Inside the 3Dsellers Product Catalog, your product data is organized into two main structures:

Understanding the difference is essential for managing your catalog efficiently and publishing successfully to marketplaces.

Product Properties are predefined, built-in system fields that store your core product information.
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They act as your master source of truth and are used across 3Dsellers for:

The screenshot above shows the Product Properties section inside the General Details tab of a Catalog product.
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This is where you manage the product’s core information — the structured data that powers mapping, rules, and listing synchronization.

Each field labeled “Product Property / …” represents a built-in system field.

In this example, the product includes:

Product Properties are organized into structured subsections inside the product editor — as shown below.
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In the left navigation panel, you can see that properties are divided into the following areas:

Each section groups related Product Properties to make product management clearer and more organized.

✔ System-defined and standardized
✔ Reusable across multiple channels
✔ Used directly in Mapping Templates
✔ Used in Rule logic
✔ Power linked listing updates

Custom Attributes are flexible fields that store additional product data.

They can be:

When you import listings from a marketplace (eBay, Shopify, Amazon, etc.) into the Catalog:

This ensures:
✔ No data is lost during import
✔ All listing information is preserved
✔ You can remap or reuse it later
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These attributes often include the channel name (example:
​topvid ebay MOTORS condition description).
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You can also create Custom Attributes yourself to store business-specific data such as:

Custom Attributes give you flexibility beyond the system-defined Product Properties.
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They can be created and managed in the Custom Attributes page.

Product Properties are the most common data source when mapping to marketplaces.

Example:

You update once in the Catalog → it applies everywhere the property is mapped.

The screenshot above shows a Channel Template Mapping screen.

Each marketplace field (such as UPC, EAN, ISBN, MPN, ePID, and Images) is mapped to a corresponding Product Property in the Catalog.
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For example:

This means that when publishing or revising a listing, 3Dsellers will pull the value directly from the selected Product Property in your Catalog.

If needed, you can also:

This mapping structure ensures that your Catalog remains the central source of truth while allowing flexibility per channel.

Product Properties can be used in:

When a listing is linked to a Catalog product:

Changes in Product Properties can update the listing.

Examples:

(Depending on mapping + sync settings.)

You can:

Custom Attributes are mainly used when:

They become especially powerful in:

When configuring a Channel Template Mapping, you can choose where the marketplace field should pull its data from.

You have three main options:

If you map a marketplace field to a Product Property, 3Dsellers will pull the value directly from the standard Catalog field.
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Example from the screenshot:

📍 This means:
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When publishing or revising the listing, the system takes the value stored under:

Edit Product → Identifiers → Product Property / UPC
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This is the recommended approach for core data like:

Because Product Properties are your master catalog data and sync cleanly across channels.

If you map to a Custom Attribute, the system will pull the value from that specific custom field instead of the standard Product Property.
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Example from the screenshot:

📍 This means:
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If the Custom Attribute contains the value 2764827T487, that value will be sent to the marketplace — even if the main Product Property / UPC field contains something different.
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This is useful when:

You can also configure a Fallback value.

A fallback is used only if the main mapped source is empty.

Example logic:

Result:

Fallback helps prevent publishing errors caused by missing data.

When publishing:

✔ Keep Title, SKU, Price, Quantity updated
✔ Maintain consistent formatting
✔ Update the Catalog first before revising listings
✔ Use Rules instead of manual edits

✔ Create only what you truly need
✔ Use clear naming conventions
✔ Map attributes intentionally
✔ Use fallback to prevent empty fields
✔ Periodically review unused attributes

Too many attributes make your catalog harder to manage.

“Red” vs “red” vs “RED” causes mapping and filtering issues.
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If not mapped, the data will never reach the channel.
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Avoid storing the same value in both Product Properties and Custom Attributes unnecessarily.

Product Properties are your core structured data.
Custom Attributes are your flexible extension layer.

Together they allow you to:

Understanding how and when to use each ensures a clean, scalable, and efficient product catalog.