What local-first means for an eBay seller application
Product education
A precise definition of local-first, including the parts that still require an internet connection.
- Define local-first without implying the app is offline or cloud-free
- List what is stored on the Mac: product records, images, preferences, drafts, cached marketplace information
- List what requires a connection: authorisation, marketplace reads, marketplace writes, some remote services
- Explain why marketplace secrets are handled at the backend boundary rather than in the app
- Close on backup responsibility
Product records versus live marketplace listings
Product education
Why the two are separate, and what that separation buys you day to day.
- Define both terms with a concrete example using synthetic data
- Show what a product record holds that a listing does not
- Explain deletion protection for live products
- Explain why editing is not publishing
Why SellerHint allows duplicate SKUs
Listing management
The reasoning behind not treating SKU as a unique key, and what is used instead.
- Show realistic ways duplicate SKUs occur
- Explain database row identity for local changes
- Explain exact marketplace item identity for remote actions
- Explain where SKU matching still applies and how conflicts are surfaced
SKU matching versus exact marketplace item identity
Product education
Two different jobs that are often confused, and the failures that result from confusing them.
- Define each
- Give an example where SKU matching is right
- Give an example where only exact identity is safe
How to manage multiple eBay stores without mixing data
Seller workflows
A working method for multi-store sellers, built on store scope.
- List everything that is store-specific
- Explain store tabs and overrides
- Explain the one deliberate cross-store workflow, Inventory Sync, and its limits
- Give a checklist for auditing that two stores really are configured as intended
How SellerHint protects products connected to live listings
Listing management
What deletion protection does, what it does not do, and the safe way to retire an item.
- Explain the protection
- Clarify it does not end a listing on eBay
- Give the correct retirement sequence
Understanding local saves and remote listing updates
Product education
The two-step model, and how partial failures are reported.
- Walk through save then send
- Explain ordered processing in plain language without internal queue detail
- Explain per-field and per-listing results
- Explain unsupported remote fields
How quantity-only inventory synchronisation protects unrelated listing fields
Inventory
Why a narrow synchroniser is safer than a general one.
- Describe the damage a blanket listing update can do
- Explain the quantity-only design and the preview step
- Explain conflicts from duplicate SKUs
- State plainly that no tool prevents every oversell
How to prepare for importing existing eBay listings
Seller workflows
What to tidy before an import so the match results are useful.
- Pre-import checklist
- What normalised matching can and cannot see
- How to work through conflicts
Match conflicts caused by variations and child SKUs
Listing management
The most common source of import conflicts, explained with synthetic examples.
- Show a variation listing structure
- Show why the match is ambiguous
- Show the resolution options
Understanding order, fulfilment, shipment and delivery status
Orders and fulfilment
Four values that are often collapsed into one, and why keeping them apart prevents mistakes.
- Define each status
- Show a sequence where they disagree
- Explain carrier reporting lag
Organising product images across multiple stores
Listing management
Managed images, per-store image order, and keeping the set findable.
- Explain managed images
- Explain store image playlists
- Backup implications
What GTC Guard is designed to monitor
Seller workflows
What relist monitoring watches, what it warns about, and what it cannot control.
- Explain GTC listings
- Explain what is monitored
- State clearly that eBay decides whether a listing relists
Why you can reply to a case in SellerHint but not refund it
Messages and customer service
The reasoning behind supporting responses before resolutions.
- Explain what Case Center shows and what replying does
- Explain why refunds, escalation and closing are a different class of action
- Explain why a partially implemented write path is worse than none
- Be clear that eBay still sets the deadlines and the rules
How to create useful diagnostic reports without exposing buyer information
Privacy and security
A practical redaction habit for support conversations.
- What support actually needs
- What to remove first
- What nobody should ever send
SellerHint for Mac versus SellerHint Web
Product education
A factual comparison, including everything the two products do not share.
- Describe each product on its own terms
- List what is not shared: accounts, billing, data, images, connections
- State that no synchronisation exists
- Help the reader pick
SellerHint