I'm kind of new with the eBay API. I found two methods to get item information:
GetItem methodGetSingleItem methodSo, what is the main difference between these two APIs?
I need to search items in eBay through my website, I'm making it with the findingItemsAdvance. I also need to get the weight and item dimensions in order to calculate the right price, but the findingItems doesn't provide it.
The eBay's team advice is use the Trading API, but I don't understand the main difference between the two APIs. Thank you.
This is a two part question. Part 1 is, what is the difference between the two calls. Part 2 is, what is the difference between the Trading and Shopping API.
Lets start with Part 2 first.
The Trading API is the "full featured" API. It can do just about everything you would want to do with eBay. Because the Trading API can do everything, it is longer, and to an extent, more unwieldy. (Edit: The trading API can't do everything, it is limited to your user only)
The Shopping API is not your general purpose eBay toolkit. It is focused, it provides Shopping related functionality and that is it. Thus the calls are generally simpler and easier to work with.
Moving back to Part 1, we can see an excellent example of this.
The Trading API's getItem call has a output listing that clocks in at 739 lines.
The Shopping API's getSingleItem call has an output listing that clocks in at 242 lines.
This is an example of the increased strength and complexity that the Trading API offers. The Trading API is the better all around choice, while the Shopping API is good for well, a "Shopping" related app.