( Table Of Contents )

1. Introduction
2. Volcanic Software News
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

Welcome to the June edition of the Auction Orbit newsletter. I'd like to apologize for the slight delay in getting this newsletter sent out, but I have been putting finishing touches on a final newsletter format. Unfortunately I still didn't have enough time to convert this current newsletter into the new format, so you will have to wait until next month to see the final layout. In all reality, the structure I came up with is still very similar to what you have always been receiving. Having said that, please enjoy this month's newsletter.
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Auction Orbit News

The biggest news in regards to Auction Orbit is the release of yet another version of Dominant Ad Creator. This update (2.3.2) contains a good variety of helpful enhancements as I will briefly describe for you later on. This particular version was actually released already half a month ago and has always been available from the official Auction Orbit site. However, for those of you who never checked the site out since then may still not be aware of this new version. Below you will find some of the biggest improvements or new additions to the software since the last release. Most of the changes done in version 2.3.2 have been requested by its users in the past:

• Ability to save template styles
• Actual template files have been updated
• Auction terms font size and color can be customized
• Template Selection window has been modified
• Select Template icon has been added to main toolbar
• FedEx shipping calculator has been removed
• Various other improvements and fixes

There is both a full version download and an upgrade-only download available as always. In order to successfully use the upgrade file, you will need to have Dominant Ad Creator 2.3.1 fully installed and operating correctly. To be sure, you can still download the full version of the software and install it into the same directory, and then everything will work as it should. The links to both downloads are listed below:

http://www.auctionorbit.com/dac/downloads/dac232.exe (Full download - 3.88MB)
http://www.auctionorbit.com/dac/downloads/dac232u.exe (Upgrade Only - 557KB)

I realize that in the last newsletter I mentioned that the next software update wouldn't be for several months, I decided to get the new version released as soon as I could since I felt that the new features were a great benefit for all using the software. The templates have been enhanced so they each have a more pleasing color layout by default, and they each have slightly sharper details than previously. The ability to save your own custom color schemes for each template is a great time-saver so that you do not need to re-customize the template every time the software is open. All previously saved ad files will still load correctly - including the color schemes. I hope that this new version benefits all users and makes the ad creation process even easier and more professional.

In other news, not a whole lot has happened with the site. One more tutorial has been added, and I will be working through the month of July to add a lot of new content and tutorials for all to enjoy. The 'Auction News' section of the site is now all placed within the forum which allows anyone to participate or post comments on any particular article. Right now there is very little activity happening in the forum, but I encourage everyone to chime in and post there. No sign-up is currently required!

http://www.auctionorbit.com/auctiontalk
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eBay changes and additions

Picking up from the last issue, the 'My eBay 2.0' issue is still a hot topic. eBay is now starting to introduce changes to the My eBay page which are probably the results of so many complaints about how the My eBay page was setup. EBay has made some minor adjustments to the colors and visual appearance of the My eBay page since it was released, and they have been adding features such as the total price of all bids, items sold, etc. on the summary page and the ability to completely add or remove certain columns. In a recent announcement, eBay mentioned that they will continue to make adjustments to the My eBay page for several weeks yet (and this could go on for months). Even with these changes, it seems that a vast majority of users still would prefer if the original My eBay would come back. Take a look at the following community thread in regards to these new changes and note how many responses are against any implementations of the new My eBay page:

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jsp?forum=73&thread=410160950&ssPageName=CMDV:AB

EBay also acquired Baazee.com - the largest online marketplace in India. This move, which cost eBay approximately $50 million is said to have been done so that eBay can expand its global footprint into the Indian market. Further details about this exchange can be found at: http://investor.ebay.com/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=137656.

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Online auctions in the news

Hot off the press, this article talks about some break-through technology which will allow eBay addicts to monitor eBay listings and bids continuously using software that features new technology called Really Simple Syndication. The software which will allow you to monitor bids and such is a free plugin for Internet Explorer, and there will certainly be many more uses for this technology as it becomes mainstream. For example, users will be able to fetch the latest news, stock quotes, or item prices instantly. The developers say that they intend on keeping the plugin free but hope to use targeted ads as means of profit.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/national/9052856.htm?1c
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Cool Auction Site of the month

The link this month is a great time-waster. Within the link I provide, you will find a huge collection of some of the strangest and most humorous auction listings ever placed on the eBay auction site! A lot of the auctions are from the early days of eBay (1999) and so looking back at them kind of gives you a retro-like feeling since the layout and such has changed immensely since then. None-the-less,if you are on lunch-break or are just looking for a good laugh feel free to click the link below (some links may not be appropriate for a work environment).

http://www.whattheheck.com/ebay/
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Closure

Thank you for reading this month's newsletter and I hope you found it to be of some interest. Expect to see some changes to both this newsletter and the Auction Orbit website by the next issue as everything starts to fall in place. As always, I am interested in hearing your personal response to my site, this newsletter, or Dominant Ad Creator. If you have any comments or suggestions for me, feel free to contact me using either this e-mail address or the contact form found on the official Auction Orbit site.

Sincerely,

Matt
http://www.auctionorbit.com