How To Bulk List Items on EBay

There has to be a way to bulk list items on eBay. It’s a thought that has crossed my mind many times since eBay discontinued its Turbo Lister application. So, how can you bulk list items on eBay, and make more money selling baseball cards?

eBay File Exchange is the follow up to Turbo Lister. It’s not as simple as the old Turbo Lister tool, but if you can figure it out and acquaint yourself with using it, it will save you a lot of time and fill your eBay store in no time.

This article outlines the basic use of EBay File Exchange. I use file exchange to bulk list baseball cards, and you can learn more about making money selling 99 cent baseball cards here.

In the past year I have attempted to use eBay file exchange a couple times. Both attempts were a miserable failure. As I sat on the couch and listed card after card I continued to think there just has to be a much simpler way. There is and it’s eBay file exchange.

This time around I put more effort into the process and did my due diligence reading the file exchange guide. This helped tremendously, but I was still receiving many errors when attempting to upload my test listings.

How Do I Bulk List Items on eBay?

Thanks to social media, I made a call out asking for help on Twitter. Kris (@GM3AMP88) came to the rescue via direct message and we talked through it. He sent me his template and I gave it a spin. Success!

Before I passed the knowledge to you I wanted to make sure I uploaded multiple times and expedited the process. The first couple tries were pretty clunky and slow especially when it came to uploading photos. Now, I have a good process in place and will pass along the knowledge so you can bulk list items on eBay. This is not perfect nor the quickest, but should help you immensely in listing items in bulk at a much faster pace.

Before we start, you will need to sign up for file exchange. It is a very simple process, and to do this click on the “Help” tab on the eBay home page. This can also be done in the eBay app by going to “Help” and searching “file exchange.”

To get the most insight on how eBay file exchange works, read through the eBay File Exchange instruction guide. There are also numerical guides for categories that will be needed (more on that in a bit).

Use This Template to Bulk List Items on eBay

There are a few different templates that you can use within the eBay File Exchange page. To simplify things, I have included the template I use to bulk list items on eBay.

Once you have the template, let’s take a look at the fields. My template has a few rows of items to show you which fields are necessary to successfully upload to eBay. For this exercise we will just be adding items to list on eBay. Column A should read, “ADD,” to add your listing. Column C is the next necessary field. This will vary depending on the item you list and it is numerical, so you will need to cross check the eBay numerical category guide. You can download that category guide below.

My template is filled out with “213,” which is the sports trading card – baseball cards category. The next required field is title, which is self explanatory. Column I is Condition ID, which is also numerical. I default most of my trading card conditions to “very good.” Condition ID “4000” is very good. You can find the numerical values in the guide below.

Columns J and K are also simple, just listing out the quantity and price. Manufacturer is the next column, so Topps, Panini, Leaf, Upper Deck, etc. Column O is “single,” for single card. Column P is for professionally graded if that is the case. If your card is raw, you can use “Not Professionally Grade.” Column Q is simply the sport. Since I am listing raw cards, Column S is “ungraded.” Column T is simply original or reprint. Column U is the year of the card.

Uploading Pictures Using Image Shack

Column V is league, and for this example I am listing baseball cards so it will be MLB. Images are always tricky when it comes to listings. Column AM is important as this is how you will upload the image for your listing. You will need an online photo host, and not all hosting sites will work with eBay. I use Image Shack, and you can play around with it on a free trial basis. If you get comfortable with eBay File Exchange and see that it is worth a subscription, an Image Shack annual subscription is only $18 per year. Important: when linking from Image Shack, make sure you use “Direct,” for the link. Using “Link” will not upload your picture.

Column AN is “NONE” for no gallery being used. Column AO is your description. I use a default description for my bulk listings with pertinent information. The key information will be found in the title. This is just my preference, and obviously this is at your discretion. Column AP is the format of your listing, which can be auction or buy it now. This template is using buy it now, “FixedPrice” for my eBay Store. Column AQ is “GTC” for Good ‘Til Cancelled because it is being uploaded as a fixed price listing in my eBay Store. Columns AR and AS will simply be your ZIP code.

Shipping is another field(s) that will be your preference. All (or most) of my items I list with free shipping. This makes the bulk listing easy as everything is just listed as 0. I have all of the fields filled out in the event something in the future changes where I begin to charge shipping. These columns are set up to economy, standard, and express. Again, since I offer free shipping I have simply left the fields as “0” for cost.

Uploading Your Spreadsheet to eBay

Once you have your file ready to upload, go back to the eBay file exchange page. On the menu to the left, click on upload files.

Next, you will upload your selected file.

It takes a very short amount of time for eBay to upload your listings. My recommendation is start by running a test template with two or three listings. After eBay uploads the listings it will provide you with a download report showing any errors. You can find this by clicking on the “View Upload Results” link. Now you are ready to bulk list items on eBay.

If you have any questions or need a further explanation on how to bulk list items on eBay, please feel free to comment here or reach out via email or Twitter.