posted on February 9, 2007 04:56:36 AM new
Hi Fluff,
I've been a happy user of Seller's Assistant Basic for 8 years. However the new replacement I don't like.
Do you have any comments on the new SYI or Turbo Lister. In particular, can I save each listing in my computer for future use...With SAB I have thousands. And, how many images are free? I mainly sell books.
posted on February 9, 2007 05:32:53 AM new
Paul - I have the new Turbo Lister and like it, however, I rarely use it. You can save your ads to your hard drive with Turbo Lister. I design my ads in Front Page and save them to my hard drive. They also get saved onto a pocket hard drive I have. I have my own domain name and Internet space so I store my pics there. It costs me $3.99/mo through GoDaddy. They've been the most reliable company I've used. I think my domain name cost me $8.95/year. I think, as far as picture storing goes, that's the most economical and safest way to go.
Fluffy will probably be along to give you more advise.
posted on February 9, 2007 10:28:47 AM new
Hi Paul,
Thanks for asking. The new SYI would actually be great if we could customize it a bit more. For example, in the Add Pictures section there are two tabs: Basic and Self Hosting. Basic is if you want to take advantage of the one free picture in eBay picture hosting. Self Hosting means you have your images somewhere on a server. The programmers should have let you choose a default here. If you self-host, odds are you are always going to want to use the Self Host section. That's one of my complaints with nouveau SYI.
The Add Picture function, once you get used to it, is actually better than the old SYI because it consolidates Picture URL, Picture Show (which is FREE) and Gallery Picture URL.
Everyone should be using Picture Show, BTW, while it is still free.
The Description section now has an Inserts function. You can create, save and use boilerplate without having to cut and paste it. This is smart. I usually have to explain what vermeil is in my auctions, but now I just select an Insert that says "sterling silver covered with 18k gold".
New SYI has a "Save as a Template" option at the bottom, right before you launch the auction. I haven't tried it but that might be what you're looking for.
Turbo Lister: I have not used Turbo Lister for years. I don't schedule auctions. Sorry. I like listing auctions in real-time because my buyers bid in real-time.
What else did you ask... Sorry, I keep having to remove a Holstein cat from my desk. If he jumps up here one more time I'm going to swap him for a dog and shoot the dog.
Cheryl: Have you looked at your auctions using a variety of different browsers? I mention that because another seller I know puts his together using Front Page as well, but in some browsers the pictures don't display properly, overlap or it hangs before you can get to the bottom of the page. His auctions are photo-intensive and I believe FP uses some non-standard HTML. Just something to watch out for.
posted on February 9, 2007 01:26:35 PM new
Fluffy - I know that's a problem from time to time. I set my tables at 100% which resizes them for different screen sizes. I usually get rid of any FP HTML. I know that they put a lot of garbage in the HTML. I also try to make my photos small (ya know, click to enlarge). Do you recommend another HTML editing program to use? I'm lost with Dreamweaver.
posted on February 10, 2007 09:25:45 AM new
Mine look fine in both Fire Fox and Explorer. I don't know about any other browser. I think this guy needs to learn how to effectively use tables! That will prevent what you're seeing. Yikes!
posted on February 11, 2007 01:17:00 PM new
The problem is that the HTML code Jonber's using is basically #$!* and I'd fire whoever wrote it (or thought they could). It looks like the product of a corral of demented monkeys or one of those webpage design packages that purports to generate HTML...
You could redo all the tables within tables within tables (yuck). Or do it properly in css so it's within modern (post-1997) HTML best coding practises and really cross-platform and compatible between modern browsers like IE, FireFox and Opera.
posted on February 11, 2007 02:10:01 PM new
Hi Fluff,
2 questions actually....where is the tab to save your work? I've checked each page, including the last one and not found it.
The second question is about HTML. I don't care for the background colors and would like the html to change. I've tried a couple of entries in my html books but no luck. Do you have anything that works?
I've successfully listed three books with SYI now. Slow but getting faster. It's very much like SAB, but more pages and entreaties to spend money.
While it may be free, in fact it costs more than SAB because SAB gives up to 6 free pics, and a free template...oh well, I guess I'll have to pass it along to the long suffering customers...
Thanks...Paul
posted on February 13, 2007 12:53:48 PM new
agitprop - Is there someplace on the web where you can learn css?
Edited to add: When I do use a style sheet, it doesn't seem to cut and paste into eBay. Is there a particular way I need to do it? IOW, I get all the HTML, but not the style sheet itself so everything jumbles. Does that make any sense?
Cheryl
[ edited by cblev65252 on Feb 13, 2007 12:55 PM ]
Edited to add: When I do use a style sheet, it doesn't seem to cut and paste into eBay. Is there a particular way I need to do it? IOW, I get all the HTML, but not the style sheet itself so everything jumbles. Does that make any sense?
Makes perfect sense. The safest way of integrating CSS or style sheets with eBay is inline CSS. If you use linked style sheets or add a style section at the head of your html it's often overridden by eBay's own style sheets and looks a mess. This has been my experience over the past five years. I've tested all the different ways of using CSS on eBay and found what works and what doesn't. The winner - inline CSS always overrides eBay's style sheets. It means more code, but it's safe and any disruptive improvement on eBay's part will not affect it.
