Q*sell

Many of you are using the Q*sell tool to create a grid of your current auctions. When eBay started converting to the new search, some features of the tool (like item price) quit working. Now that the new search seems to have stabilized, the Q*sell tool has been changed to again look for the price.

Listings

Core Listing searches can return as many as 100 items, newest listings first. If there is an error in the returned data please try again and be sure that you are using the correct country in your search. If the error persists, and either the data is not being returned or returning incorrect or incomplete information, please post here and tell me what user ID you are using and what country you are using.

Stores

There are some significant differences when searching store items. Some stores have promo boxes and scrolling galleries at the top and those items will be included in the returned results. But many promo box items do not have prices - so those items may appear without prices.

The store search will only return as many items as you have set for a single page in your store, newest items first. It appears that the default page length is 30 items, as that is typically the number of items returned (in addition to the promo gallery items which will appear at the top of the returned data).

There also may be some differences in the way eBay is coding data for some stores. In testing, I've encountered a few that are different and there is no easy way to extract prices. If your store is not returning prices, please list your store name and country so that I can start evaluating what is different about the store.

Custom Searches

A custom search can provide a unique set of results. Use your store search or go to a store category page. Then copy the URL from the address line of your browser into the search slot on Q*sell. You can generate any type of core listing searches and use those as well. For instance, to create the gallery below, I searched for easter auction templates and refined the search to items between $7-$15. (I have no idea whose listings I've posted here).

Late last summer, eBay announced their plan to eliminate active content in auctions. That meant people would no longer be allowed to insert their own click-galleries, no-right-click script, cute buttons, cross-sell gallery, and various other little widgets that people tend to add.

Recently, eBay dropped those plans, so you can still use your Clic*Pic gallery, cross-sell gallery, scripts, and other auction template features that you feel make your page more useable.

That means all the free tools on my ME page are still viable and usable in eBay auctions.

Unfortunately, as of last weekend, many users are unable to make either a Q*sell or X*sell gallery.

eBay changed something over the weekend and the programs can no longer access seller listings.

• Seller item search fails to return any data.
  
• Store search still works just fine.
• Keyword search still works fine (if your username is inside your description, then instead of searching seller items, you might use a general search for your name in "titles and descriptions" and paste that search result into the tool).
  

Even though the seller's search results page exists, our server can no longer pull in the page, so the problem is not under our control. We're checking into it and are awaiting a response from eBay.

The solution that IS under our control is to convert to using the same method paid vendors use to  fetch data, and that will take some time and rewriting. We are sorry for the inconvenience, but keeping up with eBay changes can sometimes present quite a challenge.

-ship

Darleen, since you are new to auction templates, I thought I'd start you on the simplest of the simplest methods. I assume you are using Internet Explorer 6 or 7 or Firefox as your browser so that you can take advantage of eBay's listing editor toolbar.

The templates I have listed are fairly small and simple, and are designed to work as "Inserts". On the listing form, eBay "Inserts" allow you to save snips of code that are up to 4000 characters in length. These small templates are only about 2000 characters, so they fit quite easily into "Inserts".

Create an Insert

1. Start with a new listing. The first step is to select the "customize" listing page with all options.

2. When you get to the listing form, notice that the description editor has a droplist for "Inserts" in the editing toolbar.

3. From the droplist, select "Create an Insert". A popup window will have a slot to name your insert. Call it something like "Auction Border". Then paste the template code into the little code box they provide and click "Save".

You have now created an insert and saved your template on eBay's server. It will be available to use whenever you start a new listing. If you would like, you can simply abandon the listing you opened by closing your browser, or by using the back arrow to get out of there. Or you can proceed to the final listing page and cancel there.

Use an Existing Insert

1. To use an insert, you will need to select the "customize" option when you start your new listing.

2. Go to the description editor and start with an empty editor screen. From the Inserts droplist, locate your saved Insert.For this example, I named my template "Background".

3. Click on your Insert, and it will automatically appear in your description editor. You should see the actual border. If not, be sure you are on the Standard tab.   

4. Now you can type or paste your text directly into the template and use eBay's editing toolbar to style your text. Be careful that you don't backspace from text into title, or you'll lose some of the prestyled fonts. However, if you do erase the styles, you can simply use the enter-key to break your titles away from your text and can style them again using the toolbar.

5. Proceed as you normally do with your listing and be sure that you have deselected eBay's Listing Designer option that is right below the description editor.

Go ahead an pick up one of the template codes and give it a try. If you have any problems, just give a holler.