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Posted by Laurel Kline in Product News
Monday, Nov.24.2008, 10:39 AM PT
Large Merchant Services (LMS) is a powerful new way to list and manage items in bulk. This saves developers processing power and bandwidth, and allows sellers to react quickly to marketplace dynamics.
Developer Benefits
- Reduce bandwidth by consolidating tens of thousands of calls into a single, compressed file
- Simplify integration by sending a simple file back and forth to eBay
- Off-load processing onto the eBay infrastructure, and save your own resources
- Simplify error management as LMS handles transport and general system errors, and retries appropriately
- Access Trading Platform features that may not be available via the Trading API
Seller Benefits
- Manage your items by SKU
- Bulk revise the price or quantity of active listings
- Bulk download orders for fulfillment
- Bulk upload tracking information
- Get eBay's list of your active items (to reconcile with your inventory management system)
LMS is still in beta, but you can try it right now. Check out the Large Merchant Services page for details. »
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Posted by Laurel Kline in Product News
Thursday, Nov.13.2008, 2:51 PM PT
Have you ever lost an auction for an item on eBay, and wanted to find something similar? Well we have a new API for you!
eBay has recently released a new call in the Merchandising API that will fetch items that are similar to the item you specify.
The getSimilarItems call finds replacement items for your favorite item. Use cases for the getSimilarItems operation include recommending items like the one a buyer lost in an auction, or like watched items that have ended. The returned items can be filtered using any of the supported filtering criteria.
More information can found at http://developer.ebay.com/products/merchandising/.
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Posted by Delyn Simons in Developer Community & Program Events
Tuesday, Nov.11.2008, 2:44 PM PT
 Join the eBay Developers Program at Adobe MAX 2008 on November 16-19 in San Francisco at Moscone Center West.
Don't miss our session by Rolf Skyberg and Dane Howard, More Than Plumbing: What a Good Platform Should Do For You, on Tuesday, 11/18 at 4:30pm.
We'll also be giving an initial look at eBay implementations of Flash, Flex and AIR, such as VUVOX Collage and eBay Desktop 2.0 preview (Desktop was the winner of 2 MAX Awards last year). If you miss the demos that Rolf and Dane's will be giving in their session, you can catch the demos at the main Adobe booth in the Community Pavillion on Wednesday, 11/19, between 12noon and 1:30pm. EffectiveUI will also be showing eBay Desktop 2.0 preview demo at their booth in the Adobe MAX Community Pavillion.
Both Collage (Flash & Flex) and eBay Desktop (AIR) are examples of rich media and RIA applications available as off-eBay experiences for developer monetization opportunities using the eBay Partner Network.
If you are going to Adobe MAX, I hope we'll see you there!
- Delyn
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Posted by Laurel Kline in Product News
Friday, Nov.07.2008, 9:27 AM PT
We are excited to announce that in Jan 2009, the JAXB-based SDK is coming out of Beta!
As announced in May 2008, the eBay Java SDK will be fully moving from the customized version of Axis 1.1 to JAXB data binding per the JAX-WS standard. To make this migration smoother for developers, we will release one more version of the Java SDK with Axis 1.1 support in Jan 2009. This will be the last Axis 1.1-based release.
From Feb 2009 on, the Axis 1.1-based SDK will no longer be updated or supported. The
JAXB-based SDK will be the only supported Java SDK.
We strongly recommend that you to update your Applications before Jan 2009 and start using the JAXB-based SDK.
For help with migrating from the Axis 1.1-based SDKto the JAXB-based SDK, see the Java SDK (JAXB) Migration Guide.
For technical questions about migrating from Axis 1.1 version to JAXB version, you can post questions in our Java SDK Forum. For more immediate or detailed help, you can file a Support Request using our premium technical support channel.
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Posted by Delyn Simons in Developer Community
Friday, Nov.07.2008, 10:38 AM PT
Hello Developers!
It's November 2008, and that means it is the eighth anniversary of the eBay Developers Program and the eBay API platform. ZDNet and ProgrammableWeb this week both made note of eBay as a pioneer amongst API platforms.
We're marking the occasion in a couple of ways. First, at Adobe MAX 2008 on November 16-19 in San Francisco, we'll be celebrating with developers and giving them an initial look at eBay technologies such as VUVOX Collage and eBay Desktop 2.0 preview (Desktop was the winner of 2 MAX Awards last year).
Both Collage and eBay Desktop are examples of rich media and RIA applications available as off-eBay experiences for developer monetization opportunities using the eBay Partner Network. Don't miss our session by Rolf Skyberg and Dane Howard, More Than Plumbing: What a Good Platform Should Do For You, on Tuesday, 11/18 at 4:30pm or our demos at the main Adobe booth on Wednesday, 11/19 at 12noon.
In addition, at the end of this month we'll be giving away Magic 8 balls to eight lucky developers who have signed up to learn more about the upcoming Project Echo beta -- our big platform initiative we've been working on this year for next year's launch.
And what exactly are we celebrating?
Since the start of the eBay API and the eBay Developers Program in November 2000 --
So sign yourself up to get more information about the Project Echo beta -- you'll learn what you need to do to prepare your application for the Echo opportunity and may walk away a winner of our 8th anniversary giveaway! Our Magic 8 ball says "Outlook good."
- Delyn
Photo attribution to StreetFly_JZ
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Posted by Laurel Kline in Partner News
Monday, Nov.10.2008, 9:59 AM PT
Update (10 Nov, 2008): The release of eBay coupon support has been slightly delayed. They hope to have it live tonight.
Also, here are two coupon codes you can use in the PayPal Sandbox. Note that they only apply to the PayPal Sandbox, and expire 31 Dec, 2009.
- CECTEST2008: 10% (Maximum discount $100) off Entire Transaction
- CECSINGLE2008: $10 off Single Item
For developers who provide Express Checkout to their customers, starting November 5 you can add support for eBay coupons to the Express Checkout flow. Here is an example of how this might look to your buyer:
At launch, this feature will also be available in the PayPal Sandbox. PayPal is looking at providing a list of coupon codes that you can use for testing coupon support in your application. Those codes would only be valid in the PayPal Sandbox.
Here is the relevant excerpt from the Express Checkout API User Guide. For more details, you can see the full guide.
Integrating eBay Incentives into the Express Checkout Flow
To integrate eBay incentives into the checkout flow:
- Pass the following parameters and settings in the call to SetExpressCheckout.
-
PAYMENTACTION must be Sale
CHANNELTYPE must be eBayItem
Note: For eBay auctions, you cannot set PAYMENTACTION to Authorization or
Order. You must set PAYMENTACTION to Sale.
- For each eBay line item, do one of the following (mutually exclusive choices):
- For each individual eBay entry, pass the values returned by eBay when setting up the
auction item descriptions in the parameters below:
L_EBAYITEMNUMBERn and L_EBAYITEMAUCTIONTXNIDn
- For multiple eBay items offered as a single order, pass the value returned by eBay when
setting up the auction order description in the parameter below:
L_EBAYITEMORDERIDn
- The value of useraction must be
commit so the Express Checkout flow displays a Pay
button and the merchant can bypass any order review page.
- It is recommended to pass the phrase "eBay item" in
L_DESCn and the eBay Item Number
in L_NUMBERn.
Note: eBay maintains detailed information about each item sold in eBay auctions. If you set
the value for SHIPPINGAMT in the call to SetExpressCheckout, for example, you
do not need to be concerned about the shipping cost for individual items. eBay
calculates incentives based on its database, not from the values you pass in the
SetExpressCheckout call.
The following example passes order details and eBay incentives for two eBay auction items:
Sample 1.3 Setting the Express Checkout Order Details Parameters
Request [requiredSecurityParameters]&METHOD=SetExpressCheckout
&RETURNURL=http://coffee2go.com&CANCELURL=http://cancel.com
&PAYMENTACTION=Sale&EMAIL=jsmith01@example.com
&NAME=J Smith&SHIPTOSTREET=1 Main St&SHIPTOCITY=San Jose
&SHIPTOSTATE=CA&SHIPTOCOUNTRYCODE=US&SHIPTOZIP=95131
&L_NAME0=Photo&L_NUMBER0=32768923&L_DESC0=Plastic Frame-An EBay item
&L_AMT0=25.00&L_QTY0=1&L_EBAYITEMNUMBER0=32768923&L_EBAYITEMAUCTIONTXNID0=0
&L_NAME1=Nokia ND&L_NUMBER1=32768924&L_DESC1=Nokia Mobile-an EBay item
&L_AMT1=25.00&L_QTY1=1&L_EBAYITEMNUMBER1=32768924
&L_EBAYITEMAUCTIONTXNID1=7225687004&CHANNELTYPE=eBayItem
&ITEMAMT=50.00&SHIPPINGAMT=3.00&HANDLINGAMT= 3.00
&AMT=56.00&CURRENCYCODE=USD&ALLOWNOTE=1
Response [successResponseFields]&TOKEN=EC-2HX34015EC629990M
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Posted by John Darrow in Documentation
Monday, Nov.03.2008, 5:33 PM PT
The 589 version of the
API documentation is now available. Please note that updates to applications using new schema versions should always be done in a test environment.
Release Highlights
New Features
- Preview of Calls Related to Selling Manager and Selling Manager Pro
- View the Sites on Which an Item Can Be Purchased
- US Listings: eBay Payflow Account To Be Required for Sellers Offering Credit Cards
Changed Functionality
- Recent Sales History Affects Search Placement
- Removal of Listing Enhancements Supported for GTC Fixed-price Listings
- ShippingPackageDetails: Default Deprecated
Documentation Changes and Errata
- Correction: Removal of PictureURL from GetSearchResults Output
Change Requests
eBay Trading API Documentation
Please refer to table at the top of the Release Notes for when each version of the API will be available.
Keep up to date with the latest API documentation at the
eBay Developer Documentation Center.
John Darrow
API Tech Docs and Tools
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Posted by John Darrow in Documentation
Monday, Nov.03.2008, 5:32 PM PT
The 589 version of the API documentation is now available. Please note that updates to applications using new schema versions should always be done in a test environment.
Release Highlights
New Features
- View the Sites on Which an Item Can Be Purchased
Change Requests
eBay Shopping API Documentation
Please refer to table at the top of the Release Notes for when each version of the API will be available.
Keep up to date with the latest API documentation at the eBay Developer Documentation Center.
John Darrow
API Tech Docs and Tools
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Posted by Laurel Kline in Business News
Monday, Oct.27.2008, 5:04 PM PT
As Subha Shetty announced here, listings that have more than 10 items for sale will display the value "more than 10 available" on the View Item page.
Developer Impact:
There is no change to the API for this feature. API calls like GetItem will continue to show the actual quantity of the listing.
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Posted by Laurel Kline in Developer Community
Friday, Oct.24.2008, 4:33 PM PT
Just a reminder that Daylight Savings Time will be ending on November 2. The API will continue to return eBay Official Time in GMT, so it will be unaffected by the change.
However, if your application calculates local time, for example, calculating the local ending time for a listing, you may need to update your logic to account for the Daylight Savings Time change. The duration of DST was extended for 2008, so code written for 2007 may not take into account the new duration.
For client apps, if your customers are using Microsoft Windows, they needed to apply a patch to ensure that their system time supported the new DST duration. If your app uses the computer's system time to display local time, unpatched machines will show the wrong value. Read about Microsoft DST issues.
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