quote:

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What about not being able to see the fees before we post? Will this be fixed too?
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Welcome to the eBay API! eBay charges for that! If you would like us to include it, we can do so for an additional 1/2 cent per item.

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Even *I* could afford a half a cent to have the preview page - Poster is (and I realize these change aren't your fault)getting SOOOOOOOOO far away from the reason I used it starting 4-5 years ago. It made things simpler. Now auctioning is something I dread instead of look forward to.

Again, it's eBay's changes that make it difficult but I've used Poster so long that I don't have a clue HOW to post directly on eBay.

jan

Amen. I love being able to see the preview before finalizing a listing, to see if there are any screwups.

At a half a cent per listing, versus listing an item and possibly having to end the auction because of an error, I think it's worth it. I had to end two items today because they were mistakenly listed in Canadian dollars with version 3.99. I had to forfeit those listing fees. My loss was about two bucks, which would have paid for four hundred previews to prevent such errors....

Jan, What you don't understand is that eBay doesn't want the little guy anymore. We knew this several years ago when a comment about "clutter" sellers was "let slip". Here is a portion of a newsletter I get. This just arrived today:

Quote:

September 2003 marked eBay's eighth birthday. The site has changed
over time, but last week's announcements from the company demonstrated
just how dramatic the change really is. eBay told reporters that small
businesses were buying and selling inventory and equipment on the
site. eBay introduced a financing service and lines of credit for
business purchases. "eBay is the place for businesses," they
trumpeted.

One statistic stood out from the barrage of press releases and
documented eBay's move away from its roots more than any announcement:

Collectibles comprised 60 percent of the total value of goods sold on
eBay in 1999. In 2003, collectibles comprised just 13 percent of gross
merchandise sales.

Each year, selling on eBay becomes more challenging. If you have a
rare and unique item, you'll get a very good price on eBay. Otherwise,
in many categories, competition is tough.

The days are gone when you could put up auctions on eBay and sit back
and wait for bids to roll in.

quote:

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Each year, selling on eBay becomes more challenging. If you have a rare and unique item, you'll get a very good price on eBay. Otherwise,
in many categories, competition is tough.

The days are gone when you could put up auctions on eBay and sit back and wait for bids to roll in.

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That's totally true - and it's the reason I USE Poster, even though my family is always after me to NOT use it; just "get the stuff up" and don't worry about what the auction looks like. Most of my things aren't "special" enough to get a bid WITHOUT the look I give them. I HAVE great things, but generally nothing outstanding.

Once in awhile I happen on a gem, but Poster is what has given me my following; the LOOK of my auctions. It's gotten harder and harder, though, especially when they changed the SYI page and quit allowing backgrounds. Now I have to do my auctions with borders and it takes me forever.

I never used to have to figure out which nights people were NOT glued to American Idol or CSI or Survivor but now I do. I have to check the Nielsen ratings just so I can know when there's nothing on TV that anybody's interested in so there might be a slight possibility that they'll see my auctions before they go into the "Closing Today" category!

I just moved to a new apartment after living with my daughter and son-in-law for six months and am still unpacking my inventory. I've been to antique shops that don't have as much as I do. That makes me really nervous - I'm fully involved in eBay to make my living and I worry myself sick if I'm NOT listing and scare myself to death if I have stuff up with no bids!

I could BE a big time seller if I just took a picture and put up three lines of description but I never HAVE done that and can't make myself do it. I've used Poster since about two weeks after I started selling in 1998(?) So it's doubly hard because I've set this standard for myself and it's hard to live up to it. Alan-UK didn't call me the "Theme Queen" for nothing.

Last minute bidding is a killer, too. As much as I don't like to deal with somebody who just signed up so they could bid on my cup and saucer, I'm beginning to look forward to them - at least they bid before the last 2 minutes of the auction!

I know eBay doesn't want the people who PUT them into the position they're in - but of course THEY put ME into the position I'M in.

And so it goes........
Jan