I have just started selling on ebay and am wondering if anyone has used software called "Virtual Auction Ad Pro". I found it doing a search for ebay selling software and am wondering if it is worth the $14.95 to jazz up my ads. Or is there a better software? Ebay offers a sellers service which looks like it has templates for ads but some of the customer comments I saw did not look very encouraging. They charge $4.95 a month for the service. Any ideas?

-- Cindy in NY (cjpopeck@worldnet.att.net), December 08, 2001

Answers

Sorry I can't help with the software. I sell on ebay but just use Mr. Lister to write the ads- I haven't considered it cost effective to sign up for the available software since I sell sporadically. I am interested in knowing what you are selling though, especially if it is homestead-related.

-- Elizabeth (ekfla@aol.com), December 08, 2001.

I sell on Ebay and have tried several auction software "demos". I still always go back to Mister Lister, which is free from Ebay and allows you to add items at your leisure and then download a whole batch at one time to Ebay. Very easy to use! As far as jazzing up goes - other than adding some color to your type (font) it isn't worth it.

All those bells and whistles take longer to download for the buyers and they tend to go right past you and don't let the item download. There are so many people selling now that it is not worth the time to the buyers. Most people go to Ebay for specific items and, with so many sellers now, they have so many others to choose from that they don't waste time on hefty downloads.

Remember, not everyone out there has DSL connections - it really does take a while to download just a picture let alone all the pretty backgrounds, etc. that the buyers just don't care about anyway.

I had no more hits or higher bids using the fancy software than I have doing it just regular with Mister Lister. HTML is VERY VERY easy and there is a tutorial at the ebay site if you want to add some color fonts, seperate your description, etc. I would also be happy to help you out - just email me. I would be happy to email you a "cheat sheet" of codes to enter to add your color, italic, bold, lists, etc.

-- Karen (db0421@yahoo.com), December 08, 2001.

Cindy, I use BayPal. You can list 15 Auctions a month for free or pay $10.00 a month and list as many as you want.

You can make some good looking ads using ther automatic HTML codes. They also have photo hosting included with the Auctions you list thru them.

I like using them because it is very EASY! And they are WebTV friendly. Good Luck!!!

-- Mark in N.C. Fla. (deadgoatman@webtv.net), December 08, 2001.

heyha ms.cindy, I use www.andale.com, 3.00 a mth. for 3kb image storage & 2.something % of sales.

the auto emails & record keeping are the main reasons that i use a pay service. but the ready to go templates for listings ads have become a fovorite w/ me.

i find the wallpaper background take too long to load & the .gif animation or flashing/banner .html slow down an ad to a crawl! but the colour borders don't slow down my ads' load times vs. plain text. my connection is rarely above 24,000bps so a fast loading time is really helpfull. most pay services offer a free trial period, so give a couple of them a whirl to find one that meets your needs.

another place to talk to other on line sellers & get the scoop on services available is, www.owta.com, the online traders assc.

my ebay ebay seller name is shimofuri ,no andale does not give referal bonuses. :0

-- bj pepper in C. MS. (pepper.pepper@excite.com), December 08, 2001.

When I see something "jazzed" up on ebay, I tend to ignore it. If it can't stand on its own merits, its not worth looking at. I especially get uptight over the use of "WOW' in the title. I suppose the Sheep like it though.

-- David A. (Scott@micronet.net), December 08, 2001.

I agree with David and Karen. Leave the eye-candy out(and words like WOW). I rarely need to relist an item, even obscure things. I've found that bidders appreciate a no-nonsense listing alot more than pretty graphics. The average person buying on Ebay is probably not using the latest fastest computer or anything more than a 56k dialup. If a listing takes more than a few seconds to load, I usually pass them by. I'm sure many do. Making things quick, clearly stated and easy transacted gives me the best results. On some listings, using the 'buy it now' feature has gotten me nice results. It seems many people would rather buy it now and pay a bit extra than wait on yours and 10 other listings to end. I also make sure to ship items out the next business day after the listing closes and pack items in a professional manner. Doing all those things I've found I usually get better prices than the listings I compete with and no problems.

I've had much better luck by giving very clear descriptions, using no graphics whatsoever other than the picture of the product. There are endless free ways to host images so paying for that service doesn't make sense. Choose your listing title words carefully, that's where most hits come from. Describe the item to the best of your ability and be completely honest about it. Leave out the embellishments and hardsell, most are turned off by that. State all your terms clearly such as shipping, method of payment, etc. I notice alot of ads don't state a specific shipping cost and this means you'll have to exchange more emails to figure it out. When a listing ends I typically only need to send one email to the bidder, to let them know payment is received and item will be shipped the following day. I rarely get emails asking questions because I've already covered everything possible in the listing.

I use Paypal for payments and have never had a problem. It's also very flexible compared to the others. You can leave funds in the account or choose to sweep them into a checking account. They also give you a Mastercard debit card for your account. I put a link on my listing that makes it simple to pay when the auction has ended. 9 out 10 pay me using Paypal.

Terms, conditions, disclaimers, etc that you use on every listing can be kept in a text file and copy/pasted into listings easily.

-- Dave (something@somewhere.com), December 09, 2001.

I'm no Ebay pro but I've tried to learn alot since I started using it months ago because it's a great source of home-based income. I want to keep it simple as possible and maximize my time and effort for the best results and most gain. Another way to look at this is instead of thinking in terms of selling to someone, think in terms of giving the customer what they are looking for. If the bidder has already hit upon your listing there is little need for promotion and glitz and you'll turn more people away than attract with those things.

I use my experiences buying on Ebay to modify my listings for better results. Put yourself in the shoes of the bidder. Did you ever go to a listing to see fancy graphics, borders or unrelated pictures? Did those things or embellishments like "WOW, You'll love this" ever compell you to buy something? Probably not and those things only detract from the item and turn people off. Like has been stated many people won't even continue loading a page full of graphics, especially when 10 other people are selling the same thing you are.

The average person shopping on Ebay doesn't devote much time to it. It's easy to forget that when you as a seller spend alot of time on there. I'd imagine most people on average don't spend hours browsing Ebay. They already know what they're looking for. They'll find it by using the search engine(why listing title keywords are important) and they'll want to spend as little time and effort as possible. They're not going to want to exchange 3 or 4 emails just to finalize a purchase. They're focused on buying an item and will only be annoyed over unnecessary graphics or incomplete information(or too much info for that matter). I've seen some pages that have so many graphics and unrelated miscellany on them that it's hard to find out the things neccesary to make a purchase. They'll want shipping information and cost on the listing in clear terms. They'll want one easy click to make payment. They'll want to know if the item is complete, missing pieces, any flaws or wear without having to email and ask you specifically. Present it so they can make a decision at that time. Like alot of sales if the customer leaves without a purchase because they are unsure, it's not so likely they'll come back later.

The 25cent picture preview is worth it in most cases. Since not everyone uses it, it'll help draw attention in a page full of listings. I usually only need one picture in listings and use Ebay/Ipix free service for that. Definitely time your auctions so that they end in the evening covering all the US time zones when the most people are using Ebay. I usually try to end mine around 10pm eastern, it makes a big difference. Easy selling items use 3 day or give them the 'buy it now' option. Sometimes with collectibles I run them 7 or 10 days and start them out with a very high bid. Sometimes they sell(people pay crazy prices on there at times). If nobody bites, I relist it with a reasonable price and it usually sells the 2nd time around. You don't get charged a listing fee on 2nd time relist items that sell. I always use a counter to determine if I need to change my title words or modify my ad to attract more hits.

-- Dave (something@somewhere.com), December 09, 2001.

Thanks to everyone for your advice! I'm not going to do anything fancy. I have the same frustration when looking at items that you do. Too many graphics and special effects make me click back. I will probably try the HTML and will look at the Mr. Lister function. I only want to break up the text a bit and maybe change the arrangement of the text and pictures. My DH made a suggestion that has really helped. Since the description takes the longest time, I do all the descriptions in Word and then cut and paste them into the ebay selling form. Doesn't tie up the phone line and I can start and stop as I need to. Also has spell check. Thanks again for your help!

-- Cindy in NY (cjpopeck@worldnet.att.net), December 10, 2001.

i use the opposite stratagy of ending my auctions after lunch but before the workday ends. It seems most of my customers are surfing while at work.

i'm cheap, so i have only won auctions on sundays or late evening when few to none others are bidding against me.

hey mr dave,what's your ebay seller name? if you are uncomfortable broadcasting it you can send it direct. i think i'm not considered a troll...;)

-- bj pepper in C. MS. (pepper.pepper@excite.com), December 10, 2001.

sent you email.. Yes, I seem to get activity during those hours also and it was a tough decision to decide the best time. I'm thinking maybe someone has spent the time to compile statistics on this kind of stuff. I had a daily updated chart on Ebay usage/transactions completed but seemed to have lost the url. Something I'll look into soon. I've only been active on there since September and like it alot.

-- Dave (something@somewhere.com), December 10, 2001.