Ebay Trading API

eBay Trading API Skill

Create, manage, and research eBay listings for trading cards and collectibles.

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• Creating eBay listings from photos or item descriptions
• Looking up sold prices (comps) for pricing decisions
• Managing existing listings (revise, end)
• Building photo-to-listing automation workflows

Quick Start

Create a Listing

cd ~/clawd/ebay && python3 trading_api.py --create

Verify Without Listing (Dry Run)

cd ~/clawd/ebay && python3 trading_api.py

Check Sold Comps

cd ~/clawd/ebay && python3 comps.py "2024 Topps Chrome Mike Trout"

API Calls Available

Card Conditions

Ungraded Cards (Condition ID: 4000)

Graded Cards (Condition ID: 2750)

Supported graders: PSA, BGS, SGC, CGC, CSG, BVG, BCCG, KSA, GMA, HGA

Grades: 10, 9.5, 9, 8.5, 8, 7.5, 7, 6.5, 6, 5.5, 5, 4.5, 4, 3.5, 3, 2.5, 2, 1.5, 1, Authentic

Configuration

Required Environment Variables

Set in ~/.env.ebay or export directly:

EBAY_DEV_ID=your-dev-id
EBAY_APP_ID=your-app-id  
EBAY_CERT_ID=your-cert-id

OAuth Tokens

Stored in ~/clawd/ebay/.tokens.json (auto-managed):

{
  "access_token": "v^1.1#i^1#...",
  "refresh_token": "v^1.1#i^1#...",
  "expires_at": 1706644800
}

Run oauth_setup.py to initialize tokens, or refresh_token.py to refresh expired tokens.

Usage Examples

Python: Create Sports Card Listing

from trading_api import load_credentials, create_sports_card_listing

creds = load_credentials()

card_info = {
    "title": "2024 Topps Chrome Mike Trout #1 Refractor",
    "player": "Mike Trout",
    "year": "2024",
    "set_name": "Topps Chrome",
    "card_number": "1",
    "parallel": "Refractor",
    "sport": "Baseball",
    "manufacturer": "Topps",
    "condition": "Near Mint or Better",
    "graded": False
}

item_id = create_sports_card_listing(creds, card_info, price="29.99")
print(f"Listed: https://www.ebay.com/itm/{item_id}")

Python: Graded Card

card_info = {
    "title": "2020 Panini Prizm LaMelo Ball RC PSA 10",
    "player": "LaMelo Ball",
    "year": "2020",
    "set_name": "Panini Prizm",
    "card_number": "278",
    "sport": "Basketball",
    "manufacturer": "Panini",
    "graded": True,
    "grader": "PSA",
    "grade": "10",
    "cert_number": "12345678"
}

item_id = create_sports_card_listing(creds, card_info, price="199.99")

Rate Limits

Best practices:

• Use VerifyAddItem for testing (counts toward limit)
• Implement exponential backoff on 503 errors
• Cache comp results to reduce Finding API calls

Troubleshooting

Security Notes

🔑 Token Management

• Tokens stored in .tokens.json — ensure 600 permissions: chmod 600 .tokens.json
• Access tokens expire after 2 hours (auto-refresh via refresh_token)
• Refresh tokens expire after 18 months — calendar reminder recommended
• If refresh fails, re-run oauth_setup.py to re-authenticate

🔒 Credential Safety

• Never commit .tokens.json or .env.ebay to git
• Add to .gitignore: .tokens.json, .env.ebay, *.log
• Use environment variables, not hardcoded values
• Rotate tokens immediately if exposed
• API credentials (Dev/App/Cert IDs) are not secret but treat as private

✅ Input Validation

• All user input is HTML-escaped via html.escape() before API calls
• Titles limited to 80 characters (eBay max)
• Description wrapped in CDATA to prevent XML injection
• Card numbers, grades sanitized to alphanumeric

📋 Audit Trail

• Failed listings logged to ~/clawd/ebay/errors.log
• Successful listings logged with ItemID, timestamp, and price
• Keep logs for 90 days minimum (eBay dispute window)

🛡️ API Response Handling

• Never log full API responses (may contain PII)
• Mask ItemIDs in non-debug logs: 1234***789
• Sanitize error messages before displaying to users
• Strip buyer/seller info from any logged responses

Sandbox vs Production

Toggle with sandbox parameter:

# Sandbox (testing)
response = call_trading_api(creds, "AddItem", xml, sandbox=True)

# Production (real listings)
response = call_trading_api(creds, "AddItem", xml, sandbox=False)

Sandbox URL: https://api.sandbox.ebay.com/ws/api.dll Production URL: https://api.ebay.com/ws/api.dll

File Structure

~/clawd/ebay/
├── .env.ebay          # API credentials (gitignored)
├── .tokens.json       # OAuth tokens (gitignored)
├── trading_api.py     # Core Trading API wrapper
├── description_template.py  # HTML listing templates
├── oauth_setup.py     # Initial OAuth flow
├── exchange_token.py  # Token refresh
├── create_listing.py  # Inventory API approach
└── pending.json       # Pending listings queue

TODO

• comps.py — findCompletedItems wrapper for price research ✅
• revise.py — ReviseItem for editing listings
• end.py — EndItem for ending listings
• upload.py — eBay Picture Services integration
• Rate limiting with exponential backoff
• Structured error logging

Known Limitations

Rate Limits

• Finding API: ~5,000 calls/day (may be lower for new apps)
• Trading API: ~5,000 calls/day
• If rate limited, comps.py returns fallback: true — use manual pricing
• Limits reset at midnight Pacific Time
• New apps may have stricter burst limits initially

Token Expiry

• Access tokens expire after ~2 hours (auto-refreshed)
• Refresh tokens last 18 months — set a calendar reminder!
• If refresh fails, re-run oauth_setup.py to re-authenticate

Finding API Requires Production Credentials

The Finding API (findCompletedItems) does not have a sandbox environment. You must use production eBay credentials to look up sold prices. Add EBAY_PROD_APP_ID to your .env.ebay file.

References

• eBay Trading API Docs
• AddItem Call Reference
• Finding API (Comps)
• Condition Descriptors

Skill created by Clawd 🐾 & Electron 🦞 for Text2List.app