( Table Of Contents )

1. Introduction
2. Volcanic Software News
3. Help test the upcoming Dominant Ad Creator release **
3. eBay changes and additions
4. Online auctions in the news
5. Cool Auction Site of the month
6 . Closure
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Introduction

Hello, and welcome to the February edition of the Volcanic Software auction newsletter! I hope everyone is doing well (auction-wise and in real life), and I thank you for taking the time to read this document. As you will soon find out, the majority of this particular newsletter revolves around the big changes taking place within the Volcanic Software website, and the Dominant Ad Creator program. Also, you might notice that the 'Auction tip of the month' section has been removed, this is temporary and will be replaced in a few months when the new site is up and running (the site will have its own tips and tricks section).
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Volcanic Software News

If you had a chance to read the January issue of this newsletter, you will remember that I was discussing the possibility of a new website and Dominant Ad Creator release. Well, I worked through-out February and made great progress on the new version of Dominant Ad Creator, and got a fair start on the upcoming Auction Orbit site! I will describe both items below:

Dominant Ad Creator
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I have nearly completed the automated submitting feature which will allow you to create and list your ad(s) to eBay - all from within the program itself! This part of the program was the most tedious and largest enhancement, and even now it is still in 'experimental' mode. Due to the many changes currently taking place within eBay's site structure, it will remain in experimental mode for at least the next month. I was debating between two methods of achieving an integrated submitting tool. The first way would involve using eBay's own SDK, but the problem is that it is quite costly to even start using the development kit, and then there are monthly fees to be paid. If I were to use the eBay SDK, I would then have to start charging monthly fees to use the listing portion of Dominant Ad Creator. To minimize cost and prevent monthly fees, I decided to use a different approach for getting the ads listed on eBay. It is summarized below:

After creating the ad as normal, the user then clicks on a new tab titled, 'Prepare Ad for Submitting'. Here, they fill out all auction-specific fields normally located on eBay's own Sell-Your-Item form at their site. When ready, the user clicks on the 'Submit Ad' button to open up a new window containing three buttons. After connecting to the Internet, the user clicks the first button which logs them onto eBay and takes them to the category selection page. They then pick a category from the page, and click on the second button which will automatically enter all auction-specific details, and take the user to the 'confirm ad' page. Here, they verify all features they selected and that the listing fee is correct, and then they click the final button to list the ad!

There are currently a few limitations when using the automated submitting tool for listing your ads. The first being that you can only list Auction-Formatted ads, not fix-priced listings or real-estate. Also, a few categories on eBay require you to enter additional information about the item, such as paintings or automobiles. If you pick a category that requires additional fields, you will receive an error while trying to submit the ad, and will most likely have to continue using the classic listing method. The third limitation is you cannot use eBay's picture service, you must still use either an HTTP or FTP-based service as always. Lastly, you have to be using eBay's US based site (eBay.COM), and depending on how long you have been a member and the amount of feedback you have, there may be a few other limitations (please read the next section for information on how to test the software before it is officially released). Aside from these few limitations however, the automated process will save you a lot of work if you are used to the old listing style.

So, unless the upcoming changes to eBay's selling form results in complete disaster with my automated submitting tool, expect an actual release of it by the end of March! Also, please see the next section of this newsletter if you are interested in testing the newest version before its official release (greatly appreciated)!

Auction Orbit Website
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Aside from the upcoming version of Dominant Ad Creator, my new website "Auction Orbit" is also under heavy construction! The new site will contain a variety of new features and will have a fresher and more uniform look to it. I have already completed the basic design and style for the site, and am quite satisfied with the results. I 'hope' to have the new site ready, along with the new version of Dominant Ad Creator, by the next newsletter. Dominant Ad Creator will still be released under the name, 'Volcanic Software', and the Auction Orbit site will be located at VolcanicSoft.COM and AuctionOrbit.COM. In months to come this may gradually change over to entirely being Auction Orbit...

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Help test the upcoming Dominant Ad Creator release

As the previous section described, I am nearing the completion of a new version of Dominant Ad Creator. Because the new version has a feature that is completely new for the software, it is going to require extensive testing before it is available publicly. In its current state, the newest version is fully functional and is already being used by several people. Due to the wide range of eBay users, I would like to have a variety of people testing this software before it is officially released, so any bugs or requests they have can be implemented. If you are interested in upgrading to the latest version before it is officially released, please send an e-mail to me and let me know, and I will give you the instructions for downloading and using the new version. Thanks to the automatic updater, when you encounter a bug with the program and report it, I will be able to release a patch right away which you can download install in a few simple clicks. Thanks in advance!!!
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eBay changes and additions

There have not been many major changes within the eBay site this month. One change for the better pertains to the pages people see when they click on an item for sale. Ironically, the features that they 'added' to the pages were already implemented before they changed the page layouts quite a few months ago. Many folks even way back then asked why they removed certain features and requested to have them back, and it seems that after months went by eBay finally got around to re-integrating them. The new changes to the listed item pages include:

• The auction start time and date has been placed near the top of the ad (again)
• You can see the regions that the seller will ship to at the top of the ad (again)
• The bidder list will include the bidder's e-mail address AND zip code when the seller views the page
• You can now select a printer-friendly format for the auctions
• The main font used is now bigger, so it makes it easier to read the important details!

eBay will be making changes to the selling forms shortly, supposedly to make the process of listing ads easier. As mentioned previously, these new changes may greatly affect the automated submitting feature of Dominant Ad Creator, but I cannot tell for sure yet. Also, eBay has modified the 'browse' section of eBay so there are more options available.

Again, nothing major has changed or been added to eBay since the last newsletter.
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Online auctions in the news

In this month's article, the author discusses fraud on eBay and the investigators that work to prevent it. The write-up starts by telling about thieves that stole three espresso machines, valued at over $13,000 each from a businessman. The man later went on eBay, and noticed there was an auction up for an espresso machine much like the ones that got stolen. Turns out it was his machine, and the cops were able to take action and get the belongings back to the rightful owner. Further along in the article, the investigators eBay has hired are described and also some ways to spot fraud in online auctions. It is usually safe to assume that if you find a deal that is 'way too good to be true', it probably isn't!

http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/national/article/0,1406,KNS_350_2692377,00.html
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Cool Auction Site of the month

The link provided this month is a really nice tool (in my opinion), and I brought up the same topic several months ago but unfortunately at that time the site with the utility was down. Well, it is back up at a new location, and it works seemingly better than ever! This online utility will allow you to enter any eBay username, and then you can click a button to view ONLY the negatives and neutrals left for-and-by that particular ID. This is a long-requested feature by the eBay community, as it becomes a daunting task to sift through pages of feedback looking for the negatives and neutrals to see what they say. Unlike the previously mentioned utility called Gutcheck, this online version is relatively fast and filters the feedback very well. Check it out and be sure to bookmark the page if you like it, so you won't loose the link!

http://auctiononlinedirectory.com/cgi-bin/negs
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Closure

Thank you for reading this rather lengthy newsletter, and I hope you enjoyed it. Expect some exciting news next month in regards to Dominant Ad Creator and Auction Orbit! If you have any comments about this particular newsletter, or have requests for future newsletters, feel free to send me an e-mail!

Sincerely,

Matt
http://www.volcanicsoft.com