One of the most important concepts in ListForge is the separation between Items and Listings. Understanding this will save you confusion and help you work more efficiently.
Items: What You Own
An Item is the canonical record of a product in your inventory. It represents the physical thing you're selling — a vintage camera, a pair of sneakers, a board game.
An Item stores:
- Product identity (name, brand, model, category)
- Your photos and notes
- AI research results (comparable sales, pricing analysis)
- Condition assessment
- Inventory details (SKU, location, cost basis, quantity)
Items are marketplace-agnostic. They don't know or care whether you're selling on eBay, Amazon, or Facebook.
Listings: Where You Sell
A Listing is a marketplace-specific projection of an Item. When you publish an Item to eBay, ListForge creates an eBay Listing. Publish to Amazon, and you get an Amazon Listing.
Each Listing stores:
- Marketplace-specific title and description
- Platform-required fields (item specifics, browse nodes, category IDs)
- The price you set for that marketplace
- Shipping configuration
- Publishing status (draft, listed, sold, ended)
Why They're Separate
Different marketplaces have different requirements. An eBay listing needs Item Specifics and a condition ID. An Amazon listing needs an ASIN or product type. A Facebook listing needs a local/shipped designation.
By keeping Items and Listings separate, ListForge lets you:
- Price differently per marketplace — charge more on platforms where demand is higher
- Customize titles and descriptions — optimize for each platform's search algorithm
- Track performance per platform — see where items sell fastest and for the most money
- Edit listings independently — change your eBay price without affecting your Amazon listing
The Golden Rule
Listing edits never write back to the Item. If you change a listing's price on eBay, your Item's canonical price stays the same. This is intentional — your Item is your source of truth, and listings are marketplace-specific adaptations.
Lifecycle
Items move through a lifecycle: Draft → Ready → Listed → Sold → Archived
- Draft: created but not yet ready (maybe research is still running)
- Ready: research complete, approved, ready to list
- Listed: at least one active marketplace listing exists
- Sold: all quantity sold across all marketplaces
- Archived: removed from active inventory
Listings have their own lifecycle: Not Listed → Listing Pending → Listed → Sold → Ended