Welcome to the September 2004 edition of the Auction Orbit newsletter. Within each newsletter you will find a variety of auction-related content including site updates, online auctions in the news, selling and buying tips, and more! If you would like to suggest a new topic for future newsletters or wish to make a comment about anything found within this particular issue, do not hesitate to contact me.

First, I'd like to send a quick apology for being so late in getting the 'September' newsletter out. I have been working very hard on revisions to Dominant Ad Creator, the Auction Orbit website, and a separate project and just couldn't find the time to get the newsletter completed on time. Having said that, let me now explain some of the changes I have been working on.

For users of Dominant Ad Creator: I have re-released version 2.3.2 with some back-end improvements and slightly modified template files. If you are using a version obtained prior to September 18th, you may wish to download the new version and install it to the same directory as your currently installed version. One of the most beneficial changes in the revised version is a change in the image uploader functionality. Previously, the tool would have to reconnect to the server multiple times to transfer all of the images in any given ad. This lead to some issues with certain FTP carriers and also slowed the process. Now only one connection is made until all images are transferred successfully. The template files were changed so that there is more padding around the outside of the ad (it will make background textures show up better in submitted listings). One other major change is now new templates can be created and used without any problems arising. Some other minor adjustments were made to the software, but not enough to completely change the version number. You can download the updated version from http://www.auctionorbit.com/dac.

In regards to the Auction Orbit website. I have released one new tutorial covering every aspect of creating your own Dominant Ad Creator template files. The templates are not difficult to make but will take time to get them exactly the way you want them. In addition, I cleaned up the free resources section removing invalid links or sites that no longer offered the services described. I added a few new resources already, and will be working on adding even more as the month goes on. I will also be focusing my attention this month on releasing more quality tutorials relating to online auctions. If anyone ever has any suggestions for tutorials, please let me know! Also, I will once again be adding new auction news articles to the forum of Auction Orbit.

One huge pet-peeve bidders have is that sometimes the seller will cancel all bids and close their listing early if they do not feel that they have made as much as they'd hoped for. This has always been against eBay's rules but sellers were able to get away with it by stating that the item was lost or that there was an error in the listing. However, eBay will be making some changes in the next week which will greatly reduce the number of last-minute cancellations that occur.

This enhancement will prohibit sellers from modifying or canceling any listing that ends within 12 hours and has received one or more winning bids (bids that exceed the reserve price). Sellers will still be able to cancel individual bids for valid reasons (poor feedback, etc.) but they will not be able to use the 'cancel item' form unless they wish to sell to the current high bidder. Generally speaking, sellers should never start the listing at a price lower than they are willing to accept. On a side note, those who cancel listings an hour or two before the end might be shooting themselves in the foot as a good majority of bidding seem to occur within the last five minutes.

In addition, eBay unveiled its new 'Buy Hub' earlier in September (but not the final release). With the Buy Hub, users will be able to access their favorite sellers, searches, and categories from within the My eBay page. Alerts will appear (via e-mail) when any watched items are within hours of ending, and various other navigational features have been changed to allow users to browse categories and listings easier and quicker.

One last note... EBay is holding a 1 cent promotion for sub-titles from today (October 5th) until the final hours of October 6th. Sub-titles allow you to add an extra phrase which appears directly below your item title in the search results. Unfortunately the sub-titles are not searchable and many believe they are not worth the official 50 cent fee. Be careful if you use this feature during the promotion and then attempt to re-list an item after it ends. The sub-title feature will automatically be enabled for any re-lists and you will then be charged the full fee if you don't disable it.

One common question that gets asked by users is... Can I actually make a living selling items on eBay? With the increase of fees and technical difficulties eBay has had in the past, this is in fact a really good question. The answers will of course range from person-to-person, depending on the type of items they sell and how much profit is returned with each sale. But the person featured in this month's auction article earns enough selling refurbished items on eBay that he has been able to pay for his entire college tuition without ever needing to take out a student loan. Todd Thropp goes to over 100 auctions a year and looks for items that he believes can be fixed up and sold for a higher price on eBay. His main interest is electronics and business equipment, and he has filled his entire room and a trailer with items he plans on repairing and selling. The full article with an interview of Mr. Thropp can be found through the link below:

http://ydr.com/story/local/42952

For the next few months I will be showcasing different online auction sites. Although eBay is definitely the most populated and well-known, there are many other similar sites out there - some of which have benefits over eBay's service.

This month I will be describing ePier. This is an auction site which has been around for years and has quite a good amount of on-going listings and registered users. EPier has a very familiar feel to it, so new users will not have to spend a lot of time learning the new system. Let me now list the benefits of using ePier:

- NO listing or insertion fee
- Final Value Fee only if auction sells - comparable to eBay
- Free auction image hosting
- Low cost premium service and optional listing enhancements
- Feedback capabilities just like eBay
- If you don't sell an item, you don't pay!
- As a buyer, you might find some exceptionally good deals

I encourage you all to try out this alternative auction service!

http://www.ePier.com

Each month I will provide one helpful auction tip or trick that will help sellers and/or buyers out while using online auction sites. An archive of previous tips and tricks can be found here. If you have a tip that you would like to display in the next newsletter, please send me a message and I will try my best to include it.

Enter Longer Messages In Your Feedback Comments

This is a little-known 'loophole' in eBay's site which allows you to post longer phrases in the comments you leave. You see, the maximum length of a feedback comment left on eBay's US (or most other international sites) is 80 characters. However, by using this technique you will be able to leave comments consisting of up to 125 characters! The trick is that you must enter the feedback using eBay's Taiwan international website. The comment will still show up appropriately for the other party, but you will be able to leave an additional 45 characters. Simply follow the instructions below (I tried to make it as easy as possible).

1.) Navigate to: http://feedback.tw.ebay.com/ws1/eBayISAPI.dll?GetAndShowTransactions

2.) Sign-in if necessary, then locate the transaction / party that you wish to leave a feedback comment for. Although the entire site will be in a different language, the username and item title will be in English so you will easily be able to locate the proper transaction.

3.) Select the type of feedback you wish to use. The first option on the left is Positive, followed by Neutral, Negative, and Leave Feedback Later options.

4.) Finally, enter the feedback comment as you want it to appear. You will be able to enter up to 125 characters including spaces. When finished, scroll to the bottom of the page and click the only button shown. The feedback will then be left!

Although untested, this technique should also work if you are responding to feedback. You will just need to locate the Taiwan equivalent of the 'respond to feedback' page. I hope you appreciate this tip, and as always if you have any of your own tips let me know.