Internet Auctions like Ebay
The right tools can make an enormous difference in how efficiently you can sell on Ebay. Most cost money, but it can be money well spent. The right choice depends on how much selling you plan to do, how much time you are willing to invest, and how comfortable you are working on the computer.
The right choice also depends on how well vendors keep up with changes at Ebay. Ebay makes frequent changes and updates to its service. These changes will interact with the operation of auction management software. If you aren't careful you will be paying for a service you could get for free. Even worse, you may duplicate a service and end up sending multiple confusing messages to your buyers.
I can describe what I have found, but you will probably have to try a few things out for yourself and make some mistakes before you get a system you are comfortable with.
Note: 4/12/2005 You have to learn to walk before you can run! I made that mistake again with exploring auction management software. Just because I have sold items on Ebay in the past, doesn't mean I am up to date with how they do things now. I got my first auction listed by entering it directly onto the Ebay sell your item form at the website. I copied the HTML for the description from the web pages shown above. It worked well.
Based on this experience I would recommend you run several auctions where you do everything by hand without the help of any software. Then you will have a better feel for what you need in a software package. End note.
Sellathon is a service which provides information about how buyers find your auctions. After you have signed up with Sellathon, they provide a few lines of code which you add to all your auctions. That code tracks whenever a potential buyer looks at your listing and you get reports of how many people have looked, who has put you on their watch list, etc. Most importantly, it tells you what search terms they used to find your listing. Knowing that is extremely valuable when you write titles for your auctions. More about Sellathon...
I am struggling with auction management software. I know I need something, but am having difficulty finding a system that works for me. Here is what I have tried:
SpareDollar.com. This is an inexpensive program with a 30 day free trial. It is web based, so you do everything through your browser and don't have to download/install anything on your own computer. My SpareDollar Experience.
Vendio.com. This is a popular web based program which is, in many ways, the opposite of SpareDollar. It costs more, offers more features, and requires lots of choices. My Vendio Experience.
Ebay Turbo Lister. This is a free program provided by Ebay. It is a listing program, NOT auction management software. My Turbo Lister Experience.