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  • How do I get started using Custom Templates?
    Sellers can create and use Custom Templates with our Sales Manager service, which also includes free image hosting, scheduled listings, inventory management, and post-sale automation. If you are new to Vendio, you can try our Sales Manager service risk free for two weeks. Click here to begin!

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  • What's the difference between the new custom templates and the older templates?
    Vendio's new custom templates differ from the original templates in the following ways:
    • New custom templates give you control over the image and text layout, frame, and every border, pattern, color and font used in the template. The original templates only gave you control over the image and text layout.
    • New custom templates are organized with navigation links and custom sections that you can define. The original templates do not support these features.
    • New custom templates give you the control to include (or not include) certain template elements. For example, you can choose not to have your title inside your template. Original templates do not provide this kind of control over various elements.

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  • Does it cost anything to use the new templates?
    No, using any template (original or new) in your listings is included absolutely FREE with your existing Sales Manager plan.

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  • Can I use the new templates with Sales Manager Pro?
    Yes, the new templates can be used with Sales Manager Pro, Version 5.1. For more information about Sales Manager Pro, please click here.

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  • How can I change or update the template for multiple pending listings at once?
    Any pending listings that use the same template can all be updated at once simply by updating that template. Let's step through how one example seller of clothing would use this capability to update multiple items seasonally:
    • The example seller would create and customize a template called, "Seasonal Clothing" and save it to their Saved Templates list using Template Workshop.
    • The seller creates active and pending listings using the "Seasonal Clothing" template.
    • At the change of a season, the seller makes modifications to the "Seasonal Clothing" template to reflect the new season (i.e. changes the colors or accent graphics), and overwrites the existing version of that template.
    • Any pending listings that the seller had which use this template will be launched with the updated version, but the active listings will remain untouched.

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  • How do I change a color in the new templates?
    To change a color in the new templates, follow these steps:
    • Click on the Template Workshop button within your "Template Preferences", "Create Listing" or "eBay Site Specifics Preferences" page. The Template Workshop presents a What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get view of your template on the right-hand side as you make changes with the controls on the left-hand side.
    • In the right-hand preview frame of Template Workshop, click on the "Edit" button for the template element whose color you want to change.
    • In the left-hand console for that template element, find the specific property you want to change. For example, for many elements, you can change the background color, the border color and the font color. Click on the color swatch or "choose" link underneath the color to be changed.
    • In the Color Picker that appears, choose your desired color by clicking on a color swatch, on an area within the hue and saturation box, or by entering in its hexadecimal code. (You can find many hexadecimal color code charts online through search engines.) When you have obtained the color you want, click the "Ok" button.
    • If you want to use one of our pre-set Color Schemes to change the colors of multiple template elements at once, click on the "Edit Overall Properties" button in the right-hand preview frame, and select a color scheme from the drop-down list under "Preset Color Schemes" in the left-hand console. Note that you can still change individual colors even after applying a preset color scheme.
    Once you have made all the changes you desire to your template in Template Workshop, make sure to give your template a name and hit "Save & Close". This will add your new template to your list of Saved Templates.

    For more information about Template Workshop, please see the Template Workshop page within the Fully Customizable Templates Tour.

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  • How do I create a new template that uses my Vendio store colors?
    All of the Vendio Store color schemes are also available as preset color schemes in Template Workshop. To apply a preset color scheme to a template, follow these steps:
    • Click on the Template Workshop button within your "Template Preferences", "Create Listing" or "eBay Site Specifics Preferences" page. The Template Workshop presents a What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get view of your template on the right-hand side as you make changes with the controls on the left-hand side.
    • In the right-hand preview frame of Template Workshop, click on the "Edit Overall Properties" button in the right-hand preview frame.
    • In the left-hand console, select a color scheme from the drop-down list under "Preset Color Schemes" control. You will find all the Vendio Store color schemes listed with the prefix "Store". Note that you can still change the colors of individual template elements even after applying a preset color scheme.
    Once you have made all the changes you desire to your template in Template Workshop, make sure to give your template a name and hit "Save & Close". This will add your new template to your list of Saved Templates.

    For more information about Template Workshop, please see the Template Workshop page within the Fully Customizable Templates Tour.

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  • How do I change a font in the new templates?
    To change a font in the new templates, follow these steps:
    • Click on the Template Workshop button within your "Template Preferences", "Create Listing" or "eBay Site Specifics Preferences" page. The Template Workshop presents a What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get view of your template on the right-hand side as you make changes with the controls on the left-hand side.
    • In the right-hand preview frame of Template Workshop, click on the "Edit" button for the template element whose font you want to change.
    • In the left-hand console for that template element, find the font control.
    • In the font control, use the drop-down lists to make your selections from the available choices of font faces, font sizes and font styles (normal, bold, italic). The list of font faces available is the basic set of fonts most commonly installed on your buyers' computers. If you want to use a different font, you can do so in your HTML, but note that it will not be displayed correctly if your buyer does not have that font installed.
    • If you want to use one of our pre-set Font Schemes to change the font characteristics of multiple template elements at once, click on the "Edit Overall Properties" button in the right-hand preview frame, and select a font scheme from the drop-down list under "Preset Font Schemes" in the left-hand console. Note that you can still change individual fonts even after applying a preset font scheme.
    Once you have made all the changes you desire to your template in Template Workshop, make sure to give your template a name and hit "Save & Close". This will add your new template to your list of Saved Templates.

    For more information about Template Workshop, please see the Template Workshop page within the Fully Customizable Templates Tour.

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  • How do I add my own logo to the new templates?
    Your logos can be used in any of the six accent graphic slots available in the new templates. To add a logo to a new template:
    • Make sure you have uploaded and saved a logo in your Template Preferences page.
      • You can store up to three logos.
    • In Template Workshop, click on the "Edit Accent Graphics" button in the right-hand preview frame of any new template.
    • In the Template Workshop left-hand console for "Accent Graphics", scroll down to the slot in which you want to place your logo, and click on the radiobutton next to "Logo". Use the drop-down list to choose which of your logos to insert in this slot.
    • You should see your logo appear in the right-hand preview frame of Template Workshop as soon as you have selected your logo.
    For more information about Template Workshop, please see the Template Workshop page within the Fully Customizable Templates Tour.

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  • How do I add my own background patterns or special graphics to the new templates?
    If you are on a Sales Manager "Power" or "Premium" plan, you have the ability to upload your own custom images for use as background patterns or accent graphics in new templates. To upload your own custom image in a new template:
    • In Template Workshop, click on the "Edit Frame", "Edit Main Background" or "Edit Accent Graphics" button in the right-hand preview frame of any new template.
    • For Frames, click on the radiobutton next to "Pattern" or "Pattern with Stencil" in the "Frame Type" control, depending on the type of frame you desire.
    • In the Template Workshop left-hand console, find the "Pattern" control if you are uploading a background pattern. For accent graphics, find the control for the slot where you want to place your image (i.e. "Top Left", "Bottom Center", etc...).
    • Click on the "choose" link next to the "Image:" radiobutton. This will bring up the Image Chooser.
    • In the Image Chooser, click on the link for "Upload Image" under the label Custom Images on the left-hand navigation area. The image chooser will provide a browse button for you to locate your custom on your local computer.
    • Click "Upload Image".
    • Click "OK" to close the Image Chooser.
    You should see your custom image appear in the right-hand preview frame of Template Workshop as soon as you have closed the Image Chooser.

    For more information about Template Workshop, please see the Template Workshop page within the Fully Customizable Templates Tour.

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  • What happens to the templates I've used in the past?
    All the templates you have used in the past are still available for you to use. Three new sample templates have been included in the Saved Templates list, and nothing has been deleted. If you previously saved templates to your Saved Templates list, they will still be there. In addition, the original three categories of template styles ("Standard", "Special" and "Holiday") and all their contents, are still available, under the names "Original: Standard", "Original: Special" and "Original: Holiday" within Template Workshop.

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  • What system and browsers do I need to access all the new template features?
    The new templates have been optimized to work with Internet Explorer 6 and above on PC's. On Macs, we recommend using Netscape 7.1. If you use any other system or browser combination (including WebTV), you will still be able to create and preview listings that use the new templates, but you may not have access to all customization capabilities in Template Workshop on those platforms.

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  • Do the new templates work on Yahoo! or Amazon auctions?
    The new templates cannot be used on Yahoo! or Amazon auctions at this time.

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  • Where can I get ideas, tips and tricks for creating new templates?
    Customers can share template ideas, tips and tricks in our Message Center.

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  • How can I use different Custom Listing Text for my different types of items?
    The custom sections that you define on your Custom Listing Text page are global and are included in your listings whenever you use a custom template that has a visible custom info box. Note that you can define up to five different custom sections, and you can turn each section on and off individually (by clicking on the "Show in Listing" checkbox next to each section's heading). Therefore, if you have different types of items that require different custom sections, you can use the following workflow:

    • Define custom sections specific for your different types of items (for example, "Shoes" and "Lamps").
    • When launching items of one type, make sure to only turn on those custom sections that are relevant to that item type.
    • When you are finished launching those items, turn off the custom sections relevant to the first item type, and turn on the custom sections for the second item type.
    • Note that the custom sections are applied to the listing at launch time, not schedule time, so make sure your listings of one type are done launching before changing your custom listing text settings.

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  • How can I embed item images within my item description text?
    You can use HTML in your item description section to include images within your item description text. To obtain the HTML for an image, please do the following:
    • Click on the "Image Hosting" tab.
    • Select the image(s) you wish to include and click on 'attach'.
    • Choose 'generate HTML' from the drop down along with 'new auction'.

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  • What layout options do I have for my item images and text description in the new templates?
    In the new templates, you can choose from seventeen (17) different layout options!:
    • Images Centered & Split: This places one image, centered, above your item description text, with the rest of the images in 2 columns below the Standard Sections. Click here to see a diagram illustrating this layout.
    • All Images on Left: This places all item images in a single column to the left of your item description text, above the Standard Sections. Click here to see a diagram illustrating this layout.
    • All Images on Right: This places all item images in a single column to the right of your item description text, above the Standard Sections. Click here to see a diagram illustrating this layout.
    • 3 Images on Left: This places 3 item images in a single column to the left of your description text, above the Standard Sections, placing any remaining images below the Standard Sections in a single column on the left. This layout is recommended if your item description text is short relative to the height of your item images. Click here to see a diagram illustrating this layout.
    • 3 Images on Right: This places 3 item images in a single column to the right of your description text, above the Standard Sections, placing any remaining images below the Standard Sections in a single column on the right. This layout is recommended if your item description text is short relative to the height of your item images.Click here to see a diagram illustrating this layout.
    • 3 Images on Top: This places 3 item images in a single row above your description text, above the Standard Sections, placing any remaining images below the Standard Sections in rows of 3.Click here to see a diagram illustrating this layout.
    • Images Wrap Left: This places 2 item images on top and 1 item image to the left of your description text, above the Standard Sections, placing any remaining images below the Standard Sections in 2 columns.Click here to see a diagram illustrating this layout.
    • Images Wrap Right: This places 2 item images on top and 1 item image to the right of your description text, above the Standard Sections, placing any remaining images below the Standard Sections in 2 columns.Click here to see a diagram illustrating this layout.
    • Images Stacked on Bottom: This places all images in a single, centered column below your item description and Standard Sections.Click here to see a diagram illustrating this layout.
    • Left and on Top: This places up to 3 images across the top and all remaining images down the left side next to your item description and Standard Sections.Click here to see a diagram illustrating this layout.
    • Right and on Top: This places up to 3 images across the top and all remaining images down the right side next to your item description and Standard Sections.Click here to see a diagram illustrating this layout.
    • 2 Images on Bottom: This places all available images in 2 columns just below your item description and Standard Sections.Click here to see a diagram illustrating this layout.
    • 2 Images on Top: This places two images above your item description text, with the rest of the images in 2 columns below the Standard Sections.Click here to see a diagram illustrating this layout.
    • All Images on Top: This places all available images in two columns above your item description text.Click here to see a diagram illustrating this layout.
    • Left and 2 on Top: This places two images above your item description will all available additional images in one column to the left of your item description text and Standard Sections.Click here to see a diagram illustrating this layout.
    • Right and 2 on Top: This places two images above your item description will all available additional images in one column to the right of your item description text and Standard Sections.Click here to see a diagram illustrating this layout.
    • Stacked on Top: This places all available images above your item description in one centered column.Click here to see a diagram illustrating this layout.

    You can set your preferred layout as your default template style by clicking on the My Account tab and then Template Preferences.

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  • Why are PayPal and/or Money Order showing as payment methods when I preview my template?
    PayPal and Money Orders will appear as payment options in the template preview only, as an example of what the template will look like when complete. If these options are not selected in your preferences, they will not appear in your actual listings. To see a preview of the template as it will appear in your listings, please use the "Full Preview" or venue preview function in Create Listing as this will provide a more accurate representation of the listing with your selected preferences.

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