Note: Looking for the Feed API beta documents? You can access them here.
The Feed API gives users the ability mirror an eBay category by downloading feed files of the items in chosen categories or specific marketplaces.
Note:
This is a 
(Limited Release) API available only to select developers approved by business units. For information on how to obtain access to this API in production, see the Buy APIs Requirements.
Technical overview
Using the Feed API, you can download a rich selection information about items and products for your buyers. The Item feeds enable you to retrieve details of eBay marketplace items across various top-level (L1) categories. The list of L1 categories is available through the Taxonomy API.
Note:
An L1 category in the Taxonomy API response will have a categoryTreeNodeLevel value of 1.
Methods
The Feed API uses the following methods:
- getAccess – Returns the details of the application's feed file access configuration. Lists the marketplaces and categories for which the application can download feeds.
- getFeedTypes – Returns a list of all the feeds available to download, listed by feed type. The response included information on the feed's scope (daily, hourly, or weekly), supported feeds in that type, marketplace and status (active, paused, or deprecated).
- getFeedType – Returns a list of the feeds of a particular feed type that are available for download. The response included information on the feed's scope (daily, hourly, or weekly), supported feeds in that type, marketplace and status (active, paused, or deprecated).
- getFile – Returns selected metadata about a specified download file. It includes details on the date of its feed, its file type, its scope, its format, and the marketplace(s) it describes.
- getFiles – Returns a list of the feed files available to download. The file search can be filtered in the URI by feed type, feed scope, category id, and how far back in time from the present the feed was made available.
- downloadFile – Returns the GZIP feed file.
Supported feed types
The following table lists the feed types that are currently supported by the Feed API:
| Feed Type ID | Feed Type Description | Supported Marketplaces |
|---|---|---|
| CURATED_ITEM_FEED | This feed type provides a curated collection of items, based on category and date, and returns a set of fields used to describe the curated items. |
EBAY_AU EBAY_DE EBAY_FR EBAY_GB EBAY_IT EBAY_US |
| PRODUCT_FEED | This feed type provides a collection of items containing only a single offer per unique eBay Product Identifier (ePID) and item condition, and returns a set of fields used to describe the items. |
EBAY_AU EBAY_DE EBAY_FR EBAY_GB EBAY_IT EBAY_US |
| PROMOTION |
This feed type provides an hourly snapshot of live discounts and their currently associated items, and returns a set of fields used to describe the discounts. Note: As of July 8th 2024, promotions are now being referred to as discounts on Seller Hub and eBay help pages. Promotion documentation has been updated to reflect this product name change, but note that no API interface changes have been made. |
EBAY_AU |
Note: Follow the links for the feed types provided in the table above to view examples of the feed fields returned for each type.
Business use cases
The high-level use cases addressed by the Feed API include:
-
Download a Curated Item feed file containing a daily snapshot of only relevant offers
-
Download an Product Feed file containing only a single offer per unique eBay Product Identifier and item condition
-
Download a Promotion feed file containing an hourly snapshot of live discounts and all of their currently associated items
-
Curate items offline by item aspects, price, product, ship to location, etc.
-
Keep item information up to date by syncing items details with the live site
For more information on using the Feed API, see the Feed API v1 section of the Buying Integration Guide.
API restrictions
Please note the following constraints for the Feed API.
Note: In addition to the Feed API restrictions below, there are also requirements for using the Buy APIs. For more information, see Buy APIs Requirements.
Regional/site constraints
For a list of the supported eBay marketplaces for a specific feed type, use the getFeedTypes method.
To access the details of available feed files, pass in the X-EBAY-C-MARKETPLACE-ID request header for the eBay marketplace of interest. For example:
X-EBAY-C-MARKETPLACE-ID : EBAY_AU
Sandbox limitations and support
The Feed API is currently unavailable in eBay's sandbox environment.
Use of the APIs in production is restricted. Users must meet standard eligibility requirements, get approvals from eBay support organizations, and sign contracts with eBay to access the Buy APIs in production.
See Production eligibility requirements in the Buying Integration Guide for more information.
eBay Partner Network tracking links
If you are an EPN (eBay Partner Network) publisher, you will want to advertise all eBay listings on your website with the proper tracking links. Most EPN tools and the REST APIs are capable of dynamically exposing individual tracking links for your EPN account. However, the Feed API does not provide tracking links. You can retrieve this link using the Browse getItem method. Or you can create this link. For information on how to create this link, see Create EPN Tracking Link.
Rate limits
The Feed API limits the number of calls that can be made per day on behalf of your application. For the current application rate limits, see the API call limits page.