eBay Introduces Vehicle ePID For Enhanced Motors Parts & Accessories Fitment In Australia
eBay is rolling out new ways for sellers in Australia to provide more granular fitment data with Vehicle ePID (eBay Product ID).
It’s now easier than ever to update fitment information with our latest innovation, Vehicle ePID.
What is Vehicle ePID?
The eBay Product ID is an identification number found in the Master Vehicle List. It helps you to provide more detailed information about which vehicles a product will fit. By providing this level of detail, buyers will feel more confident about their purchase, which can help increase sales.
Benefits for Sellers:
Precision: Offer precise fitment details without the need for fitment notes.
Trust: Build buyer confidence in your listings.
Efficiency: Streamline your sales process without the fuss.
Granularity: Ability to add more specific details on your listings about which vehicles a product will fit than ever before.You have the opportunity to add fitment compatibility via both Ktype and Vehicle ePID to the remaining eligible listings that don't yet have this valuable buyer facing information.
eBay provided additional information and a full FAQ to explain this new "innovation" to Australian sellers.
What is Parts compatibility
Parts compatibility (also known as fitment), enables buyers to find the right part for their vehicle. Sellers achieve this by adding specific vehicle details such as the year(s), make(s), model(s), trim(s) and engines the part is compatible with.Why is it important?
Enhanced buyer experience: Accurate fitment data ensures that your buyers can easily locate your products when they are searching for the right parts for their vehicle. This is especially crucial for items with numerous possible combinations, which can range from 1,000 or 3,000, helping buyers quickly narrow down their choices.Universal fitment: Even for products not vehicle specific, like floor mats or sun shades, classifying them as ‘universal fitment’ instills confidence in buyers. It assures them that the product is designed to fit a wide range of vehicles, increasing their trust in making the purchase.
Industry standard: Fitment data is a standard practice in the Parts & Accessories industry. By accurately adding fitment details to your listings, you not only assist buyers in finding the right parts, but also boost your visibility. This increased visibility helps potential customers identify the specific parts you sell, leading to higher chances of making a purchase.
If that sounds familiar, it's because ePID is nothing new or particularly innovative - eBay has been using some form of ePID for many years, most notably back during ex-CEO Devin Wenig's failed attempts to create a comprehensive product catalog for the site, with often disastrous results for buyers and sellers.
Liz Morton
This new effort appears to be geared toward finally taking advantage of the benefits that were supposed to come with eBay's acquisition of MyFitment in August 2022.
Liz Morton
However, one problem with any of eBay's various fitment schemes has always been the amount of manual data entry required to properly display correct fitment information and this new announcement doesn't appear to do much to overcome that obstacle.
According to the instructions, sellers will need do go through a complicated 11 step process requiring templates and spreadsheet uploads - hardly an innovative design in today's modern ecommerce world.
How to add fitment to your listings with Vehicle ePID
Below is a how-to guide for sellers who use eBay selling tools to add compatibility data to their listings. For those sellers who use integration partners to support the application of compatibility data, please contact them for next steps and best practice as they will be able to assist.
Go to eBay.com.au
Ensure you are logged in to your eBay Parts & Accessories seller account.Access Seller Hub
Hover your mouse over the My eBay drop-down box.
Click on Selling/Sold.Download Master Vehicle List (MVL)
In Seller Hub, locate and download the MVL file. This file contains all vehicle data used for fitment.Find Your Vehicle’s ePID
Open the MVL file and use Excel’s column filter functionality.
Select each column from “Make” to “Type”.
Press Command + Shift + Down Arrow (Mac) or Control + Shift + Down Arrow (Windows) to select the entire range.
Filter columns based on your vehicle details to find the specific ePID.Understanding kType
A kType vehicle number includes item compatibility details for make, model, platform, type, engine, and production period. This identifier is licensed by eBay and owned by Tec Alliance.Apply Filters
In Excel, navigate to the Data Tab and select Filter.
Apply filters to each column, narrowing down the ePID for your vehicle.Using ePID in Seller Hub
Go back to your eBay site and access Seller Hub.
Hover over the Reports tab and click on Uploads.
You can now list items using a CSV or Excel file containing all listing attributes, including compatibility.
In the compatibility column of the template, add ePID as the identifier.Get Template
Hover over the Get Template tab.
Select the relevant categories for your listings (e.g., Vehicle Parts & Accessories, Car & Truck Parts & Accessories, Brake Pads).
The template file will be populated with relevant data for download.Populate the Template
Open the downloaded template file.
Fill out all the rows corresponding to your item list.Understanding Column F and G
Column F: Select Compatibility.
Column G: Select ePID (use the specific ePID found in the MVL).Consider Granular Compatibility
Understand that part compatibility may require granularity based on customer feedback. Vehicle compatibility by ePID offers greater flexibility to sellers in these cases.
For some background, CSV uploads like this were the standard tech in use when I started my ecommerce career way back in 2007, but most companies have moved on since then or at the very least wouldn't call this process "innovative", at least not with a straight face.
Are you a Motors Parts and Accessories seller on eBay? We'd love to hear what you think of Vehicle ePID and eBay's broader fitment initiatives in the comments below!
