Does the eBay Browse API return sold listings?

No. The eBay Browse API's item_summary/search endpoint only returns items that are currently for sale. There is no filter, marketplace header, or scope that makes it return sold or completed listings. Developers usually find this out after building an integration, so here is the full picture.

What the Browse API does return

• Live Buy It Now and auction listings with their current price.
• Filters such as price, conditions, buyingOptions, and itemLocationCountry, all applied to active items.
• Item details through getItem, including for items that ended recently, but only if you already know the item id, and without a clean sold price.

Asking prices are not market prices. Plenty of listings sit unsold for weeks, and many sell below asking through Best Offer. If you price from active listings, you price from what sellers hope for.

Where eBay keeps sold data

Getting sold listings from code

The eBay Sold Listings API returns completed sales for any keyword, and active listings from the same endpoint when you want both sides of the market:

# completed sales (default)
curl "https://api.ebaysoldlistingsapi.com/scrape?keyword=steam+deck+oled" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

# current listings, same response shape
curl "https://api.ebaysoldlistingsapi.com/scrape?keyword=steam+deck+oled&sold=false" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

Comparing the two is a quick way to spot opportunity: if the median active price sits well above the median sold price, sellers are overpricing and items will sit.

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