eBay API & Scraper
The eBay API returns active listings, sold prices and seller data as clean JSON.
🤖 Using an AI assistant? Copy this link into ChatGPT / Claude / Cursor — it reads every endpoint and parameter instantly and tells you if this API fits your use case.
The primary search endpoint returns items with id, title, price, condition, buying format, shipping, location and URL, and the sold_search endpoint exposes completed-sale prices — the real market data behind eBay. You can also pull an item_detail, a seller's items and profile, current deals and the category tree. It is built for price research, reselling tools and marketplace analytics that need eBay data without a scraper. One ReefAPI key, one shared credit pool, the standard envelope.
eBay marketplaces: the domain parameter, and the currency each one returns
This API does not use site codes like EBAY_US or numeric site ids. It takes a domain parameter whose value is the eBay hostname suffix, and that choice sets the currency and the local listing pool. Every row below was measured on 2026-08-27 by running the same search once per domain and reading the currency and the raw price string off the first result.
| domain | Site | Currency returned | Raw price string measured |
|---|---|---|---|
| com | ebay.com, United States | USD | $39.99 |
| co.uk | ebay.co.uk, United Kingdom | GBP | £4.95 |
| de | ebay.de, Germany | EUR | EUR 29,00 |
| fr | ebay.fr, France | EUR | 71,40 EUR |
| it | ebay.it, Italy | EUR | EUR 29,99 |
| es | ebay.es, Spain | EUR | 65,00 EUR |
| ca | ebay.ca, Canada | CAD | C $11.26 |
| com.au | ebay.com.au, Australia | AUD | AU $335.99 |
| ch | ebay.ch, Switzerland | CHF | CHF 207,37 |
| pl | ebay.pl, Poland | PLN | 30,08 zl |
| com.sg | ebay.com.sg, Singapore | SGD | S$ 135.95 |
| com.hk | ebay.com.hk, Hong Kong | HKD | HK$ 63.97 |
nl, at and ie also answered and all three returned EUR; they are left out only to keep the table short. com.sg and com.hk are not in the parameter's dropdown but were accepted and answered, so other eBay country hosts are worth trying. The raw string is formatted per site (EUR 29,00 on de but 71,40 EUR on fr), so read price.value, which is the parsed number. All 15 domains returned 12-digit item ids.
Real request and response JSON
Captured from the indexed primary action, search, on .
{
"method": "POST",
"url": "https://api.reefapi.com/ebay/v1/search",
"headers": {
"x-api-key": "$REEF_KEY",
"content-type": "application/json"
},
"body": {
"query": "iphone 13 pro"
}
}{
"ok": true,
"meta": {
"api": "ebay",
"endpoint": "search",
"mode": "live",
"latency_ms": 2338,
"record_count": 60,
"bytes": 2513278,
"cache_hit": false,
"version": "0.1",
"domain": "com",
"pagination": {
"page": 1,
"has_more": true
},
"charged_credits": 1
},
"data": {
"query": "iphone 13 pro",
"results": [
{
"item_id": "286910050302",
"title": "Apple iPhone 13 128GB 256GB 512GB Verizon AT&T T-Mobile Unlocked (Very Good)",
"price": {
"raw": "$258.49",
"value": 258.49,
"currency": "USD"
},
"condition": "Very Good - Refurbished",
"buying_format": "Buy It Now",
"shipping": "Shipping not specified",
"location": "United States",
"image": "https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/fcQAAeSw7QJpcweM/s-l500.webp",
"url": "https://www.ebay.com/itm/286910050302",
"in_stock": true,
"catalog_rating": {
"average": 5,
"review_count": 0
}
},
{
"item_id": "286910053729",
"title": "Apple iPhone 13 128GB 256GB 512GB Verizon AT&T T-Mobile Unlocked (Good)",
"price": {
"raw": "$248.59",
"value": 248.59,
"currency": "USD"
},
"condition": "Pre-Owned",
"buying_format": "Buy It Now",
"shipping": "Shipping not specified",
"location": "United States",
"image": "https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/ic8AAeSwVeRpcwzG/s-l500.webp",
"url": "https://www.ebay.com/itm/286910053729",
"sold_count": "15+ sold",
"in_stock": true,
"catalog_rating": {
"average": 5,
"review_count": 0
}
},
{
"item_id": "287062398385",
"title": "Apple iPhone 13 Pro A2483 Unlocked 256GB Graphite (Very Good)",
"price": {
"raw": "$428.99",
"value": 428.99,
"currency": "USD"
},
"condition": "Apple iPhone 13 Pro",
"buying_format": "Buy It Now",
"shipping": "Shipping not specified",
"location": "United States",
"image": "https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/31IAAeSwLmtpYJUx/s-l500.webp",
"url": "https://www.ebay.com/itm/287062398385",
"in_stock": true,
"catalog_rating": {
"average": 4.5,
"review_count": 0
}
}
]
}
}What the eBay API does
| Action | Description | Concrete use case | Key params |
|---|---|---|---|
| search | active-listing search by `query` -> results[]{item_id,title,price{value,currency},condition,buying_format,shipping,location,image,url,in_stock,stock_hint?,sold_count?,catalog_rating?}. Filters: domain(com/co.uk/de/...), page, max_results(<=240/page), sort(best_match|newly_listed|ending_soonest|price_low|price_high), condition(new|used|refurbished|open_box|for_parts), category, buy_it_now, auction. seller is item-page-only. | Pricing teams call search to get active-listing search by `query` -> results[]{item_id,title,price{value,currency},condition,b…. | query, domain, page, max_results, sort, ... |
| item_detail | Full eBay item detail by item_id or listing URL: title, price, list price, currency, condition, availability, brand, model, MPN, images, category path, item specifics, seller (name, feedback score, review count), shipping terms, return policy, PLUS auction fields (bids, current_bid, time_left, end_time), watchers, quantity_available/quantity_sold, best_offer flag, and multi-variation SKUs (variations[]{dimension, values[]{value, out_of_stock}}). Set include_description=1 to inline the full seller description text. | Marketplace operators call item_detail to get full eBay item detail by item_id or listing URL. | item_id, url, domain, include_description |
| items_batch | Look up MANY eBay listings in ONE call by item number — up to 40 per request → the same full record `item_detail` returns for each one (title, price, condition, brand/model/MPN, images, category path, item specifics, seller reputation, shipping terms, return policy, auction fields, quantities). Built for enriching a price list or a competitor's catalogue in one round trip instead of one item at a time. COST, stated plainly so you can budget it: eBay publishes no batched item endpoint — every listing is its own page — so this costs ONE UPSTREAM REQUEST PER ITEM ID, exactly as if you had called item_detail N times, and it is priced that way. What you save is wall-clock, not requests: the fetches run concurrently, measured at 25.6s sequential vs 4.1s for 8 ids (6.2x). `meta.upstream_calls` always reports the true number. Anything eBay does not resolve comes back in `not_found` rather than being silently dropped, so a batch of 40 can never hide which one went missing. If you only need card-level fields (item_id, title, price, condition, shipping, image, url) there is a genuinely cheaper route that costs ONE upstream call: `search` with query `(id1,id2,id3)` — eBay's own OR syntax — measured to resolve 6 ids per call (a 7th is dropped) and to return no item specifics, seller or return policy. | Catalog enrichment teams call items_batch to look up MANY eBay listings in ONE call by item number. | item_ids, domain |
| seller_items | All active listings in a seller's storefront by `seller` username (eBay _ssn) -> results[]{item_id,title,price{value,currency},condition,buying_format,shipping,location,image,url}. Same card shape + filters/pagination as `search`. Use to scan a competitor's full catalog. Page-native paging via meta.pagination. | Retail analysts call seller_items to get all active listings in a seller's storefront by `seller` username (eBay _ssn) -> results[]{it…. | seller, domain, page, max_results, sort, ... |
| seller_profile | Seller reputation by `seller` username -> seller_profile{store_name, feedback_score, feedback_positive_pct, positive_pct_12mo, items_sold_display, followers_display, member_since, location, business_seller, top_rated, feedback_ratings{positive/neutral/negative:{m1,m6,m12}}}. From the public storefront + feedback pages (logged-out, no account). | Pricing teams call seller_profile to get seller reputation by `seller` username -> seller_profile{store_name, feedback_score, feedback…. | seller, domain |
| deals | eBay Daily Deals grid (/deals) -> results[]{item_id,title,price{value,currency},was_price{value,currency},shipping,deal_badge,image,url}. Current promoted discounts site-wide for the marketplace. No query needed. | Marketplace operators call deals to get eBay Daily Deals grid (/deals) -> results[]{item_id,title,price{value,currency},was_price{val…. | domain, max_results |
| categories | eBay category tree / ID lookup (/n/all-categories) -> categories[]{category_id,name,slug} + groups[] (top-level departments). Pass `query` to filter by name so you can resolve a category name (e.g. 'cell phones') to the numeric ID used by search's `category` param — no need to know '9355' in advance. | Catalog enrichment teams call categories to get eBay category tree / ID lookup (/n/all-categories) -> categories[]{category_id,name,slug} + g…. | query, domain, max_results |
Call search from your stack
curl -X POST https://api.reefapi.com/ebay/v1/search \
-H "x-api-key: $REEF_KEY" \
-H "content-type: application/json" \
-d '{"query":"iphone 13 pro"}'import requests
r = requests.post(
"https://api.reefapi.com/ebay/v1/search",
headers={"x-api-key": REEF_KEY},
json={
"query": "iphone 13 pro"
},
)
print(r.json()["data"])const res = await fetch("https://api.reefapi.com/ebay/v1/search", {
method: "POST",
headers: {
"x-api-key": process.env.REEF_KEY,
"content-type": "application/json",
},
body: JSON.stringify({
"query": "iphone 13 pro"
}),
});
const { ok, data, meta, error } = await res.json();Ask your MCP-connected assistant: call reefapi.ebay.search with {"query":"iphone 13 pro"}.Who uses this API and why
- Resale-pricing tools track an item's live market by pulling every active listing for it with search, then following the same seller's inventory with seller_items.
- Marketplace analysts use search and deals to track active-listing prices and promotions.
- Seller-intelligence products use seller_items and seller_profile to audit a competitor's full inventory.
Questions developers ask before integrating
What marketplace code do I pass, EBAY_US or a numeric site id?
Neither. The parameter is domain and its value is the eBay hostname suffix: com, co.uk, de, fr, it, es, nl, at, ie, ca, com.au, ch, pl. All 13 were live-verified, and com.sg and com.hk were accepted too even though they are not in the dropdown. domain defaults to com, and an unrecognized value is ignored rather than rejected, so a typo silently gives you ebay.com results.
How long is an eBay item id?
Every id measured was 12 digits, on all 15 domains tried on 2026-08-27, for example 389734331119 on com, 336311417494 on co.uk and 820051316593 on nl. It is the number after /itm/ in the listing URL. item_detail takes either item_id or the full url, and items_batch takes a list of ids.
Why do I filter on condition=used but get back "Pre-Owned"?
The filter takes an enum (new, open_box, refurbished, used, for_parts) but the response carries eBay's display label. In search the same items came back as "Pre-Owned" and "Brand new"; in item_detail those same listings read "Used", "New" and "Refurbished". Neither set is a stable enum, so map on your side and do not string-compare responses against filter values.
Why is shipping a string in search but a number in item_detail?
search returns eBay's rendered label, for example "+$5.68 delivery", because that is what the results grid publishes. item_detail returns a structured block instead, {rate: 5.93, currency: "USD", country: "USA"}. On several listings item_detail's shipping came back null while search had a label for the same item, so if you need a shipping figure on every row, take it from search.
What does buying_format tell me, and can I trust the auction fields?
In search, buying_format is eBay's own grid label and it is reliable: measured values include "Buy It Now", "or Best Offer", "0 bids" and "20 bids". In item_detail the buying_format, bids and current_bid fields are currently not trustworthy. On 2026-08-27 four fixed-price listings that search labelled "Buy It Now" or "or Best Offer" came back from item_detail as buying_format "auction" with bids 1 and current_bid equal to the fixed price. Until that is corrected, take the format from search and use item_detail for end_time, watchers, quantity_sold and best_offer.
Which item_detail fields come back null?
seller.feedback_pct and seller.feedback_count were null on every item measured, and seller was null entirely on some listings. category_path was populated on co.uk items and null on ebay.com items in the same batch. return_policy is null unless the seller published one, list_price is null unless the listing shows a strikethrough price, and time_left is either null or the untranslated stub "Ends in". Use end_time, which is a clean ISO timestamp such as 2026-09-12T19:55:43.000Z.
Does items_batch cost less than calling item_detail repeatedly?
No. eBay has no batched item endpoint, so items_batch fans out into one request per id and says so in meta: requested 3, upstream_calls 3, concurrency 8, and billing_note "priced per item id, not per call". What you save is round trips and wall time, not credits. The response splits into items, not_found and unavailable, so one dead id does not kill the whole call.
Why does sold_search return an error?
It is switched off at the moment. Measured on 2026-08-27, sold_search returned ok:false with error.code DISABLED, retryable:false, and meta.scope ENDPOINT_DISABLED. It fails immediately rather than hanging, so a retry loop will not help. search, item_detail, items_batch, seller_items, seller_profile, deals and categories were all answering normally on the same day.
What is the eBay API?
eBay API is a ReefAPI endpoint group for active listings plus sold prices and market stats. It returns live JSON through POST requests under /ebay/v1.
Is the eBay API free to try?
Yes. ReefAPI starts with 1,000 free credits, no card required. eBay calls use the same shared credit balance as every other ReefAPI engine.
Do I need an eBay login or account?
No login to eBay is needed for the API response. You call ReefAPI with your x-api-key header, and the playground can run live examples before you create a production key.
How fresh is the eBay data?
The page example is captured from a live search call, and production requests fetch live data through ReefAPI rather than a static sample.
How many credits does the eBay API use?
eBay actions currently cost 1-3 credits per successful call. Failed or blocked calls are free. All APIs draw from one credit pool.
Can I call eBay from an AI assistant or MCP client?
Yes. Connect ReefAPI once through MCP and your assistant can call ebay actions with the same key, credit pool and JSON envelope used by normal REST requests.