posted on June 3, 2001 04:29:38 PM
We listed for the first time in several weeks and our Blackthorne software didn't work. We were told earlier in the year that E-Bay was purchasing Blackthorne and we would receive an upgrade free for a year. Blackthorne had a free upgrade for life with one purchase. Now E-Bay wants to charge $4.99 a month. Will E-Bay charge for breathing next? Has anyone heard about the class action suit regarding this?
posted on June 3, 2001 07:27:05 PM
When they went to the "new" model they offered people a year of service, which is equal to what people paid for the software. They claimed that after a certain date, they can not be responsible if it does not work.
I've been using Auction Assistant for a couple of years now. I went ahead and upgraded, I figured it would be obsolete soon after the deadline, and apparently it is.
I read an article on-line saying that many other companies will go to a subscription model for software. I suppose for some things it makes sense, since many programs I use (File Maker Pro, Microsoft Word, Paint Shop Pro, Eudora) make you pay to upgrade, and maybe paying a small fee at a time would be better. However, Auction Assistant has always offered free upgrades, because it had to for the software to keep working. Since it is being used as a way to use another interface, the software would be obsolete fast without the upgrades.
Of course, Ebay buys the company, and now requires you to pay as you use it. If it had stayed independent, this would probably not be the case now. Guess that is neither here nor there, since Ebay does own the company.
Bottom Line: Even though I am unhappy about paying monthly, I find the newer version of the software much easier to use, and more importantly, it saves me even more time. It's really fast to list auctions now. It's worth $5 per month, but at the same time I understand why so many people are annoyed to pay for software they already thought they had purchased (and to pay for it every month as long as they use it)
posted on June 3, 2001 07:36:46 PM
I think that we must have read the same article. Could you imagine the problem the government would have with a monthly fee for microsoft products. I don't believe I have gotten any of Microsoft's their upgrades free.
I complained at the time Blackthorne sent their e-mail notice out, but they never responded. I did like the program. I haven't even had the program for a full year. I thought it could have been better if they had come up with a feature to automatically list at 6:00 pm on Sunday or whenever you might schedule it. I liked that feature of Auctionwatch. Does the new software have that feature?
Under the old AuctionAssistantClassic, you still had to run through all the ebay submission pages to load.
Using SellersAssistantBasic, I get one screen & if everything's correct, bang...it's submitted.
Where it used to take an hour or two to load 100+ auctions, it can be done in a matter of minutes now. Plus, they have a submit all feature..much easier.
I have my own webspace where all my items are already loaded so I don't have to wait on SAB to upload them before submitting. But the feature is still there plus the option to use IPIX.
SAB pretty much has all the input info on the individual auction page now so you can decide on everything before you hit the submit button...much faster than the old AA.
It IS aggravating to have paid for AAC & now have to pay in the future for SAB (after the 12 month grace period is up). But, being owned by ebay, when ebay makes a change to the submit page, it's already incorporated in SAB & there's no down time waiting for some programmer to catch up.
posted on June 3, 2001 07:58:45 PM
When I submit multiple auctions, I simply ftp the images myself to the internet. If I have a couple of auctions, I use the upload feature in the software.
The easier part, as someone pointed out, is that instead of just supplying information to a form, I click on one button to preview the listing, and another to submit it. What used to take about a minute to do now takes 3 seconds. That part of the upgrade is really amazing. While I would love an auto submit feature for finishing time, the basic program does not have it. I don't have the pro version though.
Using SAB, you can use the detail section to submit all your auctions at once. All you have to do is "flag" the ones you want submitted, then hit the submit button once. We didn't have this feature in AAC, you had to have AAP but it's in the SAB now.
posted on June 3, 2001 08:29:47 PM
Thanks Eventer, I will look into this more. When I first saw the software, it looked like it could submit many at a time, but I never really looked into how to do this. I guess I was used to the old software full of bugs. I will look into this now!
You can submit in groups by using the "Multiview" tab.
Once there (it looks like an Excel spreadsheet), then you can click on the "Select Row" feature (its a box w/what looks like a blue calender/calculator inside) to select multiple auctions by holding down the control key each time you choose a new row.
Then you just use the "Submit" button to submit all the auctions you've chosen. Here's where you use the "submit all" box at the bottom of the preview screen.
posted on June 4, 2001 05:40:32 PM
The above link is the article that I read. I wouldn't mind paying a flat fee for an upgrade of any program. I think that this monthly fee is just another way to nickle and dime sellers to death.
When the software was purchased, it was purchased under certain conditions. I never would have purchased it if there was to be a monthly fee down the road. I think it is horrible to break your contracts and throw your customer base to the wolves. Heck, I will learn how to write my own html. That is how we listed this week.
posted on June 5, 2001 02:01:24 AM
For the life of me I simply do not understand what all this nonsense is about with eBay listings.
Its real simple.
1. Beg, borrow or steal an auction page you like. Edit to taste after buying and readng an HTML FOR DUMMIES book.
2. Go to Mr. Lister and make your templates.
Include blank links to the web site you use for your photos.
3. Get any one of the gazilllion photo editing programs out there. Some are free, some are offered for free, some you pay for. Your choice. Learn to do simple things like touch up, resize, and rotate the images from your camera or scanner. Pics look a helluva lot better when YOU have control.
4. Get any one of the gazillion FTP programs to upload your pics to your web site.
5. The only thing you should need to enter into the templates in Mr. Lister are The item title, description, pic names, and shipping costs. And of course category and price. Stuff you would need to enter into ANY software.
6. Then send it up.
Quite effective. The vast majority of the time is spent simply writing the description.
And the cost is free.
Does Mr. Lister have a way to manage post auction sales? I.e. leave feedback quickly, notify people that they auction has ended, etc. It takes me a a few minutes to notify 100 people that their auction has ended with Ebay's Seller Assistant. I thought Mr. Lister was a bulk listing program, not an auction management program. I may be wrong though, I don't know much about it.
For me, it's not about the ability to create auction listings, as I have many clients who pay me to do manage their web sites. It's about using a program that saves me time (and for me, with a very busy schedule, time is money) - It's well worth the $5 per month they charge me if I can save several hours worth of work. (Even if I am somewhat annoyed to be paying for a program that I already purchased, but that is another story and besides the point)
Everything you say is quite true. You don't have to have a submission program. You don't even have to buy the HTML for Dummies book..there are plenty of sites on the web which can tell you most everything you need.
However,
If you list only a few items a week, it's easy to do without a submission program.
But if you are submitting a lot of auctions (I often run 100-300), then the $5 a month is well worth it in time savings.
The beauty of a submission program is to allow one to build their database of items at any time & keep them ready to submit w/all the information already filled in them. Then it's just a matter of a click to submit.
Each time you'd have to enter:
description
minimum bid
reserve (if you use it)
BIN price (if you use it)
Shipping (if you use BIN)
Category
Picture location
Plus any feature info
I also have to enter that but when I "copy" a file in SAB, the info is copied & it's just a matter of a quick change on a single template..no scrolling around & trying to remember what needs to be changed.
I can also "search" for the picture, not try to remember which jpg I'm using this week.
And, as cardmall pointed out, it comes with post auction management software, the ability w/one click to notify your customer & track the auction results. It will even leave feedback for you w/a single click.
Using auction software, I've increased the number of auctions I can submit in less time. What used to take a couple of hours can now be done in less than 1/2 hour. THAT'S worth the $5 to me.
