The ID for a category in which you list an item can change. eBay might split categories to help users distinguish between items more easily or combine multiple categories to make very similar items easier to find. (In some cases, eBay may allow a category that is rarely used to expire without being combined with other categories.)
The figure below shows an example of three leaf categories (i.e., Frames, Cannondale, and Specialized,) that were combined into a single leaf category (Complete Bikes & Frames).
Old categories combined into an active category
A common way to determine whether a category ID is current is to make sure your locally stored category metadata is current and then verify that the ID exists in the current metadata. Refer to Category Versioning for complete information.
To be valid in listing requests, the category ID also must be a leaf category. In certain cases, even a recently-created listing can have a deprecated category ID. Refer to Category Requirements for some typical examples.
If a seller wants to list an item that was defined with an old category ID, you can handle the situation in different ways:
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Allow eBay to attempt to update the category for you.
This approach may be more convenient for sellers who are listing hundreds of items at once. In some cases, invalid data may be dropped from the listing, but the listing will still be submitted successfully.
Refer to Automatic Remapping for additional information about this approach.
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Update the category information on the client side.
This approach may be more convenient for sellers who use listing features that are highly dependent on the category (e.g., reserve prices,) or who prefer not to allow eBay to drop invalid data.
Refer to Client-Side Mapping for additional information.
Mapping item specifics
If older categories have been combined into a more general category, the original differentiation that the old categories provided may be lost. For example, the difference between "Cannondale" and "Specialized" would no longer be evident from the new "Complete Bikes & Frames" category. eBay may offer Item Specifics that convey the same details as the original categories. In such cases, eBay may provide the ability to pre-fill these Item Specifics based on the old category.
The figure below illustrates an example of how eBay uses old leaf categories (e.g., Cannondale and Specialized,) to pre-fill corresponding Item Specifics (Brand=Cannondale and Brand=Specialized).
Figure: Item specifics pre-filled based on old categories
If a seller wants to include Item Specifics that correspond to old category IDs, the situation may be handled in different ways:
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Allow eBay to attempt to pre-fill the Item Specifics based on the category (or categories).
This approach may be more convenient for sellers who are listing hundreds of items at once.
Refer to Automatic Remapping for additional information about this approach.
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Update the Item Specifics information on the client side.
This approach may be more convenient for sellers who want more control over the Item Specifics that are selected.
Refer to Client-side Mapping for additional information.