Custom Item Specifics not showing

Having the same problem

Hi onnets & treasure-hearts,

Thanks for alerting us to this problem. We have confirmed that the Custom Item Specifics link is no longer showing up for at least some eBay AU categories and our technical team is currently working to resolve the problem as soon as possible, although I am uncertain when we will be able to get a solution in place at the moment.

I will keep you posted through this thread as any additional information on this topic becomes available. We apologize for the inconvenience this issue is causing.

-Mike

I just wanted to add that the problem is not just Australia. I do not have the item specific pull-downs either. It shows what is in the box but there is no slider to the right to show the rest of the item specifics. Problem was both yesterday and today. I am in WA.

Hi Bandman,

I have reviewed the behavior that you reported and was unable to find any current technical problems with the slider that can be used to scroll through the eBay recommended values for the default attributes that appear in the Custom Item Specifics section, so I am uncertain exactly what you are seeing that seems indicative of a problem.

For example, when I select category # 306 on our lister page for eBay.com (US) and click the Custom Item Specifics link, I do *not* see a slider next to the options that appear when I click within the boxes next to Speed, Record Size, or Duration. However, that is normal behavior because there are only 4-5 recommended values for each and no scrolling is required to see them all.

On the other hand, when I click within the fields next to other attributes in the Custom Item Specifics section such as Genre or Special Attributes that offer more recommended values, I am able to see the slider that allows me to scroll through all the options.

If you are not seeing this tool for the attributes such as Genre or Special Attributes, there is most likely something unusual on your side of things that is causing it not to show up for you. In that case, the first thing I recommend trying that may resolve the problem is to clear your browser cache and then close and reopen your browser.

If you continue to encounter difficulties with this interface after trying that measure, please contact our customer support team by mousing over the “Help” tab and selecting the “File Support Case” option and we will be happy to continue working with you on this.

-Mike

Hi Community,

We have just released a site update to resolve the issue that was causing the Custom Item Specifics like not to show up on the Auctiva lister page for some eBay AU categories, so you should now be able to utilize this section once again when creating listings in the categories that were impacted.

If you notice any remaining problems of this nature moving forward, please contact our customer support team by mousing over the "Help" tab on our site and selecting the "File Support Case" option.

-Mike

working for me now. Thanks

and gone again..

I am in the US and though the Custom Item Specifics is working, it erases all the information I had previously entered each time I go in to use the auction again.

I have to re-type all the information again from my save listings!

Please fix this. It is very time consuming
Thank You

Hi treasure-hearts,

Thanks for letting us know that you are still encountering this problem. We have since discovered that that our system is still not showing the Custom Item Specifics link for some eBay AU categories which should reflect that option and our technical team has resumed looking into what changes need to be made to ensure this link shows in all the applicable categories once again.

I will update you through this thread when the issue has been resolved or any other important information becomes available. We apologize for the continued difficulties.

Stormasis,

I am not aware of any technical problems that would cause you to have to re-enter your Custom Item Specifics information when creating a new listings from an existing saved listings in the same category that already have the Custom Item Specifics section filled out, so I am uncertain why you may be encountering this behavior.

However, the Custom Item Specifics section loads separately for each category so, if you change the eBay category you are listing to during this process, it is expected that the Custom Item Specifics fields would be blank and you would have to fill them in again.

If you need further assistance with this, please contact our customer support team by mousing over the “Help” tab within your account and selecting the “File Support Case” option and we will be happy to continue working with you.

-Mike

Also suffering from the disappearing item specifics listing on eBay AU

Also, when will Auctiva be updating eBay AU listing categories in line with the changes yesterday. Particularly interested in the media (dvds) category.

Hi Community,

We have just made another update to our site which we expect to make the Custom Item Specifics link to show up for all the eBay AU categories that it was previously missing from. The same issue was also causing the "Accept Offers from Buyers" option not to show up on our eBay AU lister page any longer, so that should no longer be a problem at this point either.

If you notice any remaining problems of this nature, please contact our customer support team to let us know by mousing over the "Help" tab within your account and selecting the "File Support Case" option.

-Mike

Hi popsshop,

Thanks for helping to bring this additional issue to our attention. I have confirmed that our eBay AU lister page is no longer showing the same category path and number for the DVD (Movies) category as the Sell your Item form directly on the eBay AU site. I will have to look into when we may be able to update that further and will let you know through this thread when I can find out more.

However, I did some testing using this category and it appears that eBay's system is already set up to redirect listings that are posted to the outdated DVD (Movies) that is available on our site to the new category they have set up for such movies, so this discrepancy should not keep you from posting.

For example, when I posted a listing to category # 2288 (Movies > Movies, TV Shows > DVDs) through my Auctiva account, the listing actually ended up in category # 617 (Movies > DVDs & Blu-ray Discs) once it reached eBay.

I hope this helps for the time being.

-Mike

In the US I list in the MUSIC > CDS category..it used to be #307 but has changed to 176984

how can I bulk change the 1000's of listings I have to 176984? all my listings show 307

I cant do them manually....I already had to manually change everything over to custom item specifics cause you didnt have a way to do manually

Hi Scottg,

We do not currently offer any functionality that would allow you to change the eBay listing category in your existing Saved Listings in bulk so I'm afraid what you have asked about will not be possible. Provided that eBay stops accepting listings that are posted to category # 307, you would need to update the category number in each of your saved listings as you reuse them.

However, similar to the category change I commented on in my previous post to this thread, it does not appear to be necessary that you change the category numbers in your listings at the moment because eBay is currently transferring listings posted to category # 307 to category # 176985 automatically.

We do not have any current plans to develop a feature that would allow the eBay category numbers specified in existing saved listings in bulk, but I have made note of your comments in this regard and they will be considered as we plan future site updates.

-Mike

Thanks Mike D

As of today, eBay AU are morphing all old dvd categories into the new 617 on listing, which is fine for now.

However, the Custom Item Specifics are still faulty for this category.

When you click on Custom Item Specifics, the old item specifics comes up, offering only the generic Detail Name and Value fields, instead of the category (DVD) specific options, ie: region, language, genre etc etc.

Can this be fixed please.

I am having the same issues. They are due to category number changes that ebay has announced a couple weeks ago. Most of them took place in the last 24-48 hours and my custom item specifics is not coming up for the almost only category I list in (music>records). The records category changed from #306 to #176985. I have filed a support case and made Auctiva aware of the issue. They gave me the standard "we will notify tech." response. It has now been almost a full day of this issue occouring and I have not received a response, a resolution or any ETA of the resloution. I even went so far as to tell them of the category number changes and give them a link to the ebay page. Nothing. No fixes, no response. I am a high volume seller and with a warehoues, employees and inventory. I am currently unable to do anyting with. I am "dead". This is costing me hundreds of dollars per hour in lost business.

Please Auctiva everyday something comes up that having the Closed Folder be functional would benefit folks. How about a price increase and add a few carrots for us

Hi Community,

As some of you have pointed out, eBay has recently made changes to certain parts of their category structures for several of the sites we support including eBay UK, UK, and AU and, as a result, we have to update our eBay category data for all of those sites to pick up the latest changes.

Our technical team is currently working to complete these necessary category updates as soon as possible and, while I am unable to provide a specific estimate of when they will be complete at the moment, I will keep you all posted through this thread as additional information becomes available.

If you have filed a support case on this subject, you should be kept up to date on the situation through your open support case as well. We apologize for the inconvenience the current category discrepancies are causing.

-Mike

Hi Community,

We have just finished updating our eBay category data to pick up the latest category changes that were made on the eBay US, UK, and AU sites so you should now be able to choose the new eBay categories that are available in the sections which were changed when listing your items through Auctiva.

If you notice any new eBay categories that cannot be selected through our site, please contact us to let us know by mousing over the “Help” tab and selecting the “File Support Case” option.

-Mike

Hi popsshop,

Although we have finished updating our category data for eBay AU and category # 617 (Movies > DVDs & Blu-ray Discs) can now be selected through our eBay AU lister page, I am still seeing a discrepancy between the default attributes that are being displayed in the Custom Item Specifics section on our site and those provided for the category when listing through eBay AU directly.

When I select eBay AU category # 617 when listing through Auctiva, the details that show up in the Custom Item Specifics window by default are “DVD Region” and “Genre” whereas no default details are displayed when I select that category when listing directly through eBay AU.

The details that show up in the Custom Item Specifics window are actually pulled directly from eBay through their API so it appears that eBay is currently reporting different default Item Specifics details through their API for this category than they are displaying on their site.

I have made our technical team aware of this, but I am not sure what the outcome will be. Given that eBay's system is reporting different values through their API than they are displaying on their site, I cannot even be certain which set of details is correct.

Regardless, if you would like to add attributes to the Item Specifics section of your listing that differ from the default details, you can always add the desired details using the “Detail Name” and “Value” fields that are displayed along the top of the Custom Item Specifics window.

For example, if you want to specify that a movie is in the English language in the Item Specifics section, you would just enter “Language” in the “Detail Name” field, enter “English” in the “Value” field and then click the “Submit” button.

-Mike

Ebay made category changes. they announced they were going to a couple weeks ago. Auctiva is now "chasing their tails" apparently preparedness is not their strong suite. Everytime ebay does an update that affects the category I list in Auctiva is un-prepared. This same thing happened about a year ago when changes were made. We are going on 2 days where we now have been unable to use Auctiva.

Hello

Below is the support case I filed: and their initial response.

Whta follows that is the email I sent to AuctionBytes

If anyone is unsure on some of my terms please ask. I am doing this stream of consciousness and the Auctiva Tech Folks should know what I am saying.

I had not realized Jewelry & Watches was affected as all the other times it had not been, or if it was it was handled a lot better then today's mess.

If Auctiva thinks that completely removing existing Item Specifics from listings in the Saved and Closed Folders is acceptable they are sadly mistaken. I typically use all 15 item descriptors if I have to go into all 750 plus listings (both saved and closed files)
and to:
re-add 15 item descriptions for each listing - that means cross referencing with the eBay listing before they disappear)
find a description to use
ReList
that will take (because of my slow internet connection (please note: not Auctiva's fault this time I have to go 10 miles to a wireless tower) about 10 minutes per listing
so:
let's assume 750 listings
that's 15,000 minutes
or 250 hours
when I work I bill at $70/hour plus expenses (for 5 years this century I have had no assignments)
so that's a lot of money tied up in redoing things needlessly
if it is going to cost me that much in time and money I might as well find a place that imports eBay listings complete with Item Specifications. I know it will cost me more that's why I have tried to "suggest" they raise their prices and raise their service. As I have also said I hate change but if this turns out to be as it appears I will make like a tree and leave. I hope the others join
that is not a threat it is a promise
the reason I am so strident is because I know :
how easy it would have been to convert the existing category numbers to the new ones.
even if, as it appears, there is no one for one conversion of categories possible, one could be defaulted to. For example Fashion Jewelry>Necklaces and Pendants>Choker has gone away. In addition so have all the sub categories under Necklace and Pendants, except Body Jewelry. Auctiva could/should have converted all the existing Fashion>Necklaces and Pendant's sub categories to the new Fashion Jewelry > Necklaces and Pendants category.
or Auctiva could have at least coded a work around so when we picked the new Necklace category our existing Item Specifications would not disappear
I sincerely hope I am incorrect and Auctiva has a way to automate this for all its customers.

I for one am willing to pay $75.00 towards what it will cost to allow me to stay where it is comfortable

I sincerely hope I am incorrect and Auctiva has a way to automate this for all its customers.

I for one am willing to pay $75.00 towards what it will cost

ed


________________________________support ticket_____________________
edaneff@mfx.net
Customer
Posted Wednesday, 9/12/2012 3:04 PM
since the Category Fix went in Custom Specifications are missing says it all

Operating System: Windows XP
Browser: FireFox 9.x
edaneff@mfx.net
Customer
Posted Wednesday, 9/12/2012 3:06 PM
sorry should have added
1.. deleted cookies
2.. deleted cache
3.. started and re-started FireFox
Brandon B.
Support
Posted Wednesday, 9/12/2012 3:14 PM
Hello,

Thank you for contacting Auctiva support. EBay just made a number of category changes that included changing the numbers on the categories. So it may be that the category you are using has changed. Please be sure that you are using the "browse" option to select the category on the lister page. As that will select the correct new category and should show the item specifics. If that is how you are selecting the category, then let me know what category you are trying to select so I can try it from my end.

Thank you,
Auctiva Support

________________________________ end ___________________________________________________________________

Hi

I hope the below turns out to be much ado about nothing built if it does not this decision will rival "New Coke"

Sadly I just got off the phone with eBay and the very nice customer rep checked and said from everything he could see this was done on purpose.

I am sure someone in the "cloud" thinks this will give them more money. perhaps it will but I'd like to know how. They took a system that worked and gutted it. I don't even want to think about the silly Best Match.

What recent MBA grad thought taking 30 or more sub categories and combining them into one was a good idea. This has to be a major redesign of all their systems to accomplish this "feet" (because if it wasn't it would have been easier (i.e. cheaper) to leave the existing category structure and just ignore the parts they didn't want to use any more) and we all know how well major redesigns go., really in most companies.

This is based on Jewelry and Watches Main category, primarily Fashion and Ethnic Sub categories

What I have seen today (I list on Auctiva)
it appears that most of the Jewelry and Watches sub categories have been gutted expect Fine Jewelry.
For Example: Fashion Jewelry>Necklaces and Pendants>Choker has gone away (as have all the other sub categories under Necklaces and Pendants).

I won't rail long on eBay except to say that it is the stupidest decision I have ever heard of in any company. If one wants items to sell. Why would you make it impossible to sell an item.
In the past they had an excellent set of categories (sure some others would have been nice but none the less it was a good set of categories)
Now all the sub categories of Fashion Jewelry & Watches have no sub categories (e.g.. necklaces and pendants; Earrings: Rings; etc.)
EXCEPT get ready
Body Jewelry > breaks down into 4 categories
Body Piercing has a break down of 11 categories
Naval Rings has a breakdown of 7 categories
and none of those have a further breakdown
SO let me see all the popular categories have 0 sub categories and Body Piercing has 22 sub categories.

I am speechless and hope Bonanza gets bigger faster because eBay wants Jewelry folks to disappear as well

nothing more to say except all we have is you folks in the press. I have no idea if they did the same thing with other Major categories or not.

ed

P.S. I meant to add that Fine Jewelry and Bridal seems intact or at least they actually have sub categories of sub categories
_

below is the response I got to asking what Auctiva can do for us. That was after I said I would gladly pay $75 towards the conversion effort. I bet others would as well. Changing to a new vendor is not something I look forward to I want to stay here but this, if it can't be rectified, will cause me to leave as I don't have an extra 25 hours to" fix" things knowing that the next time it will be even more time o "fix" things

we need an answer that they will or won't assist us in this massive conversion. the answer of "I'll let the developers know" is nothing more then an attempt at pacifying us. There has to be many other Auctiva users in my same predicament

If what I suggest doesn't seem to be feasible (I doubt that very much) Then how about allowing the Item Specifics, that are currently on a listings, to be displayed no matter if the category changes or if it is invalid as it is in this case. I would go into each Closed and Saved listing and pick the new category I just don't have the time to at the same time research and add 15 item specifications for the item.

so I will gladly pay $75 for this last solution and I will pay $125 if they can also change the category number as well.

Please do not ignore me again just give me an honest answer

The way Auctiva works is that if you open the Item Specifications first you can then change the category and your item speciation will remain what was on the listing originally. So the logic exists please use it


___response_____________________________________
Hello,

The item specifics are pulled directly from eBay based on the category that is selected. So when eBay changes a category number like they did this week, the prior category number goes invalid and those item specifics that come with the category are lost. I will forward your suggestions about how to handle these eBay changes to our developers for consideration.

Thank you,
Auctiva Support

edaneff@mfx.net
Customer
Posted Thursday, 9/13/2012 8:27 AM
excuse me that is not accurate

If I go look at eBay all my Item Specifics are still there.

All that has changed is the category.
In fact right now all I do is ReList from the Closed folder and all the item specifics I had are still there because eBay still has them.

If eBay can do that why can't Auctiva?

Please forward this to Mike

All Auctiva needs to do is change the category number that is currently in the Saved and Closed listings to the new category number. Once that is done I bet the item specifics, that are currently saved in Auctiva, will display like magic again.

FOR EXAMPLE
There must exist a list that shows all the old categories that were under Necklaces & Pendants
A query of categories with those numbers would identify all the items in the folders that needed to have the new Necklaces & Pendants category number. Next replace the old category number with the new one and like magic the Item Specifics in Auctiva will appear

Below is the final answer I got on if Auctiva can be of assistance with folks in my predicament

As I mention below the $125 I am serious about paying should come close to paying someone to do the task and once done it can be replicated for others very easily

If an Auctiva person wants to debate that with me let's do it on the next Webinar.

When store owners have this type of problem Auctiva actually writes the CSS/HTML code for them. When we have a serious problem we get ... well we get what we get.

I'm tired of the mushroom treatment


Brandon B.
Support
Posted Thursday, 9/13/2012 10:03 AM
Hello,

There is not going to be changes right now, as the updates have already been done to match eBay. Unfortunately this means you would have to reselect the category and re-enter the item specifics on the items. Mike is not going to be able to change that or offer a different solution.

Thank you,
Auctiva Support
edaneff@mfx.net
Customer
Posted Thursday, 9/13/2012 12:26 PM
good bye
edaneff@mfx.net


Customer
Posted Thursday, 9/13/2012 12:29 PM
if a store owner had this problem you'd bend over backwards to help them. why are we so different? heck I offered to pay to have it done. I can't believe that $125 wouldn't come darn close to paying for it to be done even with internal hourly rates

In thinking about the last response I received I wanted to add

I NEVER asked for anything that was done to be changed. All I asked for was HELP with a situation that I am not alone in. Someone, in a little time, could have run an Update Query/Stored procedure that would update the categories in the old listings to current ones. I offered $125 and am serious so I understand your work needs to be paid for. I am not asking for something for nothing. You already run queries now for other things. Heck I would bet a developer has the exact code needed, as when they tested they may have done something similar. Once you did it for me it could be used for anyone else in Jewelry and if other categories got neutered the way Jewelry has you would also have the basis for those as well. Heck after my $125 it should almost be paid for so charge others $10 they'll flock to you

Again I throw down the gauntlet and ask to debate anyone in Auctiva on the next Webinar as to why what I am requesting is not difficult. Sorry I know it's not rocket science and as such could be done. Heck things like this have been done for Individual Store owners. Raise your prices and give us the service we deserve

I can't enter item specifics at all. that means i can't list. this is horrible.

Did listing last night and specifically remember putting in specifics and condition... and I check every item in preview.

Today went back to add listing...could not get condition drop down at all. Then found that specifics were gone, totally gone. I re-did specifics, but still could not get condition to show drop down. Well, added photos, got side tracked and hit send...it actually went through with the condition on listing...which was NOT there before just minutes before when I opened it.

Strange things are happening...

Ed, we went through this over year ago when ebay changed clothing from Misses to Regular...all of our specifics, poof gone.

We had to go through all listings, and look at ebay and then reenter all specifics.

Now during this time, we were raising the roof, as ebay had a VERY VERY easy way to fix. But it still did not resolve problem within auctiva. Our choices were basically fix in ebay and keep as Good Till Cancelled...or hand fix each listing.

HUGE TIME CONSUMER!! So I know exactly what you mean!!!

we are now able to input custom item specifics. hope it lasts.

as I said above - I detail why Auctiva could do something easily, at least in this case.

if we continue to take it they will continue to dish it out

I challenged them to debate me on the next Webinar.

By the way
question are others receiving Forums updates the daily or immediately

since the Forum outage I have received none