Offers published with the Inventory API become live eBay listings, and each offer must be associated with an inventory location.
Creating inventory locations
The createInventoryLocation call is used to create an inventory location. The unique identifier of the inventory location, referred to as a merchantLocationKey in the Inventory API calls, is passed in as part of the call URI for the createInventoryLocation call. A merchantLocationKey value cannot be changed once it is set, and its length cannot exceed 50 characters. In addition to the merchantLocationKey value that is passed in to the call URI, the required data for all inventory locations include the following:
- name: The name of the inventory location is passed into the name field.
- physical location: The physical location of the inventory location. At a minimum, the postal code and country or city, state, and country should be specified.
Additionally, a locationtypes can be specified when creating an inventory location. The location types define the function(s) of the inventory location. The three main types of inventory locations are warehouse, store, and fulfillment center. In some cases, an inventory location can serve as more than one location type. The fields required when publishing an offer may vary depending on the location type(s) of the location. For more information, see Required fields for publishing an offer.
If the locationTypes container is omitted when making a createInventoryLocation call, the location will default to WAREHOUSE.
Warehouse locations
Warehouse locations are used for traditional shipping and only require the name and basic address (postalCode and country OR city, state, and country) fields to be specified.
Store locations
Store locations are typically used by US merchants selling product through for In-Store Pickup program A full address (addressLine1, city, stateOrProvince, postalCode, and country) is required when creating a store location.
In addition, the following fields can be configured:
- locationInstructions: These instructions are only applicable for In-Store and Click and Collect orders, and will assist buyers with an easy pickup experience.
- locationWebUrl: The URL for the store's website.
- phone: [Required] The phone number for the store.
- operatingHours: The daily business hours for the store.
- specialHours: The special business hours for the store on specific dates.
Fulfillment center locations
Fulfillment center locations are used by US sellers selling products through multiple inventory locations to get improved estimated delivery dates on their listings. A full address (addressLine1, city, stateOrProvince, postalCode, and country) is required when creating a fulfillment center location.
In addition, the following field must be configured:
-
fulfillmentCenterSpecifications: The cut-off time schedule for same day shipping and any cut-off overrides.
Updating an inventory location
Once an inventory location is established, you can update that inventory location with the updateInventoryLocation call. In this call, the inventory location is identified with its merchantLocationKey value, that is passed in as part of the call URI. The updateInventoryLocation call cannot be used to modify the merchantLocationkey value.For warehouse and store inventory locations, address fields can be updated any number of times. Address fields cannot be updated for fulfillment center locations. However, if any address fields were omitted during the createInventoryLocation call, they can be added through this method. The following information can be updated: name, phone, operating and special hours, time zone id, geographical coordinates, store website address, location pickup instructions, and additional information about the location. Note that any operating or special hours that are specified with an updateInventoryLocation call may overwrite the hours that are currently defined for the inventory location.
Retrieving inventory locations
A specific inventory location can be retrieved by using the getInventoryLocation call. The inventory location to retrieve is identified with its merchantLocationKey value, and this value is passed in as part of the call URI. A successful call will retrieve all of the defined details for that inventory location.
If a seller wants to retrieve all inventory locations defined for their account, the getInventoryLocations call. To limit the number of inventory location records that are retrieved on one page of data, and/or to control which page of data is retrieved, the seller will use the limit and offset query parameters. A successful call will retrieve all inventory locations defined for the seller's account.
Enabling and disabling inventory locations
Although the default behavior for a createInventoryLocation call is to enable that inventory location, it is possible to create an inventory location but start it out in the disabled mode. To do this, the seller will include the merchantLocationStatus field in the createInventoryLocation call, and set its value to DISABLED. And to enable a disabled inventory location, the seller will just use the enableInventoryLocation call. Similarly, if a seller wants to disable an enabled inventory location, the disableInventoryLocation call can be used.
Deleting an inventory location
To delete an inventory location, the seller uses the deleteInventoryLocation call. The inventory location to delete is identified through its merchantLocationKey value, and this value is passed in as part of the call URI. Once an inventory location is deleted, it cannot be restored.