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there are certain items on ebay that have UPC in their description. for example CDs and other media have a field in the actual description of the item called UPC and books have ISBN right in the description. is it possible to programmatically capture this information? most preferably solution would be in .NET.

Cray
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baiapooped
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2 Answers2

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Those details should be available in the listing's attributes which is ItemType.AttributeArray

Mrchief
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Skarsnik
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well based on what it is stated on their API reference you probably could use http://developer.ebay.com/devzone/xml/docs/reference/ebay/GetProducts.html GetProducts call.

More particularly the Trading API in an area that refers to a conditional request with name: ProductSearch.ExternalProductID

"A query that only retrieves items that were listed with stock products that have ISBN or UPC values (such as books, DVDs, CDs, and video game products). Use this query to retrieve basic details about one catalog product (or a very limited number of products). The results can optionally include items, reviews, and/or buying guides that match that product. (Specifically, the items returned are items that sellers listed with the specified product's stock information.)"

for xml samples of this call refer to http://developer.ebay.com/DevZone/XML/docs/WebHelp/wwhelp/wwhimpl/js/html/wwhelp.htm?context=eBay_XML_API&topic=GetProductsSamples

regarding .net accelerator ebay offers one at http://developer.ebay.com/developercenter/windows/sdk/ download and test calls.

one more thing, I usually test xml calls using ALTOVA suite(xml). I suggest you to do the same. brgds.

s_h
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  • this is a really good answer thanks so much. can you please show me how i would use the externalproductID what woould the URL look lke? – Alex Gordon Jul 24 '11 at 18:37
  • the best way to create your api call to test is to register here : http://www.sandbox.ebay.com/ and follow steps. the API test tool will give you the chance to create an xml request receiving an response with the ack ok. – s_h Jul 24 '11 at 23:31
  • thank you i am able to test it but i do not understand how to build the url????????? – Alex Gordon Jul 25 '11 at 02:58
  • do you pass the XML to ebay and it gives you the result? – Alex Gordon Jul 25 '11 at 03:03
  • you can use different formats & protocols as stated on http://developer.ebay.com/products/shopping/ , Protocols: HTTP GET (REST) and POST . For a typical url request checkout this page: http://developer.ebay.com/DevZone/shopping/docs/Concepts/ShoppingAPI_FormatOverview.html – s_h Jul 25 '11 at 05:10
  • was wondering if you can help out wtih this question http://stackoverflow.com/questions/6929259/ebay-api-returning-auctions-ending-later-than-10-days – Alex Gordon Aug 03 '11 at 22:00
  • I dont know exactly about the 10 day limits but ebay managed historical listings through a parent company called dataunison.com . if you want to retrieve historical info, average prices and more you will need to get in contact with them. dataunison charges fees per api call. check developer.ebay.com -> programs -> market data. hope it helps – s_h Aug 04 '11 at 00:37
  • i appreeciate your response. it's not that i want historical listings i just want listings that end in 20 days or 21 days. so far i have not able to find anything that will allow me more than 10 days – Alex Gordon Aug 04 '11 at 21:48