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Program news

We hope everyone is well. We want to take this time to share with you some eBay Developers Program updates from the recent quarter (April - June 2026).

New Notification Topics page

A new Notification Topics page has been added to the developer portal at the following location: https://developer.ebay.com/develop/api/sell/notification_events. This page covers the complete list of Notification topics available to subscribe to through the Notification API. The topics are grouped into logical order and all fields of the notification event payloads are documented.

Note that some Notification topics require special API scopes that may not be available to all users. See the Sell Communication Guide for details on integrating with the Notification API and subscribing to topics

New reference docs experience.

All modern API doc sets are now accessible from one page, organized into functional groupings and under Sell and Buy tabs. APIs that serve both sell and buy use cases will be under both the Sell and Buy tabs.

Easy and Free Returns live in UK

Easy and Free Returns for eligible Parts & Accessories listings rolled out to the eBay UK marketplace. With this policy, applicable Parts & Accessories listings must offer free returns to buyers with a return period of 30 or 60 days.

To help offset costs for buyer remorse returns, eBay will be offering sellers a 50% subsidy on return postage labels purchased on eBay. Please note that this subsidy on return postage labels do not apply to returns that fall outside of Easy and Free returns, such as Item not as described returns.

Currently, if non-compliant return policies are used with Add or Revise APIs, a warning is returned. For these listings, eBay will automatically update the listing to accept returns, offer a 30-day return period, and the seller pays return postage costs to bring the listing in line with the updated policy requirements. These warnings will be converted to blocking errors for Add or Revise APIs starting in August.

Please work with your UK sellers and update your API logic as applicable to make sure their Parts & Accessories listings and Return business policies are compliant with this policy. See the Support for easy returns in Parts and Accessories integration guide topic for specific information on creating compliant return policies through the Trading API or through the Fulfillment Policy object of the Account v1 API.

See the Free returns for parts and accessories page on Seller Centre for more information, the full list of criteria, and a full set of FAQs.

Free selling and Buyer Protection in Australia

In mid-May, eBay rolled out free selling to eligible sellers on the eBay Australia marketplace who have sold $25,000 AUD or less during the current rolling 12-month period and who do not have a Pro subscription. Free selling means no standard listing fees and no final value fees charged against sales transactions. Listing upgrade fees such as Subtitle or Reserve Price will still be charged to these sellers if used.

Australian sellers without a Pro subscription do not get access to some selling features like multiple quantity listings, multiple-variation listings, and scheduled payouts. These sellers are also required to use eBay shipping labels, and their buyers will be charged a Buyer Protection fee that the buyer will pay directly to eBay. Buyers will see an all-in price throughout the shopping journey, and this price includes item cost plus Buyer Protection fee. At checkout, the buyer will see the Buyer Protection fee as a separate line item in cost breakdown.

Australian sellers whose 12-month sales exceed AUD $25,000 and who do not already have an eBay store will be automatically moved to the new Pro Starter subscription, a store plan with no monthly subscription fee. Australian sellers who already have an eBay store will remain on their current subscription.

For orders subject to a Buyer Protection fee, the following changes were made to order-related APIs to show this new fee and the taxes charged against this fee:

For more information about free selling on the eBay Australia marketplace, see the Free Selling help page.

Condition grading mandated for collectible coins in US

Condition grading is now mandated and blocking errors will occur for Add/Revise API calls if condition descriptors are not used for the following coin categories and their descendant leaf categories:

  • Coins: US (ID 253)
  • Coins: World (ID 256)
  • Coins: Canada (ID 3377)
  • Coins: Ancient (ID 4733)
  • Coins: Medieval (ID 18466)

New condition descriptor metadata for coin categories are available through the getItemConditionPolicies method of the Metadata API. There will be new attributes and values for Graded and Raw (ungraded) coins returned under the conditionDescriptors array. For Graded coins, the four new attributes will be Grading company, numeric grade, letter grade, and Certification number. For Raw (ungraded) coins, a custom coin condition must be selected, such as Uncirculated, Extremely Fine to About Uncirculated, Fine to Very Fine, or Below Fine. All of these attributes and their values will have numeric IDs associated with them, and these numeric IDs will need to be passed into the ConditionDescriptors container in the Trading API or the conditionDescriptors array in the Inventory API to provide one or more applicable condition descriptor name-value pairs.

Existing listings in these coin categories that do not have condition grading attributes are subject to being hidden or removed.

For collectible coin categories, it is essential that coin condition is accurately and explicitly described. If collectible coins are not accurately described, this can directly impact buyer trust, pricing, conversion, and buyer confidence. For more information about Coins condition grading, see the eBay coin condition guidelines help page.

Fashion categories size standardization update

Historically, the Size item specific for Apparel and Footwear fashion categories have allowed custom, non-standard size values to be inputted during the listing flow, which can reduce search recall, recommendation eligibility, and overall buyer confidence. This results in buyers not being able to find sizes they are searching for (as the non-compliant values are not indexed by search), and also results in sellers' listings performing lower than they should (since buyers cannot find these listings reliably).

To help alleviate this problem, eBay is working towards discontinuing the support of custom, non-standard size values across all eBay marketplaces. Starting in July, when an Add or Revise API call is made with custom/non-standardized Size values in item specifics, eBay will either:

  • Automatically convert non-standard values to standard values. eBay must recognize and have a mapping for the custom value for this to happen, and a warning message will be triggered that indicates that eBay made this update on the created/revised listing. An example of this scenario would be if Small is provided as Size value, and eBay automatically converts the value to S. Look for the warning code 21920466.
  • Allow the creation/revision of a listing with a non-standard Size value, but if eBay does not recognize this value, a warning message will be triggered that indicates that the Size value is non-standard and must be modified to the standard value or be subject to being hidden from search or removed if not updated as soon as possible. Look for the warning code 21920467.

Starting in August, all Add and Revise calls that include non-standard/non-compliant or missing size values will not error out, but the new or revised listings will be put on hold until the issue is addressed. This means affected listings will not be visible or available for purchase on eBay until the seller resolves the issue. All existing listings are also subject to this same action. The warning code 21920467 will be returned for any non-standard Size values, regardless of whether eBay recognizes the value or not. eBay will stop automatically converting a non-standard Size value to a standard value.

To make sure standard size values are being used for Apparel and Footwear leaf categories, the getItemAspectsForCategory or fetchItemAspects (plus Taxonomy SDK) of the Taxonomy API should be part of your integration.

Common Charger Directive expanded to laptops

As part of EU's Common Charger Directive (CCD) that went into effect at the end of 2024, sellers in the EU and Northern Ireland listing certain rechargeable devices are expected to provide the following information through product aspects (aka item specifics):

  • Whether or not the item comes with a charger
  • The item's charging power range
  • Whether or not the item is USB-PD compatible

This directive applies to handheld mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, headphones, headsets, portable speakers, handheld videogame consoles, e-readers, earbuds, keyboards, mice, portable navigation systems, and as of April 28, this directive also applies to laptops.

See the Common Charger Directive integration guide topic for more information, including examples of how these aspect name-value pairs (aka item specifics) are passed in through the Inventory API and Trading API.

See the EU Common Charger Directive help page for more information on the directive and how it affects sellers.

New CPSC requirements for imports into US

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) eFiling requirements go into effect as of July 8, 2026.

Under these new rules, certain consumer products imported into the U.S. (including children's products, apparel, and other regulated goods) must have product safety documentation submitted electronically to U.S.Customs before entry. While sellers have been required to provide this documentation since 2008, the new requirement introduces mandatory pre-shipment electronic filing.

These documents include:

  • General Certificate of Conformity (GCC)
  • Children's Product Certificate (CPC)

The documents are attached to listings using eBay APIs in the following manner:

  1. Use the createDocument method and then the uploadDocument method of the Media API to upload a document to the seller's account. Alternatively, the createDocumentFromUrl, method can be used where a URL to the document is provided and eBay will download that document and then upload the document to the seller’s account. For both approaches, you will need to set the appropriate documentType value, which are either GENERAL_CERTIFICATE_OF_CONFORMITY or CHILDRENS_PRODUCT_CERTIFICATE.
  2. If using the Inventory API, use a documentId field in the documents array of a createOffer method to attach a document to a listing, or if using the Trading API, use the Document.DocumentID field of an Add or Revise call

For more detailed information on uploading documents and attaching them to listings, see the Managing documents topic in the Sell Integration Guide.

Key considerations

  • This requirement applies to certain products imported into the U.S., regardless of the eBay marketplace where the listing is created.
  • As of July 8, 2026, sellers may be required to submit safety information to their carrier before shipping. For listings using an eBay International Shipping program or Speedpak shipping service, compliance documents attached to listings will be transmitted to shipping partners.
  • Missing or incorrect compliance data may result in shipment delays, holds, or refusal at the U.S. border.

Below are direct links to the CPSC website that has a list of products that are subject to requiring GCC and CPC documentation:

Seller protections against INRs/late delivery

Starting in August, eBay is expanding seller protections for domestic orders on the US and UK marketplaces. Sellers will be protected when buyers file Item Not Received (INR) inquires if late shipment was caused by delays outside the seller's control, such as shipping carrier delays. Here is a summary of what is changing:

  • The seller's on-time shipping metric will be protected by eBay.
  • eBay will encourage buyers to give more time to the sellers after the estimated delivery date range, so that sellers have time to work with the shipping carrier to investigate the shipping delay.
  • During this waiting period, eBay will mark the INR inquiry on hold, and the seller isn't required to refund the buyer during this period.
  • If the buyer requests a refund during this period, eBay may issue one to the buyer depending on the circumstances.
  • If the item still isn't delivered after the waiting period is over, the seller must either issue a refund to the buyer or reimburse eBay if eBay issued the buyer a refund.
  • This applies to sellers in the US and UK who have eligible listings and ship domestic orders on time using eBay labels.

In time for the August rollout, changes will be made to the Post-Order API to support this initiative. These changes will be covered in the next two paragraphs.

INR Inquiry methods

If an order line item has an INR inquiry filed against it, the state field of the getInquiry method of the Post-Order API should be returned with a value of ON_HOLD, and this will indicate that the INR inquiry is in the waiting period where the seller will not be expected to issue a refund if one is requested by the buyer. Additionally, the following three new fields will be added:

  • resolutionEstimate.resolutionEstimateDate: this field will start being returned if/when the inquiry goes on hold due to eBay investigating the cause of late shipment, and the timestamp here will be the approximate date that eBay expects to resolve the issue. Based on the results of the investigation, sellers may be liable to issue the buyer a refund after this date/time (or reimburse eBay if eBay issued a refund to the buyer).
  • inquiryDetails.provisionalRefund.refundProvided: This new boolean field will indicate whether or not eBay has issued a provisional refund to the buyer while the item is still in transit to the buyer.
  • inquiryDetails.provisionalRefund.refundReversed: This new boolean field will indicate whether or not the provisional refund was later reversed after the item was delivered.

Return methods

If the order line item with the INR inquiry filed against it ultimately gets returned by the buyer, the getReturn method of the Post-Order API the following two new fields will be added in the case where eBay might issue a provisional refund during the waiting period:

  • detail.refundInfo.provisionalRefund.refundProvided: This new boolean field will indicate whether or not the buyer previously received a provisional refund before the return request was created by the buyer.
  • inquiryDetails.provisionalRefund.refundReversed: This new boolean field will indicate whether or not the provisional refund was later reversed after the item was delivered to the buyer.

API updates

The following updates have been made to our APIs this quarter.

Condition descriptors metadata for new categories

The getItemConditionPolicies method of the Metadata API has been updated to return condition descriptor name and value identifiers for US Coins categories and Certified Recyclable (salvage) auto parts.

For the following US Coins categories and their descendant leaf categories, using new condition descriptor name-value pairs are mandated:

  • Coins: US (ID 253)
  • Coins: World (ID 256)
  • Coins: Canada (ID 3377)
  • Coins: Ancient (ID 4733)
  • Coins: Medieval (ID 18466)

For Certified Recyclable auto parts, using condition descriptors are not mandated currently, but using them are highly recommended to help avoid Item Not as Described cases/returns.

For affected Coins and Parts & Accessories leaf categories, condition descriptor name and value identifiers are returned in the itemcondition.conditiondescriptors array. The values in the conditiondescriptorid fields will be used in listing APIs to set the condition descriptor name, and the values in the conditiondescriptorvalueid fields will be used in listing APIs to set the corresponding condition descriptor value for each condition descriptor name.

New document types added to Media API

New document types were added to the Media API to support Energy Efficiency Labels (EEK) and to satisfy a Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) mandate that started on July 8, 2026 that requires sellers shipping into the US to provide product certificates before shipping specific products. All four new document types are covered in more detail below:

  • EEK_ENERGY_LABEL: This document type is used to upload an Energy Efficiency Label (PDF or image) that is provided by the manufacturer or an authorized third party. The label displays the product's energy rating and consumption metrics as required by EU and UK regulations. In an eBay listing, this document type must always be paired up with an EEK_PRODUCT_INFORMATION_SHEET.
  • EEK_PRODUCT_INFORMATION_SHEET: This document type is used to upload a product information sheet or fiche (PDF or image) provided by the manufacturer or an authorized third party. The document includes technical specifications and energy performance details as required by EU and UK regulations. In an eBay listing, this document type must always be paired up with an EEK_ENERGY_LABEL.
  • GENERAL_CERTIFICATE_OF_CONFORMITY: This document type is used to upload a certificate required for general-use consumer products, certifying that the product complies with all applicable U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) safety rules based on manufacturer or importer testing. This document may be required when shipping certain products into the US. For a list of products that are affected, see the Products requiring GCC documentation page on the CPSC website.
  • CHILDRENS_PRODUCT_CERTIFICATE: This document type is used to upload a certificate required for products intended for children 12 years and under, certifying that the product complies with all applicable U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) safety rules based on third-party testing. This document may be required when shipping certain products intended for children 12 years and under into the US. For a list of products that are affected, see the Products requiring CPC documentation page on the CPSC website.

Promoted Listing updates in Sell Marketing API

The following updates were made to the Sell Marketing API concerning Promoted Listing campaigns:

eBay deprecation and decommission updates

This section is just a summary of the deprecation and decommission activity. Be sure to visit https://developer.ebay.com/develop/get-started/api-deprecation-status page for full details.

Decommissioned APIs/Operations/Fields

The following APIs/operations/fields were decommissioned in Q2:

API

Operation(s)/Field(s)

Replacement(s)

Trading API

GetCategories

Taxonomy API and Metadata API to retrieve category taxonomy and metadata information. See GetCategories Migration Guide for more information.

Trading API

GetCategoryFeatures

Metadata API. See GetCategoryFeatures Migration Guide for more information.

Scheduled for decommission in Q3 2026

The following table summarizes the operations that will be decommissioned in Q3:

API

Operation(s)/ Field(s)

Date

Replacement(s)

Product Metadata API

All methods

7/15

Methods under the compatibilities resource of the Metadata API.

Product API

All methods

8/15

Catalog API and getProductCompatibilities method of the Metadata API.

Trading API

UploadSiteHostedPictures

9/30

The createImageFromFile and createImageFromUrl methods of the Media API.

Deprecated API Fields

The following APIs were marked as deprecated in Q2:

We hope everyone had a great first half of 2026, and we are looking forward to working with the community the rest of the year!