How to set up an eBay Motors channel (beta)

eBay Motors is a specialized section of the eBay marketplace that specializes in buying and selling vehicles, parts, and accessories through auctions and fixed-price listings.

In this article, you'll learn how to set up an eBay Motors channel to create, update and manage your eBay motor listings within Channable.

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Important: This feature is currently in beta. We recommend starting with a small selection of products (1–5) instead of your full catalog*.

As part of the program, our product team will reach out to gather your feedback on your experience. Any issues you encounter will be handled directly with them and our development team.

*If you’re not sure how to only upload parts of your catalog, or would like to learn more about the beta program, please contact our Support team.

Before you start

You’ll need

• An eBay account

• An eBay motor subscription (if selling vehicles)

Good to know

• eBay Motors only supports fixed-price listings. We currently do not support auction-type listings.

• This channel is currently only available in the United States

• eBay charges a fee per product added. Removing and re-adding products with rules, or having significant feed fluctuations, will create new listings and may result in unexpected costs.

  Note: Some eBay subscriptions allow you to list a set number of products for a monthly fee.

• We don't clear eBay APIs because this requires listing costs to be paid again.

• If you want to keep your reviews and history for existing eBay listings, we can help. Contact our Support team for more information.

Step 1: Create your eBay motors channel

1. In Channable, go to Channels.

2. Search for and select eBay motors.

3. Set up your channel settings:

   1. For Name, give your channel a descriptive name.

   2. For Unique ID per item, select the field containing your product IDs. (This is often ‘id’).

   3. For eBay country, this is automatically set for the United States.

   4. For eBay status, select the publication level you want:

      • Verify only: Use this to test for errors without publishing your listings on eBay.

      • Publish: Use this once you’re ready to publish your listings on eBay.

   5. For Use master rule group (optional), add a master rule group or leave this empty.

4. Click Save.

Step 2: Set up your product listings

Categorize your products

Use Manual categorization to assign categories to your vehicles/products. It’s crucial to assign the correct category as some categories charge more for Cost-Per-Click (CPC).

Example: If you’re selling car parts, make sure you assign them the Parts & Accessories category instead of the Car category, as it charges a higher CPC.

Create rules

Use rules to optimize your product data. This can include filtering, modifying, or enhancing data fields to meet eBay’s requirements.

Tip: Check out our Rule templates - these include commonly used rules you can adjust for your use case.

Step 3: Map shared attributes

1. Go to the Build step in [your eBay motors channel].

2. Go through the sections and map required and relevant attributes.

Information about Parent & child (product-listing variant) setups

To set up listings with variations (e.g., for size or color):

1. In the Items section, for Item Group ID, select the field containing your parent IDs.

2. Click on the Attributes-per-category tab and scroll to the Attribute variation level section.

3. Set the variant level(s) you’re using to true (e.g. if variants are color based, set Use “Color” on variant level to true.)

eBay will use the variant levels you selected to create different variants for parent products.

Note: If you don't want certain items to be grouped, make sure their unique ID is the same as the parent ID.

Mandatory and optional fields:

• Mandatory fields : Required to list your products on this marketplace

• Recommended : Recommended to avoid errors

• Optional : Not required to list, but can improve your listing performance

Tip: Click Auto-map fields to automatically fill these attributes based on AI. You can review the changes before you accept them.Item section

• Item Group ID: Select the field containing your variant groups.

• ID type: Select the identification type for your products (e.g. UPC).

• Condition: Click the dropdown, select Static values > [your product condition]. If your condition differs per product, map dynamic fields containing your condition information.

• Title: Select the field containing your product/vehicle titles.

• Description: Select the field containing your product/vehicle descriptions.

  Tip: You can add a graphic template to a listing by adding it to the Description field. You can use a combine rule to add your HTML and CSS template to your product description.

• Stock: Select the field containing your stock information.

• Category: If you have a multitude of products in different categories. You must use the right condition for that specific category. If your condition field does not contain the right value according to eBay, you can create a rule where you fill a field with the right value.

Price & Shipping section

• Currency: Click the dropdown, select Static values > USD.

• Price: Select the field containing your product prices.

• Location: Select the place your product is located.

• Shipping from: Select the country you’re shipping the product from.

• Dispatch time: Select the dropdown > Static values > [the number of days it will take you to ship the product after receiving the order].

Images section

• Click + Add. In the dropdown, select the field containing images (this is typically image_link). Click + Add again to add additional image fields

Important: Check and map any remaining fields that are relevant for your business.

1. When you’re ready, click Save.

Step 4: Map category-specific attributes

Category-specific attributes fields that specifically apply to the category for your products.

They include important attributes like VIN, Listing duration, and Seller provided title. Make sure to map these fields if they are relevant to your products.

Tip: Click Auto-map fields to automatically fill these attributes based on AI. You can review the changes before you accept them.

Step 5: Connect to eBay

1. Return to the Settings step.

2. At Linked seller account, click Select seller account.

3. Select an existing seller account, or click + Add new connection to add a new seller account:

   1. If adding a new seller account:

      • For Label: Name your connection

      • Click Connect with eBay.

We'll redirect you to eBay to log in with your credentials and accept permissions. After you log in, you’ll automatically be directed back to your eBay Motors channel.

Step 6: Activate your channel

1. Select the Settings step in [your eBay motors channel] and click Activate API.

2. Click Save.

3. Click Run now to send your product listings to eBay.

Step 7: Review and fix listing errors

Go to the Result step and click on the Errors tab. This page displays all possible processing errors your product data has at a given moment.

Resolving errors:

1. In Description, click on the error name. This takes you to an overview of the products with that error.

2. In ID, click the ID number and scroll. You should see a red highlighted callout in the section where the error occurred. You can hover over the callout for more information.

   1. If the error is a mapping error, click View in build to be directed to the attribute you need to map/re-map. The offending attribute is highlighted in blue. For more information about the attribute and its accepted values, hover over the ? icon.

3. Resolve the error.