Which one? Auctiva, Seller sourcebook etc?

[Deleted]

I currently use SYI form. I am looking to be able to save listings in the event I don't want to immediately relist them. What do you use? Is it easy? I am not computer savvy and at nearly 50, I don't see it happening. I like some of the things SSB offers but you cannot import your current listings in. Can you do that with auctiva? Is Inkfrog a listing service? Any others?

Thanks. 

[Deleted]

I've been happily using Inkfrog for probably 5-6 years. Because of that, I'm grandfathered in to a lower cost monthly plan of $10. Not sure how much it is if you sign up now.

I'm not real thrilled with them at the moment as they're trying to push everyone into a new lister that doesn't flow nearly as well as the current one, so I'm a little hesitant to highly recommend them right now. It's in beta and they're getting a lot of advice from users on how to improve it. They've made some of those changes, but it's still not great.  It'll probably all work out in the end, though.

You can save listings there. Immediately after launching, I save every listing I do into a specific folder for that year, as a backup to the disappearing listing thing as well as having it handy if I find an identical item years later. When it comes time to relist, if there's something I don't want to relist until next season, I save it into another folder. For instance, right now, I have a folder that I titled "Relist Fall 2015".

You can also schedule listings for free.

[SA]

I think I've used them ALL.

I have been using Auctiva for the last 5 years or so solid. I tried to get away from them and just do SYI. But I'm a creature of habit and I like them.

To me, they will all be a learning curve. For me, Auctiva was the easiest. I set up my template, and just go from there. Everything is stored. When eBay has one of their promos and you can't relist or sell similar, I just load them directly from Auctiva with no problems.  They also have a listing scheduler, so you can type up your listings and have them launch whenever you you.  There are a ton of features (inventory control, consignment, etc) but I do not have a need for them.

I'm a VERY basic lister.  I don't like templates in my background and I like my ToS very, very short and sweet.  But Auctiva can handle so much more than that if needed......when the time comes  I think the best is that it is extremely rare that they go do.  Very rare to have glitches.  To me, they're kind of the basic workhorse of listers.

I think I pay  $10 month.

[Deleted]

Like Terri, I've been with INKFROG for years. I'm not sure what the cost is for new members now. You can save everything & organize how you want.

I like the new lister once I got used to it. I don't use a fancy template now. I just plug info into a saved listing changing what I need to change. Fast & easy. They have lots of extra features but I pretty much just use a basic listing format.

[Deleted]

Can i import my current listings in to auctiva or ink frog?

[val2525]

[Deleted]

FWIW, eBay's Turbo Lister is free and has capabilities for downloading/uploading/synchronizing your saved or unsold listings.

[zoesam]

I use TL & it does import listings, but it can be glitchy & helps if you are computer savvy. I think it's easy & I'm older than you lol, but I was in IT most of my life. Bets is right that it's free & powerful. I don't use the synchronization, I prefer to manage them manually within TL. If you go TL, the 2 big things to know, are backup all the time, b/c you probably will lose your data at some point. I've only lost it twice in 10 years, but I was happy to have it backed up, cuz I like to save old listings to re-use.

Also, your photos MUST be sized for Ebay otherwise it will be a major drag on TL. It only works well with appropriately sized photos. Otherwise it bogs down horribly.

[Deleted]

I used SSB for years. So when I came back I signed up again for it, did the 3 month. Wound up cancelling it, it's easier for me to just use the SYI. If there's something I want to keep I just archive it or save it in drafts (if it's not listed yet). And it's free.

[val2525]

With eBay closing down the traffic reports, I'm leaning towards switching to inkfrog because they have some good traffic reports (they bought the old Sellebrity service). I used to hate listings with IF because the picture lag was so slow, but it appears they've fixed that now. I just need a weekend when I have time to switch and learn the system.

[Deleted]

I've been with Auctiva for years now. I'm on their "advanced" plan ($9.95/month). I used TL in the past. After a major crash with dozens of listings lost, I did a trail at Auctiva and liked how easy it was. I have years of images and listings backed up there that I can pull up when needed. I've been too lazy to switch back to TL which I've heard is much improved and is free afterall.

[chapeaunoir]

So TL isn't the resource hog that it was? I had to uninstall it because it was so sludgy that even on my super-fast system it was hanging up. That would be one reason for me to once again try switching from the SYI - the thing is, I can list with the SYI really fast. It's all the other stuff that seems to take forever. It would be nice to archive past 60 days, though.

[Deleted]

I started out with TL and hated it as I was losing info left and right and finally gave up.  There was little or not support with TL.  Maybe something changed but for $10 a month I will stay with Auctiva!  I tried SSB but they did not have a lot of features like Auctiva... and it was slower too. 

I have been with Auctiva for years.  I pay $10. a month. I need easy and Auctiva is easy.  I have no clue about HTML. They have a lot of features I have not even used yet.  I set up Profiles and use those.  I use SELL SIMILAR a lot too.

All my photos and listings are stored on Auctiva from past years.  I clean out my photos once in a while.  Ha!

Their SEARCH feature is awesome to locate any SAVED files.  I can find old SAVED listings with just a key word... such as bring up all listings in a certain brand or style or size or color etc.  I can SAVE a listing at any point and I do have a lot of old partial listings waiting for more research or photos.  There are a lot of options for filing SAVED listings such as having a file just for listing specials or for holding seasonal items... or for pending listings... or for certain items.  There is no limit to how many listings you can store.  There is a photo limit space of 1GB and that is a lot of photos.  I am at 65% usage after all these years.  I can buy more photo space if I need it.

I use the Auctiva plain vanilla templates now.  I can add up to 24 photos in the template which comes in handy for collectibles.  There are photo options in the template where I can line up the photos in pairs or in different positions on the template.  They have some great templates and I have tested these on a couple of cell phones and they all load just find.  I only use the fancy templates on certain listings since mobile selling came in... but I enjoy having the option for a great template when I want one.

One thing I like is I used the Auctiva scrolling gallery at the bottom of my listings... and that usually MOVES the line of ebay ads "for the same item" out of the immediate view of the buyer down to the bottom of the page.  LOL   I tested this gallery and it makes no difference on a cell photo that I can see.

I think Auctiva is the only lister service that offers a consignment feature that works... but maybe someone else is offering it now.  I have not used the option but it is there if I need it.

There is an option to add 2 more selling IDs to the main account on Auctiva.  Most users do not know this.  I found out by accident.  Ha! And they give me additional photo storage for those 2 extra accounts too.  The only thing I don't like is that the 3 IDs cannot share the same photos but I can copy and move to the other ID if necessary.

I also have Inkfrog as a backup.  I pay $10 a month. One thing I like about Inkfrog is that I can upload any photo and post the photo anywhere on the internet.  Auctiva only allows the user to post the uploaded photo on ebay.  So I have a membership in Inkfrog too as I still use their 3rd party insurance.  I had a lot of problems uploading photos to Inkfrog... again they said it was my fault.  But at the same time I had no problem uploading the same photos to Auctiva.  I can crop and rotate any photo and rename it after uploading to Auctiva too.

Inkfrog has a BIG learning curve... at least it did for me.  It seems that they had a lot of problems when I tried to use as a lister... and they always tell me it is something I have done... yeah right.  I had a lot of issues uploading photos and their photo corrector does not work for me most of the time.  And after all the time it took me to learn their lister... they changed is to a Beta version which did not work for me at all.  I LOVE AUCTIVA... so easy... so dependable!

The only time I had a problem on Auctiva is when EBAY changed something and Auctiva is still installing the change in their software.  But they work quickly to keep up with ebay.  Everything is usually fixed right away.  They have 24/7 email support when I am trying to do something new.

NOTE... are you going to sell on 11Main?  Jack Ma owns Auctiva and 11Main too.  And I think the members of Auctiva will have preference in getting an invite to sell on 11Main too... so I was told.  I am not ready for 11Main but I plan on selling there next year if they will have me.

I think Auctiva still has a 30 day free trial.  Maybe have a look and see what you think.  I LOVE AUCTIVA.  I don't think I could do ebay without it.  Just the thought of trying CL again makes me think of all the hours of wasted time trying to work around glitches and lost files.  The $10 a month I give to Auctiva is worth every penny to me.  I KNOW all of my info is saved on Auctiva no matter what happens to my computer...

[val2525]

I'm surprised no Ink Frog users have commented. I know we have several members using the service.

[Deleted]

Jun 12, 2015 18:11:38 GMT val2525 said:

I'm surprised no Ink Frog users have commented. I know we have several members using the service.

There was a lot of InkFrog users back in the day that came over from Auctiva.  Maybe there are a lot now but no way to know since there is no longer an active IF forum. 

Maybe you remember the story.  Auctiva was free for a long time.  Then all of a sudden in mid 2009, the said there would be a charge of around $50 or $100 a month. Yikes! I forget what $ they sent to me at the time but it was a lot of money.  So we looked around and signed up for Inkfrog. 
===================

This is the notice we got from the Owner Greg Sisung...

I'm Greg the President of inkFrog.com and I wanted to let you know we will be conducting a webiniar to teach you the basics of how to use the inkFrog system. This webinar will be conducted tomorrow, Thursday, June 4th at 11:00 a.m PST time. We hope to see you all there.

The webinar will be hosted by our very own Debbie Levitt who is an eBay guru and will show you the basics of how to use the inkFrog system. We will also have a Q & A session at the end so users can get their specific questions answered.

We really hope you will join us and learn how simple and easy inkFrog is to use! To join us, simply click on the link below and register:


www1.gotomeeting.com/register/878823280

I also want to remind anyone who is coming to us from Auctiva, you can get your images and listings imported to us automatically. You can learn how to do that here:
www.inkfrog.com/im.php

I thank you for the time and hope you are enjoying inkFrog!

Greg Sisung
President
inkFrog, inc.

========================

This is the Price Lock Notice...

My name is Greg Sisung and I am the Founder and President of inkFrog.

I wanted to take a minute of your time and personally email you about all of the changes that are happening with eBay listings services. There are many changes that have happened recently which have affected a large amount of users who use other third party listing companies. These changes have brought a lot of anxiety and concerns about pricing and the future of this industry.

Because of this, I am happy to announce a price lock guarantee for all users who are currently signed up for inkFrog and who signup with us before Dec. 31st 2009. I will lock in your price of $9.95/month flat rate for our current services for at least 3 years! This means that all features we currently have now, you will get for 3 years for only $9.95/month. Yes, this is the same price you are paying now, but we want to ensure that you can count on this price for a long time in the future as well. This price is for all members (old and new) and who are signed up before the deadline.

Why are we doing this?
With the recent pricing announcement at Auctiva, we are receiving a huge amount of emails concerning inkFrog changing prices in the near future. We want to make sure that our users can trust that they will not have to worry about their prices going up with us!

On a personal note, I want all of our inkFrog members to know that we really care about how we treat our customers. I do not believe in 'bait and switch' tactics that try and get you to pay a small amount now and then a higher price later. I believe in offering a great service for a great price. I have been doing it this way since 1999. I know that running an eBay business is extremely difficult and the last thing anyone needs is a listing management service to squeeze more out of your pocket. This is why we have been providing our service for such a low price since we started.

I want to thank you for your time, and I appreciate you choosing inkFrog as your listing service.

To read our official press release on this price lock, please use the link below
www.inkfrog.com/price_lock.php

==================== 6/18/2009

Hi again, yea, it's me Greg with inkFrog. I want to make sure you really enjoy our services so we are extending our free trial to all of our trial users for another 30 days. Thus, you will have another 30 days to get all your listings converted to us! (I know, we rock!). Hey, at the end of the day we want you to be happy, converted, and using our system! If you need an extra month to get converted to us we are "A" OK with this! We want long term happy customers and will do what it takes to make sure you understand and learn our system. We are very confident that once you use and learn our system that it will be your system for life!

I also wanted to let you know that we hear you loud and clear that you want more templates! We are working on greatly improving our FREE templates options as well as our selector! We will be making this our #1 priority going forward! We will also be planning many webinars next week for you to learn more about our system and so everyone can talk with Deb again! In short, we have big plans on our future and will make sure everyone has the templates they want and the options they need. We listen to our customers and try respond quickly. We have been doing this since 1999 :-)

Ok, so I know i've been emailing you a lot lately but we want to make this conversion goes as easy as possible for you with all the tools we have available. We have just developed our Auctiva template stripper which we hope to release as early as today and will keep everyone updated on the homepage. This will strip out your Auctiva template and convert it to use our template. Please keep updated from our homepage!

thanks again for your time,

Greg Sisung
President
inkFrog, inc.


==============================================

VAL... I am an InkFrog user too but I seldom use their lister to post on ebay... way to confusing and now they have the Beta one that is not user friendly to me. It took me 3-4 times longer to list with Inkfrog when I joined... but they have a couple of features I want so I keep IF.  Maybe I am just hoping to see all my lost friends again in the old IF forum too.  And maybe some are in here only I don't know it. LOL 

I use Auctiva for listing on ebay and gave up listing on IF.

I hate to say anything about people... but a female relative of the owner of Inkfrog (maybe a DD) handles the support.  I was told there was a relationship.  I think her name is Heather since I have a lot of no-nothing info from her.  And she is a..... well they should have her in the back room and not being snotty to users.  Somehow I ended up with her and we do NOT get along.  And I am not the only one to tangle with her mis-information and how it is always my fault and and and....

Inkfrog has a great forum community back in those days... in 2009... lots of great information on ebay problems much like in here. We analyzed everything.  IF is worldwide so users from different countries were in the forum making it even more interesting.  I loved going in there and chatting and reading all the threads... and copying all the HOW TO info on making my listings better.  It was a big community in those days.  And the owner... Greg... was a part of the community too.

Well... Inkfrog got hit with hackers or a virus and the owner, Greg... took down the forum and never put it back up.  We were just left hanging and good luck getting support after they took down the forum.   Greg was busy coding and Heather gave me lip service. There was no more forum to get help with our listings. There was only "Heather" and a couple of ladies... as Greg mostly disappeared. 

In those days the owner Greg was the only one doing the coding that I could see.  He mentioned having some help but it appeared to me a mom/pop type of business.  I liked Greg.  He was a genius on a computer.  But how many hours in the day does he have to code?  I think that is why things are mostly behind in IF... beta programs just thrown out there... as he does not hire a lot of help and wants to do it himself... was my impression at the time.  This was back in 2009.  I assumed he got help by now but it sounds like it is still the old complaints I see on the ebay boards when things are not working right.

=====================

Here is a copy of an email reply I sent to IF in mid 2009.  I went back to Auctiva after sending this message as I could not wait for Inkfrog to fix the problems.  Many of the users knew HTML and could code around the glitches but I had no clue how to do it.  Anyway... this was my reply have spending hours of trying to list on Inkfrog.  And if you talk to Inkfrog users today, not much has changed.  The long time users of IF have a big investment in IF as all their files/photos are there... so some are stuck unless they want to start all over again with another service... such as Auctiva which is more user friendly if you don't know HTML.  This is one of my messages to IF at that time...

7/2009 from me to IF support... and I think I posted this in the old IF forum to my IF friends that were trying to help those that were stuck like me too.

"... You have a point... in particular regarding the templates. I spent hours/days trying to find templates in IF that will work with very little results. There is no ETA date from Heather for when we can expect templates we can use in IF. I cannot list my stuff with teddy bear, flower and girly templates.  I need business templates.

Heather just said they have to program a whole new system BEFORE putting up any more templates.... so.... it is very frustrating for me too in that regard. As of yesterday... the bottom line with Heather is if I want templates any time in the near future... then I am on my own... and must provide my own templates to use on Inkfrog.

I guess I just don't understand why the delay on the much needed templates. Why is a whole new system needed just to put up another file with templates we can use?

It will take a LONG LONG time to program a whole new template system from the description of the process I just got from Heather. So instead of installing templates we can use, Heather said they are not putting any more templates until they have the TIME to code in a whole new template system.

Greg seemed really interested in our template needs 30 days ago. Greg said he was putting up more templates for us. We were all so disappointed when 466 more big Welcome and girly templates were added after waiting a couple of weeks. There was NO generic basic plain colors or frames or slight designs we can use without crowding out our auction pictures. But Greg has now disappeared on the template issue and put Heather in charge of saying "No, there are no new templates coming in until we can program a whole new system"...

So I wonder if the templates are... behind or in front of the new software coding... for the Consignment programming?

I tried to list again yesterday but there are a lot of glitches in my IF2 images. I kept going back and forth from IF1 to IF2 trying to get pictures uploaded. I don't know if these are temporary IF2 glitches or if I am waiting for new program coding on the Image issues too.

There has been NO word from Greg. The tone from the ladies in Support is that I must be doing something wrong. When I press the Support ladies for replies... I am told that "feature" is not available yet... or the feature has to be programmed and that will take TIME.

I learned how to create a listing in Inkfrog... so that is not the problem. The problem is that my features in IF2 are not working. I am confused on what is broken in IF2... and what features are in development for more coding?

I keep checking the forums looking for work-a-rounds. It seems that some members are happy campers and know HTML code to fix everything... but there are others like me... that have no clue what to do if something does not work in the normal process of listing an auction/BIN.

Another issue that just happened is my GLOBAL is not working. I tried to add the Showcase to all my live auctions with negative results. I relisted in Ebay... took out the Auctiva scrolling thing... but cannot add the IF showcase. Is this a glitch issue... or am I waiting on new programming... hard to know. This is only the 2nd time I used the Global. The first time was when I tried to add a "Return Policy" to all my live listings... and that Global did not take either.  I ended up adding all my Return Policy by hand.

Greg said he would fix everything... but then Greg is not replying to the hot issues such a templates for a couple of weeks now. Since Greg is doing the development coding, I think it is up to him to give us some time lines on what to expect from Inkfrog.

Evidently the old timers on Inkfrog have no problems or less problems... as they have Custom templates or created their own... and they are allowed to use the easy stable software in IF1... per their replies in the forum.

I finally gave up at 2:00AM trying to list in Inkfrog2 last night. I am cross-eyed from changing out templates trying to find one that might look good for my listings. Then with the Image problems, I just gave up trying. I woke up cranky this morning and am wondering what to do next to get listings up on ebay.

Every morning I check the Template files on Inkfrog for the GREG PROMISE... but nothing so far. The question for me this AM... is should I upload all my pictures to Auctiva to get my listings up... or should I wait for Greg to program new software? Time is money and I am not making any at the moment waiting... waiting... waiting... "

====================================================

NEXT... Auctiva came back with the reasonable fee of $9.95 a month (instead of $100.) when they saw 50% of the Auctiva users leaving Auctiva.  It did not take them very long to see what we thought of their new transaction and listing fees... LOL.

This is the letter we all got from Auctiva on 6/10/2009

First of all, I would like to start out by saying that as Auctiva's founder and CEO, I am very sorry and humbly apologize for any frustration and anxiety we caused you to experience about the future of your business over the past week and a half. I know that these recent events have greatly upset our community and I take full responsibility for that. I am asking you to give me a chance to make it right.

Flat Rate Pricing
Auctiva is officially moving to flat monthly pricing: $9.95/mo. everything included

1GB Image Hosting
A Faster, Easier-To-Use One-page Lister
Bigger Supersized Images
Better-looking Templates
eBay's Most Popular Scrolling Gallery
Free Scheduling
24/7 Customer Support
plus all of our other time and money saving tools

In addition to our Standard flat rate plan, we have a special Starter flat rate plan for ultra-casual sellers: $2.95/mo., up to 15 listings, 500MB image hosting.

Why Change Now?
Since we first announced our new pricing structure, I've been listening to the community's concerns. Considering the frank feedback you've provided, through email, surveys, customer support cases, our community messages boards and other forums, a few facts are abundantly clear:

You'd prefer a simple, no-surprises flat-rate pricing structure.
You don't want to pay any additional FVFs.
You want image hosting included.
Your margins are tight.

If you are asking yourself, "Why didn't they just use this pricing in the beginning?" the answer is that I thought our customers would like to have the choice of picking a tailored plan based on usage. Clearly, I was wrong.

All too often, large companies fail to listen to their customers. Auctiva's brightest future includes the users who brought us this far. I am making this change now so you can get back to doing business. I sincerely hope that this pricing change allows you continue using the tools you have come to depend on.

If you have already chosen a plan and want to switch to one of the new flat rate plans, just go back and choose a new one. If you like the plan you already picked and want to stay on it, we will support that too. If you still only want to use our free marketing tools, that is still available as well. If you would like one-on-one help for any reason, contact our Customer Support team.

Thank you for your business, loyalty and understanding.

Sincerely,
Jeff Schlicht—CEO, Auctiva Corporation

=========================

End of story.  I guess I gave you the above story just in case you don't remember what happened in May-June 2009 with Auctiva and how Inkfrog got a lot of users and grew into a company overnight...    I liked Greg.  I was married to a software developer.  He was a lousy husband but he was a genius on a computer and Greg at Inkfrog is the same.  Greg is a genius on a computer too.  Jeff the owner at Auctiva said Greg was a "guy in a garage" and words to that effect.   Greg probably was until we all came over from Auctiva.  LOL. 

I still have my membership with Greg and his company Inkfrog probably to keep the little guy growing.  And there is a couple of features I use at his website. He was there for us when Auctiva was going to charge us $100+ bucks a month.  He kept his word and still charges us $9.95 a month. I think Greg did everything he could at the time with thousands of new Auctiva users shocking his systems I am sure.  He has some great ideas but looks like he still does most of the coding himself is the only thing holding back the company from growing that I can see.




 

[denise15601]

INKFROG!
I have been listing for 10 years, and used Auctiva at first. They had a major China hack (I don't remember an Inkfrog hack???).
And the next year or so they raised all of their prices, based on the number of pictures in storage. Mine went from $9.95 a month to $185.00 !!!!! People left in droves....

They finally got the hint and went back to their old pricing. Unfortunately, I still have some of my very old listings of items from my distributor in Auctiva, so am still paying the monthly fee of $9.95 until I take the time to check all of my listings and just pull them out of Auctiva. But I would have to re-take all of the pics.

I had no problem learning InkFrog, and will adapt to the new lister if needed.

IF support is pretty good and I usually do a chat session with them. Turns out my problems were on my own computer set-up.

I pay $14.95 a month for unlimited picture storage.

[denise15601]

Oh yeah-I LOVE InkFrog's traffic reports! You can see in real time what items are being viewed and for how long.
I have even caught some items being viewed that had already been sold and eBay relisted them.

So I was able to delete the "new" listing.

[Shirley U Geste]

Wayyyy back I used to use Auctiva. Then there was an issue about some financial indiscretions and I left and have never looked back. Then Auctiva pulled the huge price increase and people left in droves. I do not trust them at all and will never use their service again, they have lied and played games too many times.

I use Inkfrog and like it. I don't like that they put out new versions and slowly force you into using them, but I am happy with the service and have never had an issue that wasn't solved quickly. I have lots of listing profiles set up so I just have to plug in the info and pics to get a listing up. When I insure a package it is thru them, so they provide me with all I need and unless something drastic happens I will be staying with them.

[denise15601]

And then Auctiva pulled the double billing one month, so I paid $9.95 twice and I never was credited for it. Good way to raise $$, Auctiva.
It takes about 5 seconds for me to upload pics into my listings.

[Deleted]

I have been with Inkfrog a couple of years and love it. I've never had a problem. I wish I could upload listings to Tradesy and sites other than Ebay but hopefully that will happen in the future.

[Deleted]

Another IF user here. I was with SSB for about 5 years before I ran out of photo storage. I find IF easier than SSB to find old listings.

I've gotten used to their new lister. There are still a few issues with the Business policies, but I hope that will be fixed soon.

[Deleted]

Lisa, do you like the business policies? When I took a trip last month I needed to change my handling time. I had the hardest time doing it with Ebays bulk relist. I ended up calling and opted out just so I could use bulk relist like I wanted to.

I haven't set those up in IF, is it easier that way?