Posting Templates How To

Overview

Posting templates are your marketplace sales strategies. Posting templates contain all the information required to post a listing to a specific marketplace. They contain information about pricing, payment methods, shipping, and marketplace features.

Posting templates use template tags much like ad templates. This allows you to use one posting template for many different items that may have differing starting, reserve, or buy it now prices.

There are 14 preloaded posting templates in your account. These represent the most commonly used selling strategies on eBay and Yahoo. Before using any of these templates, please take the time to review the template to be sure it meets your sales strategy.

This document describes how to create a posting template. Additionally, it discusses the type of posting template you should create for each type of listing. Specifically, this document explains how to create a posting template for the following types of listings:

1. Regular auction without "Buy It Now"
2. Regular auction with "Buy It Now"
3. Dutch auction
4. Multiple quantity fixed price listing
5. eBay Stores
6. eBay Motors

Create a Posting Template

The steps below describe how to create a posting template.

1. Go to the Posting Templates view (Inventory > Posting Templates)
2. Click
3. Give the template a meaningful name and choose the marketplace for the template.

Note: If you choose to “Assign Category for Posting Template,” you will probably have to specify Item Specifics. For more information about Item Specifics, please see the Item Specifics Guide.


4. Click
5. Define your pricing strategy for the template. Use template tags to implement a more advanced pricing strategy.

6. Set you “Selling Preferences.” Here you must specify what payment methods you accept, the shipping terms and methods, and the item location.
7. Select any “Additional Features” you would like to use for this posting template such as a gallery image, gift settings, a 2nd category, etc.
   
   Note: If you use any "Additional Features," you will incur additional marketplace fees.

8. Click

Regular Auction Without "Buy It Now"

This type of auction is a single quantity auction where you do not specify a Buy It Now price. To post a regular auction without Buy It Now, do the following:

1. Go to the Posting Templates view (Inventory > Posting Templates)
2. Click
3. Choose a marketplace that is not eBay Stores/Fixed Price or eBay Motors.
4. Click
5. Fill in the appropriate information for the posting template but make sure that you leave the Buy It Now field blank.

6. Click
7. Go to the All Items view (Inventory > All Items)
8. Select the SKUs you want to list and click
9. Choose the posting template you just created, an ad template, a marketplace category, and a schedule. In this case, the schedule you choose should specify a posting quantity of 1.
10. Click

Regular Auction With "Buy It Now"

This type of auction is a single quantity auction where you specify a Buy It Now price. To post a regular auction with Buy It Now, do the following:

1. Go to the Posting Templates view (Inventory > Posting Templates)
2. Click
3. Choose a marketplace that is not eBay Stores/Fixed Price or eBay Motors.
4. Click
5. Fill in the appropriate information for the posting template but make sure that you specify a Buy It Now price.

6. Click
7. Go to the All Items view (Inventory > All Items)
8. Select the SKUs you want to list and click
9. Choose the posting template you just created, an ad template, a marketplace category, and a schedule. In this case, the schedule you choose should specify a posting quantity of 1.
10. Click

Dutch Auction

Dutch auctions are by definition multiple quantity auctions in which the items do not have a Buy It Now price. There is no such thing as a Dutch or multiple quantity auction with a Buy It Now price. To post a Dutch auction, do the following:

1. Go to the Posting Templates view (Inventory > Posting Templates)
2. Click
3. Choose a marketplace that is not eBay Stores/Fixed Price or eBay Motors.
4. Click
5. Fill in the appropriate information for the posting template but make sure that you leave the Buy It Now field blank.

6. Click
7. Go to the All Items view (Inventory > All Items)
8. Select the SKUs you want to list and click
9. Choose the posting template you just created, an ad template, a marketplace category, and a schedule. In this case, the schedule you choose should specify a posting quantity greater than 1.

10. Click

Multiple Quantity Fixed Price Listing

Multiple quantity fixed price listings are ones in which you list multiple items at a fixed price. Buyers may only purchase these items at the fixed price and cannot bid. The primary difference between these listings and a store listing is that multiple quantity listings, like regular auctions, are open for a maximum of 10 days. To post a multiple quantity fixed price listing, do the following:

1. Go to the Posting Templates view (Inventory > Posting Templates)
2. Click
3. Choose eBay Stores/Fixed Price
4. Click
5. Choose Fixed Price Format and set a Sale Price. Buyers will be able to purchase the item at the Sale Price.

6. Click
7. Go to the All Items view (Inventory > All Items)
8. Select the SKUs you want to list and click
9. Choose the posting template you just created, an ad template, a marketplace category, and a schedule. In this case, the schedule you choose should specify a posting quantity greater than 1.

10. Click

eBay Stores

eBay Stores listings are items posted to your eBay store. Your store items are listed at a fixed price and are open for a maximum of 30 days. To post to your eBay store, do the following:

1. Go to the Posting Templates view (Inventory > Posting Templates)
2. Click
3. Choose eBay Stores/Fixed Price
4. Click
5. Choose Fixed Price Format and set a Sale Price. Buyers will be able to purchase the item at the Sale Price.

6. Click
7. Go to the All Items view (Inventory > All Items)
8. Select the SKUs you want to list and click
9. Choose the posting template you just created, an ad template, a marketplace category, and a schedule.
10. Click

eBay Motors

eBay Motors are regular auctions except that you must assign a category to the posting template. Because you must specify a category, you will have to fill in the appropriate item specific information in the posting template. For more information on using item specifics, read our Item Specifics Guide. To post an eBay Motors auction, do the following:

1. Go to the Posting Templates view (Inventory > Posting Templates)
2. Click
3. Choose eBay Motors and check the box to “Assign Category for Posting Template”

4. Click
5. Fill in the appropriate information for the posting template including item specifics.
6. Click
7. Go to the All Items view (Inventory > All Items)
8. Select the SKUs you want to list and click
9. Choose the posting template you just created, an ad template, a marketplace category, and a schedule.
10. Click