p><em><strong>Feedback and Contact Info:
			 </strong>Communication is KEY to helping us give you the best experience. The best way to contact us is through platform messages. <br />
			 As an selling company feedback is our bread and butter. <br />
			 <strong>Please contact us with any concerns or problems that you encounter before leaving negative/neutral feedback!</strong> <br />
			 We will do our best to turn any less than satisfactory experience into a positive one. If you are happy with our transaction please leave us positive feedback.</em></p> 
		</td>
	</tr>
</table>

On eBay, the template looks like the following: