Required field, UPC, is missing. Please add UPC to the listing and retry the operation.

[maximus7001]

What to do about this: "Required field, UPC, is missing. Please add UPC to the listing and retry the operation." ?

We sell cassette tapes and sometimes they are are of a vintage that predates upc codes.

[maximus7001]

So now it is doing something different and claiming that the entered upc is not valid for some items?

Two examples of this from a music cd and a cassette. One is an asian upc and the other one is from 1987. They are entered correctly with no mistakes.

9606110130000 is an invalid value for UPC. Please input a valid value for UPC and retry the operation.

0612134999804 is an invalid value for UPC. Please input a valid value for UPC and retry the operation.

[momcqueen]

I don't doubt they're valid but UPC are 12 digits and yours are 13. I'm thinking EAN? (Plus or minus a zero.) One is Asian so the other might be....? Are all the numbers given equal weight or is one in a corner?

[jt-libra]

What mj said.  Sometmes the last digit is printed higher than the rest.  That is the one I would exclude.

[rose-dee]

---

@maximus7001 wrote:

What to do about this: "Required field, UPC, is missing. Please add UPC to the listing and retry the operation." ?

We sell cassette tapes and sometimes they are are of a vintage that predates upc codes.

---

A majority of the important items I sell have no UPC.  What concerns me is whether those items will necessarily get lower exposure because the UPC is absent?  This of course begs the question as to whether there will be much of a future for vintage, non-industrial or non-commercial items on eBay.  

Another question I intend to ask the eBay staffers next Wednesday...

[momcqueen]

---

@rose-dee wrote:

---

@maximus7001 wrote:

What to do about this: "Required field, UPC, is missing. Please add UPC to the listing and retry the operation." ?

We sell cassette tapes and sometimes they are are of a vintage that predates upc codes.

---

A majority of the important items I sell have no UPC.  What concerns me is whether those items will necessarily get lower exposure because the UPC is absent?  This of course begs the question as to whether there will be much of a future for vintage, non-industrial or non-commercial items on eBay.  

Another question I intend to ask the eBay staffers next Wednesday...

---

When I read between the lines of the advice given to sellers on the ebay.com boards about this topic, they are strongly encouraging the sellers of unique items like yours to BUY UPCs. So.... I think you have your answer there. I have no earthy idea where one does that. 

[rose-dee]

---

@mjwl2006 wrote:

When I read between the lines of the advice given to sellers on the ebay.com boards about this topic, they are strongly encouraging the sellers of unique items like yours to BUY UPCs. So.... I think you have your answer there. I have no earthy idea where one does that. 

---

Well, I intend to pose that question directly next Wednesday, along with the issue of non-UPC item placement (i.e. vintage, antique, OOAK, etc.).  

I'd say that if it's true that UPCs have to be purchased in order to have any hope of competing in placement, that pretty much puts the kibosh on vintage/antique items.  Who is going to pay for hundreds of unique UPCs, even if they're cheap, just to have those codes expire when the individual items are sold?  Or are there such things are generic UPCs?  Whatever -- if it comes to that on eBay, I might just as well fold up my tent and go somewhere more favourable.

[rose-dee]

Actually, it just occurred to me that perhaps (I'm always grasping at straws where eBay is concerned) the absence of UPC codes on my items may account for the fact that I've had the worst 1-month sales results in all the years I've been selling on eBay -- the single worst by a very long margin.  I've barely covered my fees in June.  

Could it be possible that the introduction of mandatory UPC codes has made my items -- most of which are vintage and/or OOAK) suddenly "invisible"?  If that's the case, I'm done for.  

[jt-libra]

mjwl2006 wrote:

When I read between the lines of the advice given to sellers on the ebay.com boards about this topic, they are strongly encouraging the sellers of unique items like yours to BUY UPCs. So.... I think you have your answer there. I have no earthy idea where one does that. 

_________________________________________________________

I can't even begin to wrap my head around that notion.  If people are searching for vintage, unique, one-of-a-kind items or, say, music or countless other items that pre-date UPC coding, then all sellers of these items would begin on a level playing field where search is concerned.  Other factors such as their use of item specifics, their account history, etc., will determine their placement in search.

I did a quick search of UPC purchase prices and they range from 65 cents for 250 codes to a few dollars each.  It is beyond comprehension why sellers would be encouraged to outlay what would amount to an enormous sum with no benefit other than to satisfy eBay's decision that all items must have a UPC or equivalent.  The addition of UPC's for many items does not present a problem because they are readily available or can be obtained with minimum research.  But to require them in a category where no seller has them is beyond absurd. 

[pierrelebel]

"eBay's decision that all items must have a UPC or equivalent. "

Let's take a minute and think about that!

"all items" ?????

Where does eBay actually state that?

[jt-libra]

---

@pierrelebel wrote:

"eBay's decision that all items must have a UPC or equivalent. "

Let's take a minute and think about that!

"all items" ?????

Where does eBay actually state that?

---

Can't let one go by, eh Pierre?

I should have said .... most categories.  Posters have stated that they are being prompted for UPC codes in categories that are included in the policy but which pre-date UPC's.   If sellers of older CD's, for example, are required to purchase codes (and some sellers have hundreds, if not, thousands of listings), how is this even feasible.  I can't imagine eBay introducing that requirement since, as I said earlier, all sellers of these items are on a level playing field.

[momcqueen]

The FAQ offered on this says, specifically, and I quote: "I sell used/collectible/vintage/one-of-a-kind items—do I have to add product identifiers to my listing? They are not required for listings of used, collectible, vintage, unbranded, or one-of-a-kind items.  This is where you would use "Does not apply" in the requried fields.  (Some sellers actually purchase their own UPCs for the custom items they sell.  In those instances, enter the purchased UPC code in the required fields.)"

http://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/New-requirement-for-product-identifiers-starts-June-29/m-p/2412...

As to the benefits or merits of buying a UPC for a custom item? I don't know. There's probably some merit, someplace for someone.

My personal bone to pick with all of this is that I was led to believe this new requirement was coming into affect on June 29. As in, once the clock struck midnight. I did not allot time to drop everything for the final two weeks of June to address Product Identifiers. The UPCs I had already added to my listings in May and early June as custom Item Speciscs (as I was told to do by ebay) did not roll over. And the bulk tool failed me twice. I know I am a broken record but my irritation over this knows no bounds. I am forced to address this by hand for 800+ listings twice now. 

[jt-libra]

---

@mjwl2006 wrote:

My personal bone to pick with all of this is that I was led to believe this new requirement was coming into affect on June 29. As in, once the clock struck midnight. I did not allot time to drop everything for the final two weeks of June to address Product Identifiers. The UPCs I had already added to my listings in May and early June as custom Item Speciscs (as I was told to do by ebay) did not roll over. And the bulk tool failed me twice. I know I am a broken record but my irritation over this knows no bounds. I am forced to address this by hand for 800+ listings twice now.  

---

I'm going through this now as well.  All the UPC's I entered earlier this month have to be re-entered manually when re-listing.  It takes so much time compared to a simple bulk re-list and I don't have nearly as many listings as you (the total on my two sites are about half of yours).  If all the other item specifics can be carried over, I don't understand why the UPC can't.

[jt-libra]

---

@mjwl2006 wrote:

The FAQ offered on this says, specifically, and I quote: "I sell used/collectible/vintage/one-of-a-kind items—do I have to add product identifiers to my listing? They are not required for listings of used, collectible, vintage, unbranded, or one-of-a-kind items.  This is where you would use "Does not apply" in the requried fields.  (Some sellers actually purchase their own UPCs for the custom items they sell.  In those instances, enter the purchased UPC code in the required fields.)" 

---

I'm aware of the excluded categories.  But within categories that are not excluded, sellers are going to run into problems.  For instance, shoes are the only item in the Clothing, Shoes & Accessories category that require a UPC.  A while back, I came across a clearance of designer shoes.  They were obviously new, with price tags affixed, but with no boxes which would have included the UPC codes.  And because they were discontinued, if I was selling them now, I would have a heck of a time finding the UPC online.

But, like with every other policy that eBay introduces, we'll find some way to adapt.  We may not like the changes but we have no choice if we want to keep selling on this site.

[pjcdn2005]

When I read between the lines of the advice given to sellers on the ebay.com boards about this topic, they are strongly encouraging the sellers of unique items like yours to BUY UPCs. So.... I think you have your answer there. I have no earthy idea where one does that.

I'm pretty sure that would be pointless and ebay reps on the .com boards have told sellers that they should not buy upc codes.

[pjcdn2005]

---

@rose-dee wrote:

---

@maximus7001 wrote:

What to do about this: "Required field, UPC, is missing. Please add UPC to the listing and retry the operation." ?

We sell cassette tapes and sometimes they are are of a vintage that predates upc codes.

---

A majority of the important items I sell have no UPC.  What concerns me is whether those items will necessarily get lower exposure because the UPC is absent?  This of course begs the question as to whether there will be much of a future for vintage, non-industrial or non-commercial items on eBay.  

Another question I intend to ask the eBay staffers next Wednesday...

---

Unless I'm missing something none of your categories require upc codes so why would you worry about it?

[momcqueen]

---

@pjcdn2005 wrote:

When I read between the lines of the advice given to sellers on the ebay.com boards about this topic, they are strongly encouraging the sellers of unique items like yours to BUY UPCs. So.... I think you have your answer there. I have no earthy idea where one does that.

I'm pretty sure that would be pointless and ebay reps on the .com boards have told sellers that they should not buy upc codes.

---

I must have missed that part; I only saw the section where ebay.com staffers said UPCs could be bought for this application. 

[pjcdn2005]

Hmm...I don't remember seeing anything like that from ebay.  But then they do often give conflicting replies so anything is possible.

[momcqueen]

And now for something completely different. I posted my findings almost verbatim in another thread but... 

I have just discovered the hard way that a 'sell similar' wipes out the existing data in a listing's UPC field. At least tonight it has; I can't speak for previously and cannot predict the future but I can tell you that I manually revised 43 listings this evening to include the UPC as required and then tried to 'sell similar' from those listings at which point the UPC field was wiped as clean as a newborn baby's bum. Tried it both in the Bulk tool and as individual listings. Nothing, zip, zilch, nada left in the UPC field as a 'sell similar' listing.

So if you, like me, have just spent every waking moment for days adding UPC data to your listings (some for the second time) you won't want to do it a third. Write them down before you attempt it. Or create a dummy Item Specific category with the UPC data and call it Product Identifier or something so that you can copy and paste it manually. Or it will be gone if and when you attempt to utilize that listing to 'sell similar' from it to take advantage of the promotions.

I am sick to my back teeth of UPCs at this point. Maybe it's old news but it was bad news to me.

[pjcdn2005]

On the U.S. sellers board one of the reps did say that some sellers buy upc codes for their own custom items but they didn't say that should or shouldn't be done.

Here is eBay's explanation for requiring upc's:

Why is eBay now requiring product identifiers on some items?

Search engines, including external sites like Bing and Google and best match on eBay.com, use thousands of algorithms to help identify and display relevant product matches during online search sessions. Product identifiers help those search engines capture eBay sellers’ merchandise and display it within relevant searches.  Product Identifiers also help grow the eBay catalog — which will ultimately facilitate faster, better buyer/item matching on eBay.com.  Over time, as more sellers use product identifiers in their listings, the eBay catalog grows — connecting more shoppers to your listings.

But if someone buys a upc for their custom item I can't see it helping a search engine identify their product since it is unlikely to be in any catalog to help with search. But, that's just my opinion. The UPC's aren't required in my categories yet but I'm sure they will be and it will be a problem for me as well as many items that I buy online do not come with a price tag on it so there is no upc with the product.

[momcqueen]

---

@pjcdn2005 wrote:

....But if someone buys a upc for their custom item I can't see it helping a search engine identify their product since it is unlikely to be in any catalog to help with search. But, that's just my opinion......

---

When I think about this, I am of two minds. On the one hand, if Product Identifiers are not required in a category, they are not simply required; it should be straightforward where all sellers of similar items are on a level playing field within that UPC-exempt category. My deepest and darkest suspicions, however, are that if there are some sellers who make enough of a custom item, for example, to warrant purchasing a UPC for that item then, against others that are similar to but not exactly like that item, the listing with a UPC will gradually rank higher than one without. It will slant the playing field in favour of the one listing that ebay will presume is the more appropriate match within the search because it has an associated UPC.

But it is a suspicion only. I don't think for a minute that buyers are going to search for the UPCs but I do think that the search results will learn which items are gaining more clicks and views because of the associated UPCs contained within and favour those in results both on ebay and outside of ebay. 

Also, one must consider that all UPCs are not created equal. Again, within my category, I can tell you that American versions and Canadian versions of the exact same item have different UPCs in many cases. Furthermore, the Canadian UPC might cover 250 variations of an item where the American UPC will be used for one very specific version of it. What's to stop a seller of custom and vintage items from buying three UPC and then applying one to everything Custom, another to everything Vintage, and a third to everything that's truly One of a Kind? Google search results would be irrelevant, probably, but would it help within ebay's internal Best Match to have a UPC associated with a listing than not to have one? 

As I have stressed on other topics, Product Identifiers are very desperately required for my category because a google search calls up 19 results from amazon before even one from ebay. My assumptions are that this is due to Product Identifiers, not some sneaky, slippery backroom handshake between Amazon and Google. A seller can't get past step one on Amazon without a UPC in hand, as I understand. So. There's my two cents. I never doubted the valid need for Product Identifers within these categories where they are now required. My complaint is with how the requirement has been implemented.

And now I must go. I still have 343 listings that do not comply.