eBay sellers beware – make sure your listings have valid product identifiers now!

September 12, 2017 Industry news

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From 14 September, eBay will not renew Good ‘Til Cancelled (GTC) listings if they have an invalid product identifier

If you’re an eBay seller and you haven’t reacted to eBay’s initial warnings that listings with invalid product identifiers won’t be renewed – then take notice, you need to get them into shape now.

If your GTC listing doesn’t renew after 14 September due to an issue with your product identifiers here’s a quick list of probable causes and solutions.

Invalid GTIN (Global Trade Item Number)

Have you got the right number of digits? UPC codes or GTIN-12s should have 12 digits, and EAN numbers or GTIN-13s should have 13 digits – GS1 UK members will usually be using 13-digit GTINs
Have you added any letters or other characters? GTINs only use numbers
Have you entered the number in the right order? The last digit of a GTIN is a check digit – it ensures you’ve entered the rest of the digits in the right order
Each variation of your product requires its own GTIN – so if your product comes in a range of sizes or colours, each colour will require a GTIN in every size. Check out our quick-fire guide for more information
Have you used an incorrect GTIN? Most major brands will create GTINs for their products – this number is their ‘product passport’ to the world. If you want to sell any of the following brands’ products you’ll need to make sure you’re using the original GTIN they’ve assigned to their product
- Acer, Adidas, Apple, Asics, ASUS, Audio-Technica, Beats, Belkin Components, Bose, Brooks, Brother, Calvin Klein, Canon, Columbia, Converse, Crocs, Disney, Epson, Fossil, Garmin, HP, JBL, Kate Spade, Lenovo, Levi's, LG, Merrell, Michael Kors, Microsoft, Motorola, Netgear, New Balance, Nike, Nikon, Nintendo, Oakley, Patagonia, Polo Ralph Lauren, Ralph Lauren, RCA, Rubie's, Samsung, Skechers, Sony, Sperry Top Sider, The North Face, Toshiba, Under Armour, Western Digital.

Invalid brand

Have you used the brand name customers are most familiar with?
Have you added yourself as the brand owner? Only the manufacturer or the brand owner can be advertised as the brand
Is your item unbranded? Then use the term “unbranded”
Does the brand name match the model? If you're listing an iPhone 5C, the brand name should be Apple

Invalid MPN

Have you added any special characters (not numbers or letters)? Your Manufacturer Part Number (MPN) should be alphanumeric
Have you used the most specific MPN available? Different variations of a product should have different MPNs
Have you added your MPN to the correct field on the listing form?
Have you added any additional words to your MPN? A valid MPN doesn't contain words such as “for”, “compatible”, “see description” and so on

Invalid item specific

Have you added a value that matches the same as the name of the field? The item specific value and the name of the field shouldn’t match. For example, the value for "Brand" shouldn't be "Brand"

If you have any more questions, please email us at support@gs1uk.org.