Overview
Use this article to assign a merchandising strategy to an item before it goes live, keep that strategy on track after you edit a live item or change its category, and end a strategy when you need to close a listing on eBay or delete an item.
What you'll do:
Assign a merchandising strategy to your item
Keep your strategy running after changes
End a merchandising strategy
Before you start
This article assumes your account already has at least one merchandising strategy template set up. If you don't have one yet, you can:
Contact us on Intercom and we'll help you get one set up.
Follow our guide on configuring a merchandising strategy.
Create a custom strategy of your own.
Prefer to Watch? 3-Minute Video Walkthrough 🎥
What a Merchandising Strategy Does
A merchandising strategy is a set of preset rules that control what happens to your item automatically once it goes live, so you don't have to manage it by hand. Each strategy is made up of steps, and every step can include:
Format — whether the item lists as a Buy It Now or an Auction.
Price — the price it lists at for that step.
Duration — how many days that step runs before moving to the next one.
Refresh Listing — relists the item fresh at this step, similar to eBay's "sell similar" feature, giving it renewed visibility.
Offers — whether buyers can send you an offer during that step.
Once a strategy is assigned and running, these steps happen automatically in sequence — for example, an item might list as a 30-day Buy It Now at £50, then automatically drop to £45 after 10 days with Refresh Listing switched on, and so on. This saves you from manually repricing, relisting, or changing an item's format after it's gone live.
Assign a Merchandising Strategy to Your Item
You assign a merchandising strategy from the quality control (QC) screen, right before you approve an item to go live.
On the item's eBay tab, complete your quality control (QC) checks and make sure you're happy with the listing.
Check the Pricing Report in the sidebar for the item's Target Price, Buy It Now Price, and Auction Start Price, and use this to decide on your price.
In the Merchandising Strategy panel in the sidebar, click Assign next to No Strategy.
In the window that opens, select the strategy you want from the dropdown — you'll only see this choice if your account has more than one strategy template (for example, "eBay + Depop → 3 Months").
Enter your chosen price in the Start Price field.
Click Select.
Review the steps generated for your strategy: each row shows its format (Buy It Now or Auction), duration, price, whether Refresh Listing is switched on, its start timing, and whether Offers are allowed.
If you want to add another step, click + Add Step.
When you're happy with the steps, click Save.
Saving returns you to the QC screen, where the Merchandising Strategy panel now shows your full list of steps instead of No Strategy.
Click Approve. If the first step is set to Start Immediately, your item goes live straight away. If you've set a specific start date instead (using the ••• next to the start-timing control), the item is scheduled to go live at that time.
Expected result
✅ Your item goes live (or is scheduled to) with its merchandising strategy already running. From here, the strategy automatically works through its steps — repricing, changing format, refreshing, or allowing offers — without you needing to come back and do it manually.
Keep Your Strategy Running After Changes
If you edit a live item or its category changes, you'll need to make sure its merchandising strategy picks up the change.
After Editing a Live Item
Make your edits to the item.
Click Save.
Go to the Merchandising Strategy tab.
Click the ••• (three dots) icon in the top right.
Select Re-run Current Steps.
This makes sure the strategy keeps running to the correct dates and steps after your edit, rather than carrying on with outdated information.
After Rescanning a Listing
If you rescan an item's listing — for example, after changing its category — you'll need to rerun its merchandising strategy so the steps reflect the update.
On the item's eBay tab, click the ••• (three dots) icon in the top right, next to the active badge.
Select Rescan listing to have the AI rescan the item as it stands, or Rescan with amendments if you want to make changes before it rescans.
Once the rescan is complete, go to the Merchandising Strategy tab.
Click the ••• (three dots) icon in the top right.
Select Re-run Current Steps.
Switching to a Different Strategy
If you'd rather move the item onto a different strategy template altogether, rather than continuing with its current one, select Re-assign Strategy from the same ••• menu on the Merchandising Strategy tab. This ends the current strategy and starts a new one with the template you select, following the same steps as assigning a strategy for the first time.
Expected result
✅ Your merchandising strategy is running again with the correct, up-to-date steps and dates. You don't need to reassign a whole new strategy — re-running keeps the one you already have on track.
End a Merchandising Strategy
You'll need to end an item's merchandising strategy before you can end its eBay listing or delete the item — both actions require the strategy to be stopped first.
Go to the item's Merchandising Strategy tab.
Click the red End button in the top right.
Now complete the action you needed the strategy stopped for: end the eBay listing, or delete the item.
Expected result
✅ The merchandising strategy stops running, and you're free to end the eBay listing or delete the item.
💡 Tips and best practice
Set your Start Price using the Pricing Report's Target Price or Buy It Now Price as a guide, so your strategy's steps start from a realistic figure.
Switch on Refresh Listing on steps where you want a fresh boost in visibility — it works like eBay's "sell similar" feature.
If you're editing several live items at once, re-run each one's steps straight after saving — leaving it until later risks the strategy running on outdated details.
Use Re-assign Strategy rather than Re-run Current Steps when you want to change the strategy template itself, not just refresh the existing one.
⚠️ Troubleshooting / FAQs
Do I need to assign a merchandising strategy to my item?
Yes — every item needs a merchandising strategy assigned before it can go live. However, you can customise its steps (format, price, duration, Refresh Listing, and Offers) so it suits your own workflow.
Why can't I delete a listing?
You can't delete an item while it still has an active merchandising strategy running on it. End the merchandising strategy first, then you'll be free to delete the item or end its eBay listing.
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