posted on March 16, 2001 07:17:57 PM new
Auction templates are a MUST for me. I use Auctiva (formerly e-poster) and keep an inventory on my hard drive, with every listing, the location of the photos on the server and prices. I make my auctions clean, easy to read and fast to load (I hope!!!)and the timesaving involved in cataloging and posting is enormous. I also like them because I can order items in the auction and put them where I want them to go. I can alter type sizes easily, without having to be an HTML expert, so the words are easier to read. And I can easily link to my gallery so ebay friends can see everything I've got up without having to scroll through pages of descriptions. This was done with an auction template:
posted on March 16, 2001 07:40:18 PM new
I was just browsing some auctions on eBay, and came across a seller whose auctions have those "Click here for larger image" links. When you click on them, you are taken to a smaller image.
posted on March 16, 2001 08:02:05 PM newSo... what kind of money are these “no-template, snipe bidders” spending?
No cheapskate here, old sport. When I see something I want, I take no prisoners. I collect very specialized items and I have plenty of competition for them. When I snipe, I do so with the presumption that the high bidder has a high proxy bid already in place. My snipe bid is, on average, at least three times what the item is really worth, often more. Sometimes my caution is justified, sometimes not. Lately, I've had to top some pretty steep proxies While I've still been getting my items, sellers have been enjoying a windfall at my expense.
posted on March 17, 2001 05:37:50 AM new
Sooooo spaz, what is it you collect? (Looking around at all her boxes of stuff, surely she has one here somewhere!)
posted on March 17, 2001 07:24:40 AM new
If you optomize your pictures, and portions of your ads, everything loads in a 10th the time. Both PaintShop Pro7, and ULead have great optomizing programs.
posted on March 17, 2001 08:01:56 AM new
I just ran across an auction where the description was in flashing HTML. Talk about hard to read!!! Hitting the "escape" key didn't seem to turn it off, either.
Please, if you must use flashing letters, limit it to the word "WOW!" or the ever-popular "RARE!". I spent about 10 seconds trying to read this description -- and it was a LONG paragraph -- then decided, "Screw this!" and moved on.
posted on March 17, 2001 08:06:03 AM new
think about whether you want to deal with buyers who are more or less relying on roman empire technology not me.. i would rather starve than have to speak or worse email to some primitive tribe with limited technical knowhow. what if they don't have a powerful email program to read the email you send them. 1kB of how-dee-doo message you send will probably crash their toaster-like computer and you could get sued in a federal court for attempted murder
another thing... if they don't have high speed internet access it is likely that they are in a rural area. in such cases it's highly likely that they don't have running water and electricity would you take a check from a household without running water?? just thinking about it gives me the chill ..
posted on March 19, 2001 06:00:20 PM new
Well I'm new to the world of ebay and online auctions(and auctions in general), but I've put up a few auctions using a template that I created. I personally thought it looked decent(took about 20 mins to make) but I'm the SELLER, not the BUYER..soooooo...
Opinions please?
<a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1222987283">My First Auction</A>
I think you can get some decent effects using HTML/CSS, like the borders around certain parts and the paypal box. This only adds a few BYTES to the loading time, unlike images which add KB's...
In fact I was planning on making up about 15-20 templates and offering a service to "enhance" sellers auctions for a nominal fee.
It's a pair of gloves from the game Diablo II. This game has online servers where thousands of people from around the globe can play/trade together. Some of the game items fetch hundreds of dollars. It sounds crazy, but there's a decent demand out there
triple:
Thanks, I figured this board probably used UBB or something since there were other clickable links in this thread.
posted on March 19, 2001 07:12:24 PM new
A real kick in the teeth is when you do sit there waiting for the template to load because you think the item is something you might really want, and you watch as every extraneous jpg and gif on the page -- from the Power Seller logo to the seller's store logo, to the photo of the seller's dog Spot -- loads successfully until finally it comes time for the item pic to load ... and then all you see is a red X.
posted on March 19, 2001 07:49:00 PM new
If I'm not mistaken, you can set your machine for text only and not even bother with the graphics. You could then surf eBay even with a 28.8 modem. I know, it's like riding a horse on the freeway but it's better than walking.
posted on March 20, 2001 01:51:13 AM new
I am one of those sellers that uses auction templates, mainly because we are a company and want a unique branding to our auctions.
Using templates is not a bad thing as long as they are done right.
In order to design a good template, there are some basic rules:
1) Try to stay standard with the aution site you are posting to. No super high contract colors, backgrounds that have colors the same as the text you are writing in, etc.
2) A complete auction ad with full graphics should load in under 30 secs at 28.8k
3) Avoid Java applets like the plauge, especially client side applets.
4) Drop in handy links to a website that explain in detail your TOS, Warranty, Shipping, and return policies, thus keep your ad focused at selling the item, not going into what will happen when a buyer doesn't pay.
5) Multiple pictures slow the load of the page. Try taking multiple pictures and editing them using photo shop into one graphic file. Yes you create a single larger file, but you do reduce your total page loading time.
6) Since most people only view in 800x600, keeping pictures to 450 pixels wide, keeps the viewer from having to scroll horizontally. You would much rather have them scroll down, than across.
7) Have the template sectioned off in distinct "chunks." Have an area for the picture, an area for the desctription, an area for shipping, an area for the types of payment accepted, etc., etc. Allowing the viewer to visually go for the information that they need.
posted on March 20, 2001 08:29:06 AM new
HTML templates will slow page loading only under certain circumstances.
If it has a lot of tables (most templates use one table.)
If it has a lot of images (photos, backgrounds, cutesy stuff, etc.)
If it has a sound file (I can't imagine why anyone would use those)
Solid colors are just hex codes and they don't slow loading one bit. It's when they use an image file for the background that delays in loading could occur.
Remember that the whole auction listing page is an HTML file, and that the description with the template is only part of it. eBay has their own tables and images and programs that could be making the page load slowly as well as the templates.
Don't get me wrong - I wholly agree that templates that are unnecessarily laden with images and sound files are a pain. But, good templates that are moslty HTML enhancements can make your auctions stand out from the bland plain ones without effecting loading time at all.
I could recommend a book with some nice HTML auction templates that the author will send you in email free (the templates, not the book), but I'm not sure that's allowed here.
[ edited by marble on Mar 20, 2001 08:30 AM ]
posted on March 20, 2001 09:59:27 AM new
Nested tables don't really slow down the loading time of HTML documents, especially if you use width=/height= in the TABLE tag(s).
It's when you have images without Width=/Height= inside those tables that cause problems. The browser has to calculate all sizes of all images in the table, then add your cellpadding/cellspacing/borders etc...to this just to figure out the height/width of the table. After all that it can START to load(display) the table.
So if you use tables, remember to ALWAYS use Height/Width tags on your images
ALT="description" is a good idea too since it sounds like a decent % of buyers surf with images off. ALT= will display whatever text is in the " " in lieu of the image if images are turned off.
posted on March 20, 2001 11:23:03 AM new
What I don't understand is why some photo hosting services make it so tedious for pictures to load . . . . Honesty and Andale seem to be the worst although I think there are others.
Last night I viewed an auction that had one of those templates and TEN associated photos -- it was a "sleeper" item and something I really wanted to see, so I went downstairs and cleaned out my fridge for FIFTEEN MINUTES while those photos loaded. My poor computer, which isn't exactly a dinosaur, whirred and groaned and strained trying to bring all those up. Not a pretty sight.
posted on March 20, 2001 02:07:28 PM new
I agree with that also. In fact whenever I see a page made with a template I just hit the back button because it takes forever to load. I can normally download a page in under 3 seconds as I share a T1 (1.5 meg per sec, but I only get about 100k) with a few other people. I just don't have the patience to read all of their "disclaimers" especially when it is size 4 font in blue or red on a green background.
I also dislike when people use a server other than ipix because using Geocities or AOL causes the picture to take way too long to download.
posted on March 20, 2001 03:33:00 PM new
If a template was slowing my machine down I think I would be looking at a new one?If you can't load an auction I mean really?I notice no signifigant difference?A large picture or a crappy picture host site maybe but a template?If that is what is slowing down your machine like I say it might be time to look into a new ISP or processor or both. My Bit
not me.. i would rather starve than have to speak or worse email to some primitive tribe with limited technical knowhow. what if they don't have a powerful email program to read the email you send them. 1kB of how-dee-doo message you send will probably crash their toaster-like computer and you could get sued in a federal court for attempted murder