Solutions for eBay's Common Error Messages in AutoDS

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Common eBay errors and solutions in AutoDS

1. Policy

 ⚠️ Error: "You have not opted into Business Policies"

What it means: You must enable Business Policies in your eBay account to list products.

How to fix it:

1. Go to eBay Business Policy Opt-In
2. Sign in to your eBay seller account
3. Click Opt In
4. Create your Shipping, Payment, and Return policies

👉 Learn more:

• How to set up eBay business policies
• Business policies for Chinese sellers
• International shipping policy guide
• Dynamic policies explained

⚠️ "The category is not valid, select another category."

What it means: The selected category is no longer valid. This usually happens when eBay updates its category structure and removes or renames certain categories.

How to fix it:

• Manually select a new valid category in your draft.

👉 Learn more:  eBay’s category selection and replacement guide

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⚠️ "It appears that eBay has not suggested a category for this product. You may be trying to upload motors/adult products or your token is invalid. You can try changing the product title or renewing the token. Learn more about the workarounds here."

What it means: This error usually occurs when:

• The product belongs to a restricted category (e.g., Motors or adult items).

• eBay cannot automatically assign a category.

• Your eBay token may have expired (especially in bulk uploads).

How to fix it:

• If it’s a restricted item, verify that it’s allowed via AutoDS.

• Manually assign the most relevant eBay category in the draft.

• Renew your eBay token in AutoDS: Go to Store Settings > Renew Token.

👉 Learn more:  Auto Parts & Vehicles on eBay

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⚠️ "The duration [value] day(s) is not available for this listing type, or invalid for category [category name]."

What it means: The selected listing duration is not allowed for the current listing type or category.

How to fix it:

• Go to the draft settings and adjust the duration to a valid value for that category and listing type.
  
  

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⚠️ "Error 107: The category isn’t valid, select another category."

What it means: eBay has changed or removed the category, making it invalid.

How to fix it:

• Choose a new valid category for the item.

• Check if eBay made recent updates to category mappings.
  
  

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⚠️ "Error (21916884): Condition is required for this category."

What it means: Some categories require a condition (e.g., New, Used) to be specified.

How to fix it:

• In the draft settings, make sure the item condition is selected.

👉 Learn more:  eBay item conditions by category

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⚠️ "Error (21916260): Shipping service cost exceeds $XX.X maximum allowed for selected category."

What it means: eBay limits the shipping cost in certain categories.

How to fix it:

• Lower the shipping fee to meet eBay’s limit.

• Alternatively, build the shipping cost into your product price and offer free shipping.

👉 Learn more:  eBay’s maximum shipping costs

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4. Limit/Limitations

⚠️ "In order to maintain a safe trading environment, sellers may only offer a maximum of 100 items per listing."

What it means: eBay limits the quantity of items that can be listed under a single listing to a maximum of 100.

How to fix it:

• Make sure your listing does not exceed 100 items.

• If you need to offer more than 100 units, split the items across multiple listings.
  
  

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⚠️ "Listing titles are limited to [value] characters."

What it means: Your listing title exceeds eBay’s allowed character limit (usually 80 characters).

How to fix it:

• Shorten the title to 80 characters or fewer.

• AutoDS automatically applies this limit during listing, but if you’re editing manually, review the title length.
  
  

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⚠️ "Before you can list this item we need some additional information to create a seller's account."

What it means: Your eBay account is missing required setup steps, typically an automatic payment method for seller fees.

How to fix it:

• Log in to your eBay account and complete the seller account setup.

• Add a valid payment method so eBay can charge seller fees.

👉 Learn more:  Getting started with selling on eBay

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⚠️ "Listing cannot be revised because you have reached the maximum number of revisions allowed."

What it means: You’ve hit the revision limit for that listing. eBay only allows a limited number of edits per listing.

How to fix it:

• End the current listing.

• Create a new listing if you still need to make changes.
  
  

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⚠️ "This listing would cause you to exceed the number of items you can list. You can list up to x more items this month. Please consider reducing the quantity or request to list more: Link"

What it means: You’ve reached your monthly listing limit on eBay.

How to fix it:

• Reduce the quantity of items in the listing.

• Contact eBay to request a higher listing limit.

👉 Learn more:  How to handle eBay selling limits

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⚠️ "Error (21919107): The maximum allowed length for the ConditionDescription field is 1000 characters."

What it means: The item’s condition description exceeds eBay’s 1000-character limit.

How to fix it:

• Edit the condition description to be under 1000 characters.

• Watch out for translated text, which can increase the length.
  
  

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⚠️ "Error 21919188: It looks like you've reached the number of items you can list. You can list up to N items this month. Request to list more."

What it means: You’ve reached your total listing limit across all eBay sites.

How to fix it:

• Set stock quantity to 1 for products to save space.

• Contact eBay to request an increase in your monthly listing allowance.
  
  

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5. Payment

⚠️ "Error (640): We noticed that you don't have a payment method set up with your eBay account. As soon as you take care of this, you'll be able to list more items."

What it means: You don’t have a valid payment method set up on your eBay seller account. Without one, eBay won’t allow you to list products.

How to fix it:

• Go to eBay > Account Settings > Seller Account

• Scroll down to Payment Methods for Seller Fees

• Add or reconnect your PayPal account or credit card

• If your PayPal is already linked, try relinking it in case the authorization has expired

• After updating, try listing your products again

 

👉 Learn more:  How to set up automatic payments on eBay

👉 Learn more:  eBay payment options

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⚠️ "Error (10068): Email address cannot be used for PayPal payments at this time."

What it means: Your PayPal email address is invalid or there’s an issue with the associated PayPal account.

How to fix it:

• Double-check the PayPal email in your eBay Payment Policy for any typos

• Log into PayPal, verify your account status, and resolve any issues

• If your PayPal account is restricted, eBay won't allow "Immediate Payment Required"

• Once resolved, reattempt listing your product on AutoDS
  
  

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⚠️ "Error (121): You will be unable to complete this request until payment is made or a credit card is put on file for automatic monthly billing."

What it means: Your account doesn’t have a valid payment method on file for seller fees, so eBay is blocking new listings.

How to fix it:

• Set up automatic payments on eBay

👉 Learn more:  How to set up automatic payments on eBay

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⚠️ "The email address you entered isn't linked to a PayPal account. If you don't have a PayPal account, you'll need to set one up with this email address so that buyers can pay you"

What it means: The email address in your eBay Payment Policy is not associated with a verified PayPal account.

How to fix it:

• Go to PayPal.com and log into your account

• Verify your email address and link a credit card to complete verification

• Return to eBay and add the verified PayPal account to your seller profile

• Then reattempt uploading your listings
  
  

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⚠️ "eBay Error: Missing Information on Your eBay Seller Account"

What it means: Your eBay seller account isn’t fully set up, specifically regarding your payment method. Without a valid and active payment method, eBay will block any attempts to upload listings.

How to fix it:

• Go to: My eBay → Selling → Payments → Payment Method

• If you already have a bank account connected, try reconnecting it. eBay might have revoked your bank account authorizations and they need to be renewed.

• After reconnecting, go back to AutoDS and try uploading your item again.

 

Alternatively:

• • Go to: eBay → Account Settings → Seller Account → Payment Methods For Seller Fees.

  • Make sure you’ve selected and saved a valid payment method here as well.

👉 Learn more:  How to set up automatic payments on eBay

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6. General 

⚠️ "eBay error: we were unable to update the listing because it is not supported by our API."

What it means: The listing was created through another software that uses a different API method than AutoDS.

How to fix it:

• End the listing directly on eBay.

• Re-upload the item using AutoDS only.
  
  

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⚠️ "eBay error: you can not edit this product as it has bid or active 'best offer' or is ending soon."

What it means: eBay doesn’t allow edits on auction listings with less than 12 hours left or fixed-price listings with active offers.

How to fix it:

• Check your eBay account for active bids or offers.

• Respond to any offers or wait until the auction ends.

• For future listings, use fixed-price with “Good 'Til Cancelled” and disable offers.
  
  

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⚠️ "Validation of the authentication token in API request failed."

What it means: Your AutoDS authentication token for eBay has expired.

How to fix it:

• Go to your AutoDS Store Settings.

• Re-authorize your eBay account by refreshing the token.

👉 Learn more:  How and when to refresh your token on AutoDS

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⚠️ "Buyers love large photos that clearly show the item, so please upload high-resolution photos that are at least 500 pixels on the longest side."

What it means: Your listing images are too small. eBay requires a minimum of 500 pixels on the longest side.

How to fix it:

• Edit your product photos to meet eBay’s image size requirements.

• Upload updated images and relist the product.
  
  

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⚠️ "Your listing cannot contain javascript ('.cookie', 'cookie(', 'replace(', IFRAME, META, or includes), cookies or base herf."

What it means: Your product description contains prohibited HTML or JavaScript code.

How to fix it:

• Remove any unsupported scripts or custom code from the listing description.
  
  

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⚠️ "A mixture of Self Hosted and EPS pictures are not allowed."

What it means: You used both eBay-hosted (EPS) and self-hosted images in the same listing, which is not supported.

How to fix it:

• Use either all EPS images or all self-hosted images.

• Start by uploading one image successfully, then add others.
  
  

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⚠️ "You entered more pictures than allowed."

What it means: You exceeded eBay’s limit of 12 images per listing.

How to fix it:

• Reduce the number of images to 12 or fewer before uploading.
  
  

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⚠️ "Enter a full UK/US Postal Code/ Please enter a valid postal code error."

What it means: The postal code field in your eBay Business Shipping Policy is missing or incorrect.

How to fix it:

• Update the policy to include a valid postal code.

👉 Learn more:  How to fix invalid postal code error

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⚠️ "XML Error Text: nested exception is: org.xml.sax.SAXParseException: An invalid XML character (Unicode: 0x3) was found in the CDATA section."

What it means:
There are invalid or special characters in your listing text — often from copy-pasting into the description or headers.

How to fix it:

• Remove any special characters or corrupted formatting from the listing

• Re-upload the item
  
  

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⚠️ "The shipping service is not available for this item location. Select a different service."

What it means:
The shipping service you selected is not valid for the item's set location.

How to fix it:

• Choose a different shipping service or adjust the item’s location

• Refer to your shipping policy for valid options, especially when dropshipping
  
  

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⚠️ "You must accept the International Selling Agreement before you can list this item on a site other than where you registered or with international shipping options."

What it means:
You haven’t agreed to eBay’s International Selling Agreement, which is required to offer international shipping or list on another country’s site.

How to fix it:

• Log in to your eBay seller account

• Review and accept the International Selling Agreement

👉 Learn more:  eBay Seller Agreement

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⚠️ "This item cannot be accessed because the listing has been deleted or you are not the seller."

What it means:
The product was deleted or you don’t have permission to manage it.

How to fix it:

• Check on eBay if the listing was deleted

• Remove the item from AutoDS monitoring
  
  

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⚠️ "Missing required field 'Item Location.'"

What it means:
Your eBay shipping policy does not include the ‘Item Location’ field.

How to fix it:

• Add the ‘Item Location’ field in your shipping policy

• Apply the updated policy to your listings
  
  

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⚠️ "Authorization token is hard expired. The user needs to generate a new token for this application."

What it means:
Your AutoDS token is permanently expired and must be fully reauthorized.

How to fix it:

• Go to AutoDS > Store Settings

• Click “Edit Store”

• Generate a new eBay token
  
  

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⚠️ "If the original item was not listed as a Multi-SKU item, you cannot change it to be a Multi-SKU item during relist (or revise)."

What it means:
eBay does not allow converting a single-SKU item to Multi-SKU in a relist or revise.

How to fix it:

• End the current listing

• Create a new listing with the correct SKU type
  
  

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⚠️ "No rate table has been created. Please create the rate table."

What it means:
You’re using a shipping policy that references a rate table which hasn’t been created.

How to fix it:

• Go to your eBay shipping settings

• Create or assign a valid rate table for your policy
  
  

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⚠️ "This Listing is a duplicate of your item: [item (item number)]. Use multi-quantity fixed price listing to list these items."

What it means:
You’re trying to list a duplicate item that’s already active in your eBay store.

How to fix it:

• Locate the original listing and increase the quantity, instead of creating a duplicate
  
  

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⚠️ "Only Single item can be sold in auction-style listings. Switch to FixedPrice format to sell multiple items."

What it means:
eBay allows only one item per auction-style listing. You can’t sell multiple items this way.

How to fix it:

• Use the Fixed Price format to list multiple items in the same listing
  
  

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⚠️ "Internal error to the application."

What it means:
This is a temporary eBay server or network issue.

How to fix it:

• Wait a few minutes and try uploading again
  
  

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⚠️ "Package weight exceeds 150lbs. Please switch to Freight shipping for large items over 150 lbs."

What it means:
Your listing includes a package weight over the 150-pound limit.

How to fix it:

• Update the shipping policy to support freight shipping

• Or reduce the item weight to below 150 lbs if applicable

👉 Learn more:  How to edit a single draft

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⚠️ "Invalid value for [product identifier]."

What it means:
The UPC, EAN, or ISBN entered is not valid.

How to fix it:

• Check and correct the product identifier

• If not available, leave the field blank
  
  

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⚠️ "Error (21919303): The item specific MPN is missing."

What it means:
The Manufacturer Part Number (MPN) is missing from the item specifics.

How to fix it:

• Add the correct MPN in the listing

• Or use "Does Not Apply" if the item has no MPN
  
  

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⚠️ "Error (21919309): %Specific should contain only one value. Remove the extra values and try again."

What it means:
You added multiple values to a field that accepts only one.

How to fix it:

• Keep only one value per specific

• If listing multiple options, use "/" (e.g., Red / Green / Blue)
  
  

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⚠️ "Error (640): A hold has been placed on your eBay account."

What it means:
Your eBay account has been temporarily suspended or restricted.

How to fix it:

• Log into eBay and check your messages

• Follow the instructions provided by eBay to remove the hold

👉 Learn more:  Account holds, restrictions, suspensions

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⚠️ "Errors (21919326, 21919302): ISBN (EAN, UPC) has an invalid value of 'N'."

What it means:
You entered "N" as the value for a product identifier (ISBN, EAN, or UPC), which is not recognized by eBay.

How to fix it:

• Replace the invalid value with a valid identifier

• If you don’t have one, leave the field blank or use the option "Does Not Apply"
  
  

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⚠️ "Error (21919067): It looks like this listing is for an item you already have on eBay. We don't allow listings for identical items from the same seller to appear on eBay at the same time. If you'd like to list more than one of the same item, create a multi-quantity fixed price listing."

What it means:
You already have a live listing for this item, and eBay doesn’t allow duplicate listings for identical products.

How to fix it:

• Update the quantity on the existing listing

• Avoid uploading the same item more than once
  
  

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⚠️ "Error (21920272): Users with a low feedback rating are not allowed to list an item with Fixed Price format.”

What it means:
Your eBay account does not yet meet the minimum feedback or age requirement for fixed-price listings.

How to fix it:

• Make sure your account is at least 14 days old

• Increase your feedback score to 30+

• Complete ID verification on eBay
  
  

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⚠️ "Error (21916293): Lvis validation blocked."

What it means:
The listing was blocked due to policy violations, restricted content, or listing limits.

How to fix it:

• Review your title and description for prohibited keywords or links

• If the issue persists, contact eBay Seller Support

 

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⚠️ "Error (73): The price in the listing is either invalid or below the minimum price of 1,00 EUR."

What it means:
Your product price is too low and violates eBay’s minimum price policy.

How to fix it:

• Update the listing price to meet or exceed the minimum required value

 

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⚠️ "Error (10007): Sorry, something went wrong. Please wait a moment and try again."

What it means:
Temporary eBay server-side error.

How to fix it:

• Wait a few minutes and try uploading again

• If the issue persists, contact support

 

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⚠️ "The Australian site (ebay.au) doesn’t have Zero insertion fee listings available. Allow paid insertion"

What it means:
Your eBay account is not eligible for free listings on the Australian site (eBay.au). Only residents in Australia may qualify for limited zero-fee listings.

How to fix it:

• Enable paid insertion fees

• Or remove Australia as a listing site
  
  

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⚠️ "Failed upload item Ebay Short Response: Errors: The location” provided in exclude ship to location is unknown. Please use 2-character ISO codes for countries and full names for regions/continents. See API documentation for further details."

What it means:
You used an incorrect format for excluded shipping locations.

How to fix it:

• Use 2-character ISO codes (e.g., US, CA, UK) for countries

• Use full names for regions or continents

 

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⚠️ "Error - Auto decline amount cannot be greater than or equal to the Buy It Now price. Error - The Best Offer Auto Accept Price must be less than the Buy It Now price / This item cannot be accessed because the listing has been deleted or you are not the seller."

What it means:
These errors occur when Auto Accept or Auto Decline settings conflict with the Buy It Now price or with the price AutoDS is trying to set. eBay rejects the listing update if the new price is lower than your Auto Decline threshold.

How to fix it:

• Go to your eBay account > Active Listings

• Locate the product and click Revise

• Uncheck the following settings:

  • Automatically accept offers of at least

  • Automatically decline offers lower than

• Save changes and return to AutoDS

• Force reprice the item

 

 

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⚠️ "The system can't import products into the not approved eBay store."

What it means:
Your eBay store is not yet approved or is missing essential setup steps.

How to fix it:

• Log into your eBay account

• Complete the approval process according to eBay’s instructions

👉 Learn more:  How to create an eBay seller account

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⚠️ "The category selected is not a leaf category."

What it means:
You selected a broad category, but eBay requires a leaf-level category (the most specific subcategory).

Example:
If you're listing high-heeled shoes, choosing:
Women’s Clothing & Shoes → Women’s Shoes
instead of
Women’s Clothing & Shoes → Women’s Shoes → High Heels
will cause the error.

How to fix it:

• Use the manual category selection tool in AutoDS

• Drill down to the final, most specific category option for your product
  
  

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⚠️ "Product's images failed to upload. Try to re-upload the product by downloading the images to your PC, delete them and re-add them to the product."

What it means:
The image upload failed due to a technical issue or rejection by eBay.

How to fix it:

• Download the product images to your computer

• Delete the current images in the draft

• Re-upload the images from your PC and try uploading the product again