ploughman
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posted on June 3, 2001 10:18:00 PM new
Sorry if this comes up a lot, but I'm looking at post-sale managers like AW's or Andale's and trying to see if they're right for me. I handle about 40 sales a week with most items going in the $10-30 range, and all the post-sale paper-shuffling and tracking is starting to become a real grind. I assume these guys want their cut if I use them. Is it worth it? Which service would you recommend? Anything to particularly watch out for? Any comments much appreciated.
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tomwiii
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posted on June 4, 2001 02:06:05 AM new
I use www.****.com, and have generally been pretty happy. Very customizable for my needs.
There are a vertible plethora of online & offline programs out there, including:
1) AW WBN's (i don't use, as I want more freedom to customize & the WBN's REQUIRE a link)
2) Andale/Honesty (YUCK! IMHO)
3) eBud: OUTSTANDING program; however, they now force you to also purchase ePoster (a real hoser) -- so I dumped eBud.
Personally, I think AW's program has huge POTENTIAL; however, the LINKING bit HAS to become optional for me to ever consider it again.
I think this topic is ripe for an extended discussion here...whether or not the dreaded LOCKED will strike is a different matter! 
[ edited by tomwiii on Jun 4, 2001 02:06 AM ]
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rarriffle
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posted on June 4, 2001 02:31:02 AM new
ploughman, Thank you for starting this thread. I am looking for the same service and was going to ask the same question this morning.
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bragassa
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posted on June 4, 2001 03:34:23 AM new
The only benefit I have seen with AW's post-sale has been the initial letter...only.
That is a lot of help.
I may have one (1) out of thirty (30) use the respond section. Consequently AW's post-sale stops there.
I don't know why customers do not use the respond part. It must be the 'links'?
Mike Bragassa
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iowaantiques
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posted on June 4, 2001 04:58:41 AM new
In defense of Auctiva's ePoster its does say "Beta 4" on the scheduling page Using ePoster to schedule and launch auctions is unreliable so I use ePoster to compose my auctions and then I lauch them by hand if ePoster doesn't launch them. If you schedule a large number of auctions this will be impractical. I would like to see after sale management software that would handle smaller auctions, not just the big 3. I wouldn't need many of the automatic features of eBud and I could put data in the spreadsheet by hand.
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yumacoot
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posted on June 4, 2001 07:15:20 AM new
Don't know if this helps or not....
Auction Submit (free download) to create and list....
MyAuctionMate to track sales, (can also create an list, including bulk)including reports for any time frame, etc. Also can load your pics directly to your image hoster from your hard drive, as you upload your listings! Free 20 day demo, then one time fee of $29.00
Love em both! (Just got MyAuctionmate, so still learning it's features)
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marcn
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posted on June 4, 2001 07:27:17 AM new
By far the best post-sale management software is Shooting Star from Foo Dog Software. I've been selling online for more than 3 years and have tried them all. You pay a one time fee to purchase the software and that is it. I have been able to handle far more transactions with Shooting Star than Auction Assistant, AW, Andale or any others out there.
Check out http://www.foodogsoftware.com
Regards,
marcs-garage
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sillyozibul
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posted on June 4, 2001 07:54:15 AM new
I have used Andale before and then I found Auctionworks. The fees are VERY minimal for the tremendous amount of services they offer. I find them overall to be the best for my dollar. The post-sale/checkout is simple for customers. Everything is automated to your preference. From launching auction to "your item was shipped" notices. It posts automatic feedback. It searches for 'relistable' auctions and files CREDITS to ebay in bulk. It is inventory based, so you dont have to mess with a bunch of old or repeat ads. The customer support is by far the best there is.
My customers are alway complimenting me on how informative and easy it is for the customer to complete the transaction. I also get a lot of extra sales once the bidder checks out in my storefront. After trying out other services, Auctionworks is the One Stop Management tool for sure. Good Luck!
Sillyozibul on Ebay
[email protected]
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rainbowman11
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posted on June 4, 2001 07:55:28 AM new
marcn
I just went to check out the Shooting Star software. One question:
Can you cut and paste? One problem I have had with other auction management programs is I couldn't cut and paste shipping address from the customer's email. I had to enter everything myself which makes room for a lot of mistakes because I have a tendancy to transpose letters and numbers. Right now I use ebud and I can cut and paste the info I need.
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revvassago
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posted on June 4, 2001 08:19:34 AM new
I use Invenna Auction Amigo (www.invenna.com) and it works wonderfully. It has email generators that send the email from your email address, but does not send them automatically. It does have the cut and paste option for addresses. You pay a one time fee for it, and they never take a cut. Their product support is excellent.
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marcn
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posted on June 4, 2001 08:24:59 AM new
Hi RainbowMan,
With Shooting Star you can cut and paste no problem at all! With the EOA notice that is sent from Shooting Star, it asks for the buyers address and about 85% of the people do include it in the response. I just cut & paste into the software and I am all set. It prints an invoice and even a shipping label. This is the best tool I have come across...
marcs-garage
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ibstitchin
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posted on June 4, 2001 08:45:00 AM new
Auction Tamer!!! I've been using it for quite some time and Mike is awesome. Once the auction is entered (either by drop or by using Auction Poster) it updates evertime you connect, sends EOA's, you can cut/paste email addys, print labels, do feedback, and open the bidder file in database if you like. We also use it to capture email addys of ALL bidders in case the top bidder falls through and send them a thanks for bidding email.
As far as service Mike is VERY quick (within 2 hours) at answering email questions. There is also a message board on the site now. Updates to the program when eBay changes things are very quick and the program warns you about them when you connect. Mike is also very good about trying to add features that we request. The only thing missing right now is the ability to combine auction info in the emails for a bidder who wins more than one.
Lora
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biggal
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posted on June 4, 2001 08:57:14 AM new
I kinda agree about AuctionTamer, except that during the last week I've had problems loading my auctions.
Last night, we had 125 auctions to load. The first three loaded fine and then I got an error message stating that Internet Explorer could not open the ebay page. This continued throughout the evening. Sometimes, the auctions would post fine, sometimes, i'd get that error message.
I wrote to me and he wrote back stating that EBAY might be having a glitch here and there. I wasn't comfortable about that answer as it worked just fine a few weeks back and it was happening so intermittently.
I also don't see a way to send things from the UNSOLD folder to the selling folder again for re-=posting purposes. although, that isn't a major complaint. I really wanted this program so that I can post my auctions approx 60 seconds apart flawlessly. The post-management tools ARE great!
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sun818
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posted on June 4, 2001 08:57:19 AM new
Also look into AuctionTrakker. Its impressive visually. It does everything I want: post sale management, posting, and inventory. Posting and Inventory is optional and can be purchased separately. I bought the Seller's Edition which includes all three and just love it.
They also have great support via their support board. Very helpful and friendly community.
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rainbowman11
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posted on June 4, 2001 09:17:38 AM new
I just downloaded the Shooting Star and have been looking around. So far I like what I see (I didn't like the other ones mentioned here - too much looking for information -clicking here and there and such). I give a better report after while.
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marcn
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posted on June 4, 2001 09:22:01 AM new
Hi RainbowMan,
I still use Sellers Assistant Basic to create the listing but would never think of using anything else for the post-sale management.
marcs-garage
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SmittyAW
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posted on June 4, 2001 09:27:09 AM new
marcn..
You posted the same post twice and I deleted your duplicate post.
Smitty
[email protected]
[ edited by SmittyAW on Jun 4, 2001 09:28 AM ]
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tomwiii
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posted on June 4, 2001 10:38:46 AM new
Bear in mind that eBay is gearing-up for a new round of SCRAMBLED-DODO "improvements" which will adversely impact ALL programs which are not pipelined into their API interface like eBay's (Blackthorne)SAB and www.****.com are!
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ploughman
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posted on June 4, 2001 01:14:42 PM new
Thanks for all the great posts so far.
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