I received the following email from a new SAPro user some time back.  I was in a rather expansive mood (even for me!) when I replied to him, and since I archive all my email, I thought it would make a pretty decent beginner's guide to making your auctions just a bit different from the pack.  I'm modified it some, to make it a bit more readable and organize (I can rable at times), so........  Read at your leisure... Use at your own risk!

This information relates to SAPro, the precursor to Blackthorne Pro - it is retained here for historical purposes only.

I was asked:

Bob, sorry to bother you but, I was checking out the forums for SAP and came across a thread you had answered in, so I took a minute and looked at your listings as you suggested. I would like my listings to look more like yours. Could you check out some of my listings and lead me toward some info that will help me out. If not I understand I know we are all busy, sorry to impose. By the way your listings look great. Thanks for listening.

I replied:

Part of what I do for income from eBay is consulting, but more on that later.  Your listings (I checked ##########) look like standard SAPro listings - basic design, nothing to fancy, but it shows you have a decent working knowledge of using the templates.  And the fact that you recognize that more is possible is another positive sign.  Which means I can help you.  <g>

Freebie stuff first:

• You are going to have to learn html basics.  No way around it.  You do NOT need to know how to code an e-Commerce site... but some basic skills will be required.  If you look thru the eBay forums, there is one Photos/HTML, and the right hand sidebar for the forum has a link to an html basics guide.  It's not fancy, but it answers the basic questions and can help you dress up your auctions quite a bit.  Basics refers to things like breaks, paragraphs, simple unsorted lists - the things you'll learn in a Intro to HTML class.
  

• Pro's preview buttons are EXTREMELY useful when working on a template.  You can put in some code, hit the preview button, and see what your results are going to be.  If you like the template preview, then you can return to the item, select the new template, and try the local preview again to see what it will look like with your item data included.
  
  It's a long process the first half dozen times or so.  Then you learn the trick -- take a template that is close, duplicate it, and modify the duplicate!  All the TOS (Terms of Service) box data (shipping, taxes, etc) will be duped, so you don't have to rekey it all again.  And working on the duplicate ensures that you don't screw up your 'production' template -- the one you use for actual posting.  <g>   I've been writing software applications for 24 years -- that's exactly how I do my program modifications to this very day!
  

• For now, I'd recommend going thru the eBay tutorial, and then looking thru the Pro docs related to template design.  Try a few things, see what the previews look like.  All it's going to cost you is time and experience.  You may find that it's no big deal and that you can whip up something you like for yourself - more power to you!!  Or you may find that it's just not worth the aggravation and you'd rather just pay someone to have it done for you.  Nothing wrong with that -- I do all my home repairs that way.  I'm comfortably handy with a hammer and saw... but this is my home, not some tree house, and I've got 6 digits wrapped up in it, not scrounged lumber from the construction site 4 blocks over.  <G>  I'm comfortable with that... and so are my neighbors.  <<VBG>>
  
  

Now, the basic tags eBay reviews will help, but they don't get into the really fancy stuff - like using boxes for the various sections, colored header bars within each box, all that good stuff.  There are several ways to get that kind of formatting, some more efficient than others.

• You can learn html and develop the necessary code for yourself.  The advantage is that you'll be learning a skill (html coding) that will be useful for some time to come.  The disadvantage is that it can be a long and irritating process, depending on your personal ability and desire to learn.  My oldest boy can learn from hand-on training in a flash, but set him down with a book and it will be ages before he 'gets it'.  There are generally extension courses from most local universities or colleges, quite of few of which are online even, that can teach you the basics as well.  Slightly more expensive than just buying a book, but you get a real live person to ask questions of, one who's paid to answer them.  <g>
  

• You can 'borrow' hmtl code from other auctions.  The web started out as a way for government researchers to share papers and ideas, so it was designed to make file sharing easy.  And it does this very well.  Too well - copying of copyrighted material is rampant on the web.  However, I don't believe it to be wrong to look at what someone else is doing to inform and educate yourself.  We all learn by watching others and doing what they do -- reading the html code that makes a certain web page look like it does is the same as reading a textbook -- it's a way to learn from others.
  
  If you do pick up tricks this way, be aware that the owners of the original material may get upset.  I have, in the past, asked the seller who's format I like, if I could read the code and borrow a trick or two.  For the most part, they really don't mind, and are generally flattered to be asked.  There's just something about being told you've made something cool that makes most people a bit proud to share it.  Be polite and you should have few problems.
  

• You can also pick up an html editor and develop your auction code that way.  Which has the advantage of you not having to really learn html, being covered when it comes to copyrights (if you like the design and do the work to create your own copy, you are generally pretty safe), and most html editors write pretty compatible code.  One disadvantage can be cost - something like FrontPage2000 can be pricey, and forget about Word html documents (too much extra code).  There are inexpensive html editors that will do just fine.
  

• And last but not least, you can buy the templates or commission some to be designed for you.  As I mentioned up front, this is part of how I earn money on eBay.  I work with a collection of active eBay sellers who all use SAPro, and who all have talents in differing areas, areas that mesh nicely.  Each of us has a talent - if you need something, we put you in contact with the member of the group who does that type of thing.  I don't do graphics, but there is a lady who does - she created my RKS logo for me, as well as logos for other sellers (and PowerSellers as well).  I currently do training in Pro basics, custom template designs, and About Me pages. 
  
  I work with the new or growing seller to define a style that they like, based on a logo and/or slogan, company name or dba (doing business as), or just your own name if that's all you want.  Using that style, I'll develop your logo, slogan, templates, and can even work on your About Me page.  I don't do much in the way of website work at this time.
  
  Within the group, fees vary based on what is being developed and who's doing the work.  Everyone sets their own prices and deliverables -- we're a loose group and there is no overhead for the group as a whole, so you can deal direct and save those 'commissions'.  <g>  Ballpark figures:  logo or logo/slogan average $50 for 2-3 pcs (template, store, general use), templates can start as low as $25 for a modification of an existing design to $50 or more for custom designs (custom graphics may be extra).  But you have to remember that these are ballpark figures -- your design requirements may be just an infield bobble or an out-of-the-park grand slam.

Another thing to look into is a decent image host.  pair.com comes to mind -- inexpensive, used by a lot of eBay sellers, and they offer a ton of room for an amazingly low fee.  Personally, I don't see how they make any money at it... it must be the Linux servers they are using.  <g>

Moving your images to a host site gives you a bit more flexibility, better performance (you upload the images separate from the auction - fewer problems at time of listing), you can use the web preview button to ensure you images made it to the web properly, and if you sell multiples of a single item, you only need upload the image once -- all auctions for the same item can share the image.

Making the change to ftp hosted images on Pro is a simple matter of changing a setting and filling in two tabs on the User record.  It will require a bit of trial and error at first, but once it's set, it's set.  I always recommend you copy down the setting that work and keep them for later.  When things go wrong, that will be one of the first places you will want to check.

In the eBay Workshop on SAPro Posting Methods, I do a quickie review of why an image host is preferable over using iPix, simply from the standpoint of volume posting and network congestion.



This message has gotten rather long... time to get moving along I guess.  Keep me informed, ok?

    -Bob.