Fix a "nearly the same" description notice

The notice means the description you just saved is almost identical to another listing in your shop. It doesn't block anything. It tells you that near-identical descriptions rank poorly in search, so each listing needs its own wording.

What the notice says

After you save, a message appears under Description:

"This description is nearly the same as" followed by a link to the closest listing. If more than one listing is that close, it adds "and 2 other listings", with the real count. The rest of the message reads: "Near-identical descriptions rank poorly in search, so describe what's unique about this one: its subjects, uses and who it's for."

Select the link to open the other listing's editor and compare.

How the check works

Every time you select Save changes, Esano compares the saved description with your shop's other listings. It looks at runs of five words in a row and ignores capital letters and punctuation. If at least 72% of the distinct five-word runs across the two descriptions are shared, the listing counts as a near-duplicate.

• Only your own shop's listings are compared, never other shops'.
• The check covers the 1,000 listings you edited most recently.
• A description too short to have a five-word run is never flagged.
• It runs on save, so the notice appears after you save and not while you type.

Esano tested this on real shop descriptions. Copying the same text and swapping only a theme name and a list of subjects scored well above the line. A description with its own opening paragraph above a shared block of specs stayed below it.

Fix it

1. Open the listing from Seller hub → Listings.
2. Rewrite the start of the Description. Say what is unique: the subjects, how buyers can use it, and who it's for.
3. Keep shared details, such as file formats and sizes, in a shorter block after your unique opening.
4. Select Save changes. If the notice is gone, the descriptions are now different enough.

If you want to leave it as is

The notice is advice, not a rule. You can keep the description and publish. But if the pages are alike, Esano warns that they rank poorly, so changing them is worth the few minutes. For ideas on wording, see write a listing description that ranks. For titles and tags, see write a listing title buyers search for and choose search keywords for a listing.