posted on March 25, 2003 07:54:21 AM new
HI,
I hate to complain but I detest the new listing system. All it does is add one more step to the process and a bit more hassle. One page listing is much more convenient for those of us who are not interested in making this a 12 hour a day job. By the way, the BidPay button is STILL not appearing in my auctions. Is anyone at all checking this out? It has been many months now and all I get is the brush off.
Jane
The new listing system is due to the release of Attributes support. It is more than one page so that when you choose categories with attributes and you continue on to the next page, the correct set of attributes will appear.
The BidPay issue you have reported is being investigated again. We are not brushing off the issue by any means.
posted on March 25, 2003 06:31:25 PM new
Hello there,
The new listing system is different, but it really does not add a step. Before, you had to click "create listing", then select your venue, then "continue" to access the listing page.
Now, you click the venue, select your category, and "continue" to get to the listing page.
The category selector being on the page before create listing will actually save you time in the long run, especially once eBay's Item Specifics start to become more prevalent. You may also notice that it is much quicker to relist items.
posted on March 25, 2003 10:51:57 PM new
I'm afraid you moderators are missing our main point. Do any of you sell collectibles (which are almost never in the same category all the time)??? It's much more complicated for us now, and words fail me in trying to explain it to you. See all the complaints from sellers in many of your various community threads. Some of us who have adored you are just as angry as we can be.
WHO dreamed this one up? Is Ebay blackmailing you so that we'll be unhappy and go back to *their* terrible listing systems???
posted on March 26, 2003 11:50:03 AM new
I know most don t seem to like it, but i like the new system due to very quick relists, and i only sell in a half dozen categories, of which i know the numbers. if i had to search for categories, it seems that it would be time consuming. Finally, a system change i can agree with. sorry it is a hassle to others though.
posted on March 26, 2003 12:08:48 PM new
I have not used the system for over a year and am not finding it easy at all. I am a webtv user. I can not get any response at all from the category selection. The menus are just blank and will not take any commands at all. Everything else seems to work fine, just the category selection. Please advise. Lori
posted on March 26, 2003 01:15:33 PM new
Sonya: As I explained in another (hysterical) thread, those of us who sell odd collectibles, never in the same category twice it seems, frequently do everything first before determining the category or categories to list an item in.
Editing and fiddling with our auction description, bringing up our pictures--all that aids our creative juices. I cannot tell you how many times I've thought I had the right category but had a brainstorm AS I was working on the description.
If Ebay forced you to do this, tell us it was against your will! We'd understand. But just to hear that it was done (or worse, to find it out the hard way, when we're wanting to list an auction) is not the way we like to get news.
What I (and I suspect many) will do is find the category near the top alphabetically which has the very least number of additional subcategories, choose that every time, then go in and work on my auction, ultimately changing the category to the correct one.
An additional problem I'm now having with Netscape is that I get a blank page when I bring up the first (category) page for an ebay listing. Do you have a suggestion for all of us? If I hit reload, it will correct, but it takes about 10 seconds more. Time is money!
posted on March 26, 2003 02:27:49 PM new
I have only been with AW a bit over a week. I used to use Turbo Lister, that so many people don't like, but I did. It is so much faster to list "collectibles" The thing I like of AW is the post sale help one gets, but I'm not sure it's worth it at all! It takes forever to upload pictures, can't edit them (flip, rotate etc) so I need to do that in a photo program, can't type the description, (don't know html) so I need to type it in word (web page format), copy and paste, so it has some kind of formatting. In other words, this is too slow for me. By the time I'm done listing, I would have sent all those post sale emails you send. Probably won't stay. Just wanted to vent.
posted on March 26, 2003 02:30:46 PM new
OH OH OH... I forgot to mention, I CAN'T EVEN ATTACH IMAGES NOW! which is why I came here (the board) in the first place! Wondering if anyone was having problems of this sort too.
posted on March 26, 2003 05:02:38 PM new
Thanks! I"ve looked hard at Sales Manager Pro but I don't need all those bells and whistles just yet. I usually write my auction descriptions in word perfect, then upload them one at a time into my auction listing. Maybe someday. . . .
posted on March 26, 2003 05:09:37 PM new
There aren't really any bells & whistles in Pro that don't exist in Sales Manager - it's just a different interface and a matter of creating your listings offline and uploading them simultaneously vs. creating them online one by one. It might end up saving you a great deal of time in the end, as you can generally create listings more quickly with Pro once you get the hang of it. And it will save you from having to select the category first.
posted on March 26, 2003 08:43:12 PM new
Diana: I'm SUCH a technophobe, and it takes me a long time to learn any new systems. A couple of questions:
Can I see a sample listing page just for my own edification?
I hate to add more software to my system. Is this a lot or a little? If I uploaded it and didn't like it, I suppose I could get rid of it?
Would it then be difficult to go back to my old way of listing?
And, biggest question of all, why is it that Sales Manager Pro can get by, with ebay, without users having to state the category first???? I don't get it!
posted on March 26, 2003 11:02:57 PM new
Roadsmith:
I sell collectibles, used stuff, one-of-a-kinds, vintage ads, etc.
And I "rarely ever" list anything via AW Sales Manager online - why? - Because Sales Manager Pro is much, much, much EASIER than the online version. Yes, I'm a techie, but... it's really simple and the help in the program is pretty good too.
The program isn't very large, and the "footprint" in memory isn't very large either (some would differ on that, but that's because they are choking their own system with other true memory hogs, too many cookies, temp files and cache, etc.)
Seriously, downloading and using SM Pro I think you will find the program to be quite useful for you. You can still list in Sales Manager online - learn SM Pro at your own pace and you can delete SM Pro if it's not your cup of tea.
The VERY nice thing about SM Pro is that you can create and save batches. Now stay with me here... I save a "batch" for my books; a different batch for my vintage ads; and yet another batch for miscellaneous. The only reason I save them is to "profile" each batch with auction specific information and shipping information and such. If I'm listing books, then I open my "book batch", open the ONE item that I had last listed, change it accordingly (Title, description, images, price, launch date and time) and move on to the next book. Within the batch, I copy that first line item, paste it to the next line, open that line item, change the book title and description, price, add the pictures for it and move to the next, etc. I'm sure that won't make much sense until you see what an SM Pro "batch" window looks like. It's just an entry screen with blank lines until you create the first item.
I normally don't wait until I finish all of my listing in the batch... I usually create five and upload them and create five more and so on. But I could wait and do all my line items, all my batches, and click upload and walk away from the computer and let it do its thing. But...since I use HTML in my descriptions I usually upload the five and while I'm changing my HTML template for the next item those will upload.
You really can't go wrong with SM Pro. Be a pro and try it out... I think you'll like it. Besides... if no one ever tried anything different, where would the world be?
Hope this helps.
Greg
Greg Williams
Retro Bargains
www.retrobargains.com
[ edited by RetroBargains on Mar 26, 2003 11:09 PM ]
posted on March 26, 2003 11:21:29 PM new
Greg: You've been very helpful here! and have given me much to ponder. It sounds as though you sell lots and lots of things all the time. I may launch 20 - 30 auctions, at most, perhaps two or three times a month. And literally I almost never list in the same category twice unless it's a partial set of china! I have collectibles and books and list all over the place, so, unless I'm missing something, I'm not sure the "batch" system would be up my alley.
And you're right, I'm not exactly understanding all that you've described as your system, but I've proven I can learn new computer "stuff" (although kicking and screaming).
If I do give this a try, later in April when we return from a vacation trip, would it be possible for me to ask you a few questions along the way? Would you be comfortable giving me your e-mail address? I'll understand if you'd rather not. Mine is [email protected]. Thanks again for your encouragement. ~Adele
posted on March 27, 2003 02:11:38 AM new
No problem at all. I would be happy to help. Yeah, I've listed a lot of different auction items through AW - and I prefer using SM Pro to do it. Even though the batch is primarily setup for recurring items, it is ideal to use as time-saving entry for all that IS repetitive in your listings. You'd be surprised how much is. Normally I only change the title, the description, the images, the price, and the shipping amount and the category. You're probably wondering what else is there... a few things such as your chosen template, payment preferences and lots of other things. The same stuff you have online, but without having to wait for page loads over and over. Saves me a lot of time.
I've never sold the same type of item twice and I've probably typed up two or three thousand descriptions for all of my auctions so that should give you an idea how this can work for you. SM Pro isn't just for people that list the same thing over and over... it's for everyone!
No problem giving it out; it's on my AuctionWatch shop if you need to find it quick - my domain www.retrobargains.com goes straight to my AW shop and you can find in on the Contact Us tab.
Good luck and let me know if you have questions about the program - just remember, if you have any technical problems with running the software, such as error messages - it is best if you post those issues in the SM Pro thread - the customer service reps are super (even though I give them a hard time) and they have a list of common error messages and quick solutions that I wouldn't have. Anything else just ask - and we have an outstanding community out in AW too that will pitch in and answer questions too.
You won't be alone with this - don't let it frustrate you - we'll get you going with it.
Best Regards,
Greg
Greg Williams
Retro Bargains
www.retrobargains.com
posted on March 27, 2003 12:25:38 PM new
Hi Roadsmith.
SMPro is not necessarily at all more complicated than online listing. The create-a-listing screen is a three layer stacked unit with tabs at the top so you can toggle any time you like between the AW stuff (top screen), Ebay stuff(second tab), and the listing preview (third tab). As long as you don't hit "ok" which adds it to the batch, you can float around among the 3 tabs/screens as long and as many times as you like. Any item entered by accidentally hitting the "ok" too early requires only a click on the line to edit which puts you back to the 3 screens to tweak ad infinitum if you want. Nothing is for real til you hit sync/upload (as long as you are not uploading pictures which requires immediate upload. Even then it can be edited online if you remembered to set a distant future launch time (otherwise it has already flown the coup to ebay or wherever before you can get online to fiddle with it again).
The now infamous ebay category number is just one little box on the ebay site specifics second tab page, and it even has an automatic browse feature right there for you to explore categories at will while you flip back and forth to the preview screen until it is just like your creative juices want it. The description screen takes anything pasted just fine--either html or text. Just minimize down your Word program (or html generating program) and when you get to that part, open it up and copy and paste your description into the space.
Even if you don't do batches or large numbers, it is still a really efficient way to list-- not a harder or more complicated program. In many ways it is easier. There are some other problems because it does not sync with online auction inventory, but it does sync with the store inventory with some manual tweaking of quantities later. (But that is no different with SM--you have to list out of the inventory to get it to track in inventory there too)
It is quite intuitive and just about everything AW has comes with a free trial-- your fees may already include it. If the new "category first" deal is driving you nuts, definitely download a copy of SmPro and mess around with it. (Upload/sync some listings with long advance pending launch times and just go online and delete them til you are comfortable with it).If you don't love it, just uninstall the program at any time.
I really like it because I can enter lots of the data on my own MS Access tables and import it. Copying and pasting each import line onto the batch line automatically brings up the 3-layer screens with 99% of everything already filled out, and all I have to do is paste in the description and tweak it til I like it.
