Although many categories use the same condition IDs, buyers may interpret these conditions differently for each category. Because it is imperative that sellers understand what each condition means in the context of any given category — it is part of the contract between the buyer and the seller — this Legacy Trading API guide should now point readers to the REST-based Metadata API, which provides the replacement condition metadata that was previously returned by the now-decommissioned GetCategoryFeatures call. To retrieve official item condition definitions for a category, call getItemConditionPolicies, which returns supported item conditions including the condition ID, condition description, and conditionHelpText value when available.

It is strongly recommended that this condition help text be displayed prominently in an application interface so that sellers understand how buyers will interpret the item condition.

Note: If a category (e.g., one in Antiques or Collectibles,) does not support Item.ConditionID, but you still want to describe the item's condition in your listing, here are some options:

  • If the category supports custom item specifics but does not specifically recommend Condition as a name, make up your own custom item specific for the condition.
  • Describe the item's condition within your item description.

In these cases, eBay's search engine will treat this text like any other keyword. That is, eBay will not recognize or process the item's condition when users filter on condition, but your text will be searchable and visible to buyers when they view the listing.

To determine the appropriate condition ID to use in a listing:

  1. Call getItemConditionPolicies to determine whether item conditions are required for the category and which item condition values are supported for that category.

  2. In the getItemConditionPolicies response, review the condition requirement indicator and the returned item condition metadata for the category.
  3. Review the list of supported item conditions returned by the method. Each item condition includes a numeric conditionId, a human-readable condition description, and may also include conditionHelpText when available.
  4. After determining the most accurate condition ID from the response, specify the numeric ID value for the corresponding condition in the Item.ConditionID field of the AddItem (or related) call.
  5. If the item is not new, consider including the Item.ConditionDescription field to describe any wear and tear or defects with the item.

Please note the following if a ConditionID value is passed in that is not valid for a category:

Refer to Item conditions by category for additional information.