Energy efficiency information

To comply with EU regulations, business sellers are legally required to display European Energy Efficiency (EEK) information on listings for specific types of durable goods that are available to buyers in the EU, UK, and Switzerland.

When creating or updating a listing through the Inventory API or Trading API, there are three ways to add this information to a listing:

• Uploading EEK documents with the Media API and using document IDs.

• Using the EPREL item aspect for the product.

• Using the energyEfficiencyLabel object in the listing APIs.

Each method is described in its own section below. All three methods are supported by both the Inventory API and the Trading API, although the specific request fields used differ slightly between the two APIs.

Uploading EEK documents with Media API and using document IDs

Upload Energy Efficiency Label and Product Information Sheet documents through the createDocument and uploadDocument methods of the Media API. As an alternative to this two-call combination, you can use the createDocumentFromUrl method, which downloads a document from a specified URL and uploads it directly to the seller's account in a single call.

For either approach, call the getDocument method and confirm that the documentStatus field returns a value of ACCEPTED. This indicates that the document was successfully uploaded to the seller's account and is ready to be added to a listing.

Two EEK-specific document types are available in the DocumentTypeEnum:

• EEK_ENERGY_LABEL: The Energy Efficiency Label document.

• EEK_PRODUCT_INFORMATION_SHEET: The Product Information Sheet document.

The documentType field is required on the createDocument and createDocumentFromUrl requests. Both EEK document types are required to comply with EEK regulations, and each document type must be uploaded with its own, separate call. Creating or updating a listing with only one of the two document types results in a validation error.

Once both documents have been uploaded, attach their document IDs to the listing:

• Inventory API: Add the document IDs to the regulatory.documents.documentId array of the createOffer method or other Offer methods.

• Trading API: Add the document IDs to the Regulatory.Documents.Document.DocumentID field of the AddItem call or other calls in the AddItem family.

See Managing Documents for the complete process of creating, uploading, and adding documents to a listing.

Using EPREL item aspect for product

If you provide the EPREL Registration Number item aspect for the product through the Inventory API or Trading API, eBay adds the energy efficiency information to the listing automatically.

Tyre categories

Listings in the Tyres category on EU or UK marketplaces require this information to be compliant with EEK regulations:

• Tyre label document
• Product data sheet

We recommend proactively uploading the tyre label document and product data sheet rather than relying on eBay to automatically retrieve this information from the EPREL database. The following describes how eBay processes each scenario:

• If you upload both a Tyre label document and product data sheet through either a create or update call, these files will be displayed in the buyer experience and take precedence over any details automatically retrieved and displayed on the listing by eBay.

• If you do not upload a Tyre label document and product data sheet, but a valid EPREL Registration Number is provided through a create or update call, a call to the EPREL database will be made to retrieve this information.

• If you neither upload a Tyre label document and product data sheet nor provide an EPREL Registration Number, but a valid Brand and MPN (or EAN) are provided through a create or update call, a call to the EPREL database will still try to match and retrieve this information.

Appliances or Smartphones and Tablet categories

Listings in an Appliances category on EU or UK marketplaces or the Smartphones and Tablets category listing on EU or Northern Ireland marketplaces require this information to be compliant with EEK regulations:

• Energy efficiency label

• Product data sheet

• The energy efficiency range of the product

• The energy efficiency rating of the product

We recommend proactively providing the energy efficiency range and rating and uploading both documents rather than relying on eBay to automatically retrieve this information from the EPREL database. The following describes how eBay processes each scenario:

• If you provide the energy efficiency range and rating and upload both an energy efficiency label document and the product data sheet through either a create or update call, these files and values will be displayed in the buyer experience and take precedence over any details automatically retrieved and displayed on the listing by eBay.

• If you do not provide all required information, but a valid EPREL Registration Number of the item is provided through a create or update call, a call to the EPREL database will be made to retrieve this information.

• If you do not provide all required information or an EPREL Registration Number, but the Brand and MPN (or EAN) of the item are provided through a create or update call, a call to the EPREL database will still try to match and retrieve this information.

Using energy efficiency label object in listing APIs

Use the energyEfficiencyLabel container to provide information about the energy efficiency for certain durable goods when creating a listing through the createOffer method or updating a listing through the updateOffer method of the Inventory API, or the equivalent EnergyEfficiencyLabel container of the AddItem call and other AddItem family calls of the Trading API. The createOffer method requires the following elements:

• imageDescription: A brief summary of the information included on the Energy Efficiency Label for the item.

• imageURL: The URL to the Energy Efficiency Label image that is applicable to an item.

• productInformationSheet: The URL to the Product Information Sheet that provides complete manufacturer-provided efficiency information about an item.

Images must be in .JPEG, .PNG, .BMP, .GIF, or .TIF format and at least 500 pixels on the longest side.

When providing energy efficiency information on an Appliances or Smartphones and Tablets category listing, note the following item specifics through the aspects field when creating the inventory item record for the listing using the createOrReplaceInventoryItem method: 

• range: The scale used for energy efficiency ratings. The energy efficiency range is typically measured using a letter scale (for example, A to G), where A is the most energy efficient, and G is the least energy efficient. The range can vary by product type.

• rating: The energy efficiency grade of the item. For example, a rating of A indicates that the item meets the highest standards of energy efficiency on the A-G scale.

Use the getItemAspectsForCategory method of the Taxonomy API to retrieve applicable rating and range values for a specified category.