New Release: The Feedback API

Use the new Feedback API to develop DSR-based reports and tools that offer insight into how specific business practices contribute to a seller's DSR scores. DSR data can help sellers understand particular strengths and weaknesses in their business model as well as possible areas for improvement. For example, a particular shipping service may consistently deliver high DSRs, while a items listed in a particular category contribute to most of the lower ratings.

The eBay Feedback Service currently supports the following APIs:

Detailed Seller Ratings (DSRs)

The Feedback Service uses an asynchronous programming model. There are "create" calls for specifying the criteria for generating the reports and a single "get" call, getDSRSummary, to retrieve the generated reports. The response for the create calls contains a job ID, which is used as input for the get call to check completion status and/or to retrieve the DSR summary report. Reports typically take less than an hour to generate.

Note: Currently, APIs are provided for managing DSR data only. For other Feedback related operations, such as leaving and retrieving Feedback, please refer to the Trading API.

• createDSRSummaryByCategory: Creates a seller's DSR summary report for sold items based on the categories they were listed in and a date range.
• createDSRSummaryByPeriod: Creates a seller's DSR summary report for sold items based on a date range.
• createDSRSummaryByShippingDetail: Creates a seller's DSR summary report for sold items based on shipping details for the items and a date range.
• createDSRSummaryByTransaction: Creates a seller's DSR summary report for sold items specified with transaction information.
• getDSRSummary: Retrieves a DSR report which had previously been created for specific criteria, such as a list of transactions, period of time, listing category, or shipping details.

Access to eBay Feedback APIs is over HTTP protocol, and requires a User Token for user-level authentication. eBay Feedback API requests to create DSR summary reports are limited to 10 requests per user per day.

Amended API License Agreement for eBay Developers Program

eBay Developers Program Members:

eBay has made some important changes to the eBay API License Agreement—now called the eBay Developers Program & API License Agreement ("Amended Agreement"). In addition to reorganizing and simplifying the content of the agreement, we have clarified permitted uses and privacy requirements, and changed a number of terms.

To more efficiently manage the Developers Program worldwide, we've revised local terms to create a single global contract in U.S. English that will govern our relationship with developers in all countries.

Please make sure you read through and understand the Amended Agreement because it affects your rights and obligations. You can find the Amended Agreement here: Amended Agreement. You can find the current, unamended Agreement here: Current Agreement. In addition, we have also emailed all of our members about these important changes.

The Amended Agreement becomes effective thirty days from today on March 28, 2009. If any term in the Agreement is unacceptable to you, you must terminate this Agreement and your access to the developer program tools and the API by sending a termination notice to developer-relations@ebay.com before March 28, 2009.

For developers in France, Germany or the UK, please follow the termination directions provided in the email sent to you regarding your localized API agreements.

By using any of the developer program tools or the API after March 28, 2009, you are representing and warranting that you understand and agree to the Amended Agreement.

Thank you,

eBay Developer Relations

We heard your requests! Several API enhancements

ItemID mandatory restriction removed in the AddMemberMessageRTQ call

Previously, ItemID was a mandatory field for making the AddMemberMessageRTQ call. Due to this restriction, Sellers were not able to answer general questions from Buyers. Sellers often get ContacteBayMember messages from Buyers. Most of them had a transaction with the Seller, but the seller could reply since only MessageId and MessageType were available. These are legitimate messages from buyer to seller, but the seller could not respond via their 3rd party application because there was an API restriction on the ItemID field.

We have updated AddMemberMessageRTQ and removed the mandatory ItemID restriction in the AddMemeberMessageRTQ request. An already available field, RecipientID, in AddMemberMessageRTQ can now be used to reply. RecipientID field is now only Conditionally Mandatory if ItemID is not passed.

<AddMemberMessageRTQRequest xmlns="urn:ebay:apis:eBLBaseComponents">
  <ItemID> ItemIDType </ItemID> <--- No longer Mandatory
  <MemberMessage> MemberMessageType 
    <Body> string </Body>
    <DisplayToPublic> boolean </DisplayToPublic>
    <EmailCopyToSender> boolean </EmailCopyToSender>
    <HideSendersEmailAddress> boolean </HideSendersEmailAddress>
    <ParentMessageID> string </ParentMessageID>
    <RecipientID> string </RecipientID> <-- If this tag is present
  </MemberMessage>
</AddMemberMessageRTQRequest>

Improvements in GetFeedback:

You can now retrieve feedback that you received as a buyer, feedback you received as a seller, or feedback you left for others (as either a buyer or a seller). Specify FeedbackReceivedAsSeller, FeedbackReceivedAsBuyer, FeedbackLeft, or use the default option of FeedbackReceived, with the GetFeedback call to use these new options.

Applicable values:

1. FeedbackReceivedAsSeller
2. FeedbackReceivedAsBuyer
3. FeedbackReceived – All ((Irrespective of Buyer or seller) default Current Behavior
4. FeedbackLeft – Left for others(Irrespective of Buyer or seller)

Ability to Retrieve Checkout Messages from Buyers (New Feature)

Previously, the only way to retrieve comments left by buyers during checkout was via the UI or an email. This was often a tedious process that could cause shipping delays. Now the Transaction container in the responses for GetItemTransactions and GetSellerTransactions includes a BuyerCheckoutMessage field.

Use TransactionArray.Transaction.BuyerCheckoutMessage to enable it in GetItemTransactions and GetSellerTransactions calls.

For details about these changes, please see the Trading API Release Notes.

Reminder: Breaking Changes to Golf Club Item Specifics

As previously mentioned, we will be making some important changes to Golf Clubs Item Specifics. Two of the changes may break listings in the Golf Club category:

• Existing Model values will be deleted, and Model will become a free text field
• The Condition value "Vintage" is being deleted

These Item Specifics changes will start rolling late on March 2 and should complete the morning of March 3.

For more details, and for additional, non-breaking Item Specifics changes in Golf Clubs, see the previous post.