
Accounting & Office
eBayers who sell in high volumes will soon notice the increased complexity of
their finances, and a "personal finance" package will become necessary to
properly account for revenue and expenses. A good "office productivity" suite
of word-processor, spreadsheet, database etc. will be invaluable for day-to-day
letters, calculations, and general management.
The Accounting & Office category covers both finance and office software that
will save you precious time and money!
AceMoney Lite
Helps you organize and manage your personal finances, and can be used to
track eBay-related income and outgoings. A 30-day trial of the full version of
AceMoney is available from the publisher.
OpenOffice.org
An open-source office suite. It includes a word processor, spreadsheet,
presentation manager, and drawing program, with a familiar user interface
and feature set.
Ad Creation & Listing
Creating effective auction adverts on eBay is a daunting task - not only do
you have to explain all the features of your item and your selling policies, but
you also have to write your advert in HTML, which often leads to poor design
and errors.
Ad Creators make HTML generation simple by using separate inputs for
auction description, title, business terms, pictures and so on. An attractive
advert is created by applying standard templates (which can be modified) to
the text. The level of customisation offered ranges from a choice of quick and
simple layouts to a multitude of colour, style and layout options.
The finished advert is generated as HTML which you copy into the eBay
description box, or software with Ad Listing capabilities can automatically
post the finished ad to eBay. The Ad Creaton and Listing category covers all
your HTML and ad creation needs!
Auction Station's Ad Creator
uses a step-by-step wizard style interface with instant preview of various
layout options. Default colour schemes can be customised and user colour
schemes added.
Auction Lizard.
Offline auction ad creator with several preset templates and own web browser.
OmniAuction Builder
Professional auction ad creation software with several layout and colour
schemes included. Various image hosting packages available with
registration.
Auction Management
Aimed mainly at sellers, but often with some buyer functions, Auction
Management software aims to make administration easier. Typical features
include:
*Download of current and recent auction data from eBay
*Customer invoicing, including email generation and printing dispatch labels
*Cost-of-sales calculations including listing, final value and payment
processor fees, postage and packaging expenses
*Giving feedback on transactions automatically and in bulk
*Posting new auctions to eBay for listing
*Reporting on auction status and exporting to spreadsheets
With practice and commitment, Auction Management software can greatly
increase the efficiency of regular sellers.
Vendi
Professional auction management software specialising in organising
collections such as comics, coins, stamps etc. Requires free registration for
software trial.
AuctionWare Auction Management System
AuctionWare automates many post-auction tasks involved with selling on
eBay, set up using default settings, individual preferences, and a
configuration wizard.
SpoonFeeder
Professional auction management software includes auction creation and
listing from templates. Registration required for free trial.
AuctionWorks
I think this service has the most Powersellers of all the other management
services, and they cover every aspect of management to help you utilize your
time better. They also help with OFF eBay sales and increasing your sales
from every auction. The only thing I thought could be improved was the ease
of navigation and use. When I do reviews I need to be able to know how to use
a product quickly, and I thought I spent too much time trying to figure out
how to work the service.
However, it is a SOLID service.
AuctionHawk
This has been my favorite service, as it was easy to use and it covered all the
necessary functions of managing your auctions. Recently I have been
informed that AuctionHawk was having trouble responding to support
requests. In my experience they have always responded within an hour,
however, my review was several months ago and things may have changed. I
would suggest emailing them while you go through their trial if you choose to
check them out.
Online Website Resources
AuctionHints - Jim Wilson's site
Jim Wilson is one of the eBay Powerseller veterans that has an excellent forum.
AuctionRiches
Robbin Tungett was a Powerseller before eBay had a Powerseller program.
AuctionBytes
You can always keep up to date on all the latest happenings in the online auction world
here with David and Ina
My Fashion Guru