How to bulk list on eBay and fix the rows that fail

Before you start

In shortCheck that this guide fits your business, then gather your item details, photo links and eBay policies.

Worked example: six rows, two uploads

In shortFour of six made-up rows go live at once, and only the two that failed go up again.

How to bulk list on eBay, step by step

1. Step 1 of 8: Choose the right bulk listing tool

   In shortUse Seller Hub Reports for new items in a sheet, and one listing for many units of one item.

   eBay has several free bulk tools. Each one fits a different job. Pick the one that fits what you have now.

   If you have	Use	Good to know
   Many units of one item	One listing with a quantity	Not a bulk job. Make one Buy It Now listing and enter the quantity.
   One item in several sizes or colors	One listing with variations	Most categories allow it. One listing holds up to 250 variations.
   New items in a spreadsheet	Seller Hub Reports	Upload an Excel or CSV template. This guide uses it.
   Listings already on eBay	Bulk Listing Tool	Edit, relist or sell similar items, up to 2,000 listings at a time.
   Photos, but no details yet	AI bulk listing tool	Makes draft listings from your photos. For US and UK sellers.
   Thousands of items from a feed	Merchant Integration Platform or eBay’s APIs	CSV or XML feeds, up to 25 MB per file. Needs more setup.
   More than 500 listings to edit often	Third-party tools on eBay’s partner list	They handle thousands of listings at a time. Some charge a fee.

   This guide uses Seller Hub Reports to list new items from a spreadsheet. Step 8 uses the Bulk Listing Tool to change listings later.

   For many units of one item, make one listing with a quantity. Sizes or colors of one item can share one listing with variations. Bulk listing is for many different items.

   Result: The tool you will use for this batch of items.

   Mark this step as doneNext: Download a listing template

2. Step 2 of 8: Download a listing template

   In shortGroup your items by category, then get a template from Seller Hub Reports for those categories.

   A template is a spreadsheet with the right columns for your category. You get it from Seller Hub.

   1. In Seller Hub, open the Reports tab. Select Upload on the left.
   2. Select Get template. For Source, choose Listings.
   3. For Type, choose Create new listings template.
   4. Pick a file type. Excel (.xlsx) is the default. CSV (.csv) works in most spreadsheet apps.
   5. Tick your categories. In an Excel file you can pick up to 10, and each gets its own tab. Then select Download.

   Group your items by category before you download. Each category has its own item specifics, so its columns change.

   No photo links yet? Choose Create drafts template instead. You can leave the photo column empty. You add the photos on eBay when you finish each draft.

   Result: A template for your categories, saved on your computer.

   Mark this step as doneNext: Fill in one row per item

3. Step 3 of 8: Fill in one row per item

   In shortWrite Add in each row, then fill in Format, photo links, policy names and the colored cells.

   Each row is one listing. Write Add in the Action column. Then fill in the row from left to right.

   Column	What to write
   Action	Add, for a new listing. Example: Add
   Category ID	The category’s number. The template lists them on its own tab.
   Title	Up to 80 characters, with the words buyers search for. Example: Soy candle 8 oz, lavender, amber jar
   Condition ID	A number for the condition. 1000 means New. Example: 1000
   P:UPC	The barcode number. eBay.com requires this column. No barcode, like a candle you made? Write Does not apply. Example: Does not apply
   Start price	The price, with no $ sign. Example: 18.00
   Quantity	How many you have to sell. Example: 12
   Format	FixedPrice for Buy It Now. Example: FixedPrice
   Duration	GTC (Good ’Til Cancelled) for Buy It Now. Example: GTC
   Item photo URL	A link to each photo, up to 12. Put a pipe ( | ) between links. Example: https://example.com/cdl-01-front.jpg|https://example.com/cdl-01-top.jpg
   Description	The text buyers read. Simple HTML like <p> works. Example: <p>Hand-poured soy candle in an amber jar.</p>
   Location	The city and state the item ships from. Example: Austin, TX
   Shipping, Return and Payment profile name	Your three policy names, exactly as eBay shows them. Example: Free Shipping

   Fill in Format on every row. For Buy It Now, write FixedPrice and set Duration to GTC. eBay’s guide lists Auction as the default format.

   The template colors the empty cells you still need. One color marks required fields. Other colors mark item specifics that are required soon or recommended. Buyers use item specifics to filter search results, so fill in all you can.

   Before you fill in many rows, get one listing right with the eBay listing checklist. Then copy its pattern into every row.

   Result: One complete row per item, with category, title, condition, price, photos and policies.

   Mark this step as doneNext: Check the sheet before you upload

4. Step 4 of 8: Check the sheet before you upload

   In shortCopy policy names from eBay, test a few photo links and keep each title within 80 characters.

   Check these six things before you upload.

   • Policy names match exactlyCopy each name from your Business policies page on eBay. Capital letters count.
   • Photo links workEach link starts with https:// and ends in .jpg or .png. Open a few to test them. Put %20 in place of any space.
   • Barcodes keep every digitExcel drops leading zeros and turns long numbers into a short form like 1.23E+15. So format the P:UPC column as Text before you paste the barcodes. Microsoft explains it on its leading zeros page.
   • Titles fitEach title has 80 characters or fewer.
   • Every row has its own SKUThe SKU, or Custom label, is your own code for the item. Buyers do not see it. It helps you find each row in eBay’s report later.
   • You have room to listYour monthly selling limit is on the Overview tab of Seller Hub. eBay may end listings that go over it.

   Copy policy names from eBay instead of typing them. One wrong capital letter can fail a row.

   Result: A sheet that passes all six checks.

   Mark this step as doneNext: Upload a test with a few rows

5. Step 5 of 8: Upload a test with a few rows

   In shortPut two or three rows in a file, upload it, then check each new listing as a buyer would.

   Start with a small test file. eBay suggests listing one product first if Reports is new to you. Copy two or three rows into a new file. Keep the template’s header rows.

   1. Go back to Reports and select Upload.
   2. Select Upload template.
   3. Choose the file type: .xlsx for Excel, otherwise .csv.
   4. Choose the template type you used. Then select Upload.

   Rows with Add become real listings as soon as eBay runs them. So the test file holds only a few rows.

   eBay usually finishes in less than 15 minutes. Then open each test listing as a buyer would. Check the photos, price, shipping and returns. If something looks wrong, fix the whole sheet before the big upload.

   Result: A few test listings that look right on eBay.

   Mark this step as doneNext: Upload the rest and read the report

6. Step 6 of 8: Upload the rest and read the report

   In shortWhen the upload ends, download eBay’s report and list each failed row with its reason.

   Now upload the full file the same way. When eBay is done, you see Your upload is complete. eBay also makes a report of every action it ran.

   eBay runs each row on its own. So the good rows go live, even when some rows fail.

   Download the report from Recent uploads on the Upload page. Open it in your spreadsheet app. List the rows that failed before you change anything. Note eBay’s reason next to each one.

   Result: A list of the failed rows, each with eBay’s reason.

   Mark this step as doneNext: Fix and upload only the failed rows

7. Step 7 of 8: Fix and upload only the failed rows

   In shortCopy only the failed rows into a new file, fix each by eBay’s reason, then upload that file.

   Keep the template’s header rows at the top of the new file.

   Upload only the rows that failed. The other rows are live already. If you upload them again with Add, eBay tries to list the same items twice. Its duplicate listings policy allows one Buy It Now listing of an identical item at a time.

   The common errors below show the usual fixes. Repeat until every row is live. If you drop a row, write down why. Then you will not try it again by mistake.

   Result: Every row live, or a short list of rows you chose to drop.

   Mark this step as doneNext: Bulk edit your eBay listings later

8. Step 8 of 8: Bulk edit your eBay listings later

   In shortSelect listings in Active listings, choose Edit and change prices or details for up to 2,000 at once.

   To bulk edit eBay listings, use the Bulk Listing Tool. It works with up to 2,000 listings at a time.

   1. In Seller Hub, open your Active listings.
   2. Tick the Edit box next to each listing you want. Or tick Select all.
   3. Choose Edit, then make your changes.

   You can raise or lower many prices at once, by a percentage or a dollar amount. You can also set start times for many listings. For price and quantity alone, a Reports template works too.

   Set a lowest price for each item before you cut prices in bulk. See eBay pricing strategy to work it out.

   Result: A way to change prices, quantities or details for many listings at once.

   Mark this step as doneNext: Common eBay bulk listing errors and how to fix them

Common eBay bulk listing errors and how to fix them

In shortFind your problem in the table, fix the row, then upload it with the other failed rows.

Common questions about eBay bulk listing

How Productivo helps with eBay bulk listing

In shortProductivo can do parts of steps 2 to 7 for many products at once, and you still check each result.

Everything above is eBay bulk listing with eBay’s own tools. This part is about Productivo, the app behind this guide.

Guide step	What Productivo does
Steps 2 and 3	Productivo has its own CSV template. It has columns for SKU, title, price, quantity, category and photo links. Condition and each item specific get a column too.
Step 4	A preview checks every row before Productivo saves anything. It checks titles, photo links, conditions and required item specifics. Rows that already exist or have an error show their reason, and Productivo leaves them out. One file takes up to 1,000 products.
Step 5	Imported products wait for your approval. Approve a few, list them and check them on eBay first.
Step 6	Select up to 1,000 approved products and list them together, each with your description template. Productivo also lists approved products by itself. It checks for ready ones every 15 minutes. If your monthly selling limit runs out, the rest wait until it renews or rises.
Step 7	When eBay refuses a product, the Activity page shows eBay’s reason. Productivo skips a product already on eBay under one of your stores, so the same item does not go up twice.

Product imports and bulk publishing come with every Productivo plan. Your plan sets how many products and listings you can have.

Every row checked before import

In Productivo, choose your CSV file. The preview shows each row as ready, already added or refused, with the reason.

Open the full desktop screenshot (new tab)

Productivo also has pages for wholesale stock, second-hand goods and handmade products.