It might sound surprising, but eBay is one of the most popular online platforms for buying and selling auto parts. The problem is that there are millions of parts available on the market, and it can be tough for shoppers to find parts for compatible vehicles.

So, how do shoppers know if the rearview mirror you’re selling is compatible with their 2018 Lexus?

Shoppers need extra assurance that they’re buying the right product from your store. That’s why eBay Parts Compatibility is such a popular feature for eBay Motors sellers.

You’re free to use eBay’s catalog, which gives you a readymade list of 37,000+ vehicles right out of the gate.

There’s just one problem: sellers can’t rely on eBay’s product catalog to reliably sell auto parts. This built-in eBay tool isn’t perfect because:

• The parts might not be up to date

• Some information is just outright missing

• It can lead to more returns when customers accidentally buy the wrong product

Learn how to set up eBay fitment data, and how to use a tool that makes it way easier to manage your eBay fitment data for listings at scale.

What is eBay fitment and parts compatibility?

If you sell auto, motorcycle, RV, or even boat parts on eBay, it’s a good idea to include fitment data on every product listing page.

eBay calls this Parts Compatibility Listings, which is a fancy way of saying buyers can search for products based on their vehicle's year make model (YMM) data. 

Parts Compatibility Listings are exclusively available to eBay Motors sellers. There are two types of eBay Product IDs (EPIDs) for Parts Compatibility Listings: 

• Fitment EPIDs: This is the year, make and model data of a vehicle. By listing up-to-date information here, you can specify which vehicle your products are compatible with. On eBay, you have the ability to manually add fitment EPIDs like year start, year end, model, make, trim, and engine. 

• Catalog EPIDs: The second type of EPID is a catalog EPID, which is information that eBay provides in its own catalog of 37,000+ products. eBay organizes this information by manufacturer part number (MPN) and brand. 

Essentially, catalog EPIDs are available through eBay, while the fitment EPID field gives you the ability to manually add vehicle parts compatibility data yourself as needed. 

The benefits of adding eBay fitment data to your listings

So, why should you bother adding eBay fitment data to all of your listings? Won’t that take forever? 

With the right setup, you can quickly add fitment data to your eBay listings at scale. This has a tremendous impact on your business, benefiting your eBay store with: 

• Decreased fees: Who has time to create duplicate listings? With eBay fitment data you don’t have to pay the extra fees the platform charges for duplicate listings, which would normally limit your ROI.

• Fewer shopper questions: You’re busy running a business. While a few customer DMs are par for the course with eBay sales, you can significantly reduce the number of inquiries you get by providing fitment data from the start. With fitment data, shoppers know with 100% certainty that your product is the right choice, so there’s little need to send you a DM.

• Decreased returns: Returns are an annoyance for shoppers and a real drain on your bottom line. Nobody likes returns, but the good news is that eBay fitment data can decrease them. Give shoppers the data they need from the start so they can get the exact product they need — no returns required.

• Increased sales: By reducing the number of questions you get from shoppers and generally improving the shopper experience, you’re going to make more sales in the long term. By adding more helpful data to your eBay listings, there’s a chance you’ll show up higher in eBay search results. That means even more buyers will see your listings.

How to set up fitment on eBay

If you’re an eBay Motors seller, it’s relatively easy to set up your listings to port over fitment data. Follow these three steps to add fitment data to your product listings at scale.

1. Create custom user fields

First of all, your eBay account needs to allow a custom fitment EPID field on product pages. This is what’s going to allow you to create fitment data and correctly map them to your shopper’s fields. 

Create custom fields for fitment ePIDs, catalog EPIDs, and fitment notes. Enter all of your product data, save your settings, and you’ll see the new custom fields for all of your listing pages from now on.

2. Adjust your fitment settings page

Next, you’ll need to adjust your fitment settings at Settings > Channels.

Edit your fitment EPID or catalog EPID here in the dropdown fields. Map it to a custom user field and be sure to save your progress. 

eBay also lets you activate helpful settings like: 

• Fitment Notes: This is a great place to provide additional data that you think buyers would want to know about the product. You only have 500 characters available here though, so keep it brief.

• Fitment Compatibility: Toggle this option on to send your fitment data to eBay. You can turn it on in Settings > Channels > eBay Options within your eBay Motors account.

• Fitment Refresh: Turn this setting on if you want to delete previous fitment data on your listings when you relist an item. 

Even if you’ve already created fitment settings, it’s a good idea to double-check them anyway. Make sure your fitment settings are still working for your business!

3. Add or edit fitment data as needed

Do you want to add fitment or compatibility data to an eBay listing?

Go to New Product or Edit Product to change your item’s information.

Just drop your fitment data into the Fitment section of the screen and save your changes.

Importing eBay fitment data with Spark Shipping

As you can see, eBay fitment data isn’t always a walk in the park.

Sure, you can do a bulk upload within eBay Motors, but it’s pretty messy to do yourself. Spark Shipping is a cleaner, faster, hassle-free way to add eBay fitment data to all of your listings at scale. 

Spark Shipping comes with fitment data for: 

• Automotive

• Power sports

• Marine

That includes fitment data for RVs, boats, machinery, and motorcycles. 

Instead of trying to pull compatibility from eBay’s catalog  (which is likely out of date anyway), Spark Shipping downloads your suppliers’ latest catalogs automatically.

Our platform will even format the eBay compatibility information so it seamlessly fits into your listings without any friction. 

Spark Shipping includes other helpful features like: 

• Real-time inventory updates from your vendor catalogs

• Sourcing the lowest-price goods from multiple distributors

• Export fitment data in any format

• List and sell thousands of vehicle parts without entering a single SKU

• Technical support from our friendly, knowledgeable team

With Spark Shipping, eBay sellers can: 

• Reduce inventory errors

• List more products

• Give customers a better experience

 It’s a seriously simple solution that integrates compatibility information into your eBay store in mere minutes. 

Do you want to see it firsthand? Check out Spark Shipping’s plans now to build a more efficient eBay shopping experience for your customers.