Overview
Use this article to understand what each listing status in Listing Monster means, what causes it, and what to do next. You'll need this whenever you see an unfamiliar status next to an item in your Items table, from before it goes live through to after its listing ends.
What you'll do:
Before your listing goes live
Once your listing is live
After your listing period ends
If something's gone wrong
Before your listing goes live
Two statuses can appear on an item before it's live on a marketplace, showing you exactly which stage it's at in Listing Monster.
QC
QC (quality control) means the item hasn't been checked yet, and needs review before it can be approved and go live. You'll see this status on any newly added item, and on any item you haven't yet approved. See Review and publish a listing in the app for how to check an item's details and approve it.
Scheduled
Scheduled means the item is set to go live at a future date and time. An item reaches this status once it's been approved with a merchandising strategy — the set of pricing and listing steps Listing Monster runs for an item over time — whose first step is timed to start later rather than straight away.
Once your listing is live
Active
Active means the item is live on its marketplace right now, and customers can see and buy it. An item reaches Active either once it's approved with a merchandising strategy set to start straight away, or when a Scheduled item's start time arrives.
After your listing period ends
Three statuses can appear once an item's listing period has finished, depending on whether it sold and how the listing ended.
Sold
Sold means the item has sold on its marketplace.
Unsold
Unsold means the item has gone through a full merchandising strategy and didn't sell.
Ended
Ended means the item's listing has not sold, or its merchandising strategy has been manually ended. You may see Unsold and Ended on similar-looking items, since both mean the listing didn't result in a sale — see Relist an unsold item if you want to put either back on sale.
If something's gone wrong
Export failed
Export failed means there's an error in the listing that's stopping it from going live on its marketplace. Listing Monster tried to push the item live and the export didn't go through. See Fix eBay export failed errors for the most common causes and how to fix them.
Other statuses you might see
Approved
Approved means the listing has been checked and approved, but still needs some additional information before it can go live. If you see this status on an item, go back into it and check its details for anything missing.
Expected result
✅ You know what each status on your items means, what causes it, and what to do next — whether that's finishing QC, adding missing information to an approved item, or fixing an export error. Check your Items table any time to see each item's current status at a glance.
💡 Tips and best practice
Filter your Items table by status (via Filters) so you can quickly find everything sitting in QC or Export failed, rather than scrolling through every item.
Save a filtered view for the statuses you check most often — like QC or Export failed — from the Items dropdown menu, so you don't have to rebuild the filter every time.
Work through QC items regularly rather than letting them build up, so approved items reach their marketplace sooner.
If an item is stuck on Approved, check it for missing information before assuming it'll go live on its own.
Check both Unsold and Ended items when reviewing stock that didn't sell — either status is worth considering for a relist.
⚠️ Troubleshooting / FAQs
What's the difference between "Unsold" and "Ended"?
Both statuses mean the listing didn't result in a sale. Unsold applies once an item has gone through a full merchandising strategy without selling, while Ended applies when the listing hasn't sold, or its merchandising strategy has been manually ended. Either way, see Relist an unsold item if you want to put the item back on sale.
My item shows "Approved" but hasn't gone live — why?
An item in Approved status still needs some additional information before it can go live. Go back into the item, check its details for anything missing, and save your changes.
My item shows "QC" — what do I need to do?
A QC status means the item hasn't been checked yet. See Review and publish a listing in the app for how to check the item's details and approve it.
My item shows "Export failed" — what do I need to do?
An Export failed status means there's an error in the listing stopping it from going live. See Fix eBay export failed errors for the most common causes and how to fix them.