My
Auction is a program designed to keep track of items being
sold on the eBay Auction web site. If you've been selling
items for any length of time, you know that being organized
is key to staying on top of your auctions. Especially if you
have multiple auctions ongoing at the same time. Below are
details of how this program can help you stay organized, with
minimum effort along with supporting screen shots of each
feature.
Special
Note to My Auction Customers
Over the
last several months eBay has has continued to change their
email format. So much so that before I can get a fix out,
they’ve changed it again thus making my fix useless.
Because of this, I’m exploring other ways of importing
the messages, including just downloading the information directly
from the website itself.
So for
the mean time, the email import does not work properly. You
can however still manually enter the information and use it
that way. Once I find a solution, a free update will be made
available to all registered users.
This
release is a free upgrade to
ALL previous registered users!!
The auction
screen is where details of each auction are displayed and
tracked. On this screen you can either enter all of the auction
information in by typing it in, or you can paste the "start
of auction" confirmation e-mail you received into the
import field, and click a button to fill everything in automatically.
This can greatly improve the speed at which yon process auctions.
There is also a field to import the "end of auction"
e-mail that you receive once the auction is closed.
The
photo screen lets you import a picture, or paste a picture directly
from the web site allowing you to keep a complete record of
the auction off-line.
Once
your auction has finished and you have imported the "end
of auction" e-mail, the Buyers Listscreen will
give you a overview of who has made a purchase, how many items
they have purchased (if it's a Dutch auction) and their final
bid price. There are also graphic icons that represent the status
of payment, shipment, and the status of the transaction. Icons
along the left side give you direct access to the buyers information,
sale information, shipping information, or e-mail history.
The
buyer details tab shows you all of the specific information
for that buyer, including name and address, phone numbers, e-mail
address, buyer notes area, and eBay auction name. By clicking
on the icon above the e-mail address, a e-mail message will
be automatically be formatted with the e-mail name in the "TO"
field, and the auction name and number in the "SUBJECT"
field.
(See the user manual for specific system requirements and setup
information on the e-mail feature).
The
next tab containers the details of the sale as related to this
buyer. There are many options available here to make the sale
easy to process. Some features include using a default tax rate,
tax percentage field, discount percentage field, and a transaction
notes area. There are fields available to store the type of
payment made, the date the payment was received, the bank the
check was issued from, the credit card number, and credit expiration
date.
The shipment
screen tracks all shipping information, including the carrier
used, the method the item was shipped, the tracking number,
and the actual cost of shipping. On this screen, you can see
a comparison of what it cost you to ship the item, verses
what you had to pay to ship the item. This calculation is
done on both a auction specific basis, as well as a total
for all auctions, so that you can keep track of your profit/loss
related to shipping.
One of the great new features in 1.7 is the ability to track
a package with the click of a button. Once you have a shipping
carrier assigned and a tracking number entered, you can click
on one button an be taken to the proper web site where the
tracking number is automatically entered and looked up.
Another
great feature is the feedback function. Again, just click
a button and be taken to the eBay feedback page, where your
user name, the buyers user name, and the auction number are
all entered for you. Once you place feedback, the date is
stamped in the auction file so that you have visual confirmation
that feedback has been placed.
Another
very powerful feature of My Auction is the e-mail feature,
which has been greatly improved in version 1.7.
From this
screen you send pre-formatted e-mail messages that have auction
specific information automatically added. Once you compose
a message, you can reuse it for other auctions without changing
a thing. This feature alone is worth the price of the program.
On this
screen you see 20 "Message Containers" that are
already pre-formatted with common messages, but can all be
reformatted by the user. With the click of a button, a message
is formatted, sent, and a history of that message is added
to the history list.
By clicking
on on the message container name, you're taken to the compose
screen for that container. Continue reading to see the process.
In each
of the 20 containers you can compose and title you one messages
that relate to different stages of the auction process. Then
using merge tags that you select, you can tie them directly
to the auction at hand. This allows you to type a message
once, but use it for several different auctions. To the buyer,
each message looks like it was written just for them.
Just start
typing your message, and when you get to a auction specific
piece of information, either copy and paste, or click and
drag a tag from the surrounding tag selections to the message
body. Add as many or as few tags as you like.
When you
finish, you can preview the message (next screen below), send
the message, or go back to the e-mail menu screen.
While
composing a message with merge tags, you can click on the preview
button at the top of the screen and see what the message will
look like when the message is sent. This is a quick and easy
way to get feedback on how the message and inserted auction
information work together.
In the
list screen you can get an overview of all of your auctions.
At a glance you can tell if the auction is open or closed,
if payment was received, and when it was shipped. By clicking
on the "H" button in the upper right of the screen,
all auctions that have been completed are hidden from view
so that you can see which ones still need attention.
At the
bottom of the screen are running totals for the total amount
from all successful auctions, the total of uncollected auctions,
and the profit/loss amount for all items shipped.
The
print menu gives you 3 options. You can print a packing slip
and label for the current buyer, a full page report on the auction
for filing purposes, or a list of all current auctions. Each
option allows you to preview your printout prior to actually
printing.
The search
screen in version 1.7 has been greatly enhanced over previous
versions. Not only can you search by the most common auction
data, but you can use one-click finds to show all items not
yet paid for, and all items paid but not shipped. If you have
a lot of ongoing auctions, this can be a big time saver.
The packing
slip is yet another time saver. Don't want to take the time
to write out a label? Don't feel like swapping paper out of
the printer for label stock? With one click you can print
both a packing slip, and a label with all of the information
for that auction and buyer. Then, just cut off the lower left
corner and tape it to the box, and you're good to go!
Use the
preference screen to not only personalize the program and
your e-mail messages, but to make the program work the way
you want it to. Many of the features can be turned on or off,
or adjusted to the way that you like to work through this
screen.
