eBay

cumos55 · ‎08-25-2017

From an email this morning from Auctiva

The supersize image page is going away but we are currently working on a replacement

As a result of eBay's new link policy, we can no longer link to the Auctiva supersize image page.

We are looking into a solution to replace the feature, however, there will be a period of time where "super size" isn't available.

In the meantime, we will remove all supersized image links for new and already active listings, so that Auctiva links and features will be 100 % compliant with eBay's link policy

cumos55 · ‎08-25-2017

This could hurt...

Now what???

cumos55 · ‎08-25-2017

From Auctiva...

As you may have heard in eBay's Summer Seller Update they’ll be changing their link policy this September. They also have explained that all item description images need to be HTTPS come October 1st.

femmefan1946 · ‎08-25-2017

Is this only for images hosted in the description by Auctiva? Or does it include images in Gallery View that are hosted by eBay (I think anyway)?

cumos55 · ‎08-25-2017

It is assumed that the images in the description will be affected.

I am not too sure if these images will or will not be visible.... but if they are still there one will not be able to supersize the images....

The gallery images are on eBay and should not be affected.... my view of this.

The first image in the description always goes to eBay's gallery view.... eBay's Picture Policy says this one photo must be on each listing on eBay....

I am going to have to go back and activate the eBay gallery images .... a daily effort for about one third of my listings.... end the listing and upload the "corrected" listing from Auctiva

Also --- Some sellers have put other kinds of links in their description of Auctiva listings.... They will have to be deleted or adjusted to meet the requirement as stated in eBay's link policy

cumos55 · ‎08-25-2017

The Gallery photos are under eBay's control.

The photos in the description are under Auctiva's control, and must follow eBay's policy.

Auctiva plans to make an appropriate adjustment.... a wait and see situation for sellers...that use Auctiva.

cumos55 · ‎08-25-2017

From Auctiva....

As a result of eBay’s new link policy, we can no longer link to the Auctiva supersized image page. We are looking into a solution to replace this feature, however there will be a period of time where “super size” isn’t available. In the meantime,

we will remove all supersized image links

for new and already active listings, so that all Auctiva links and features will be 100% compliant with eBay’s link policy.

cumos55 · ‎08-25-2017

Survived....

(1) Turbolister died for me in August 2014.... and I moved to Auctiva

(2) All listings were edited from US to Canadian dollars, over 30 days in May 2016

(3) The possibility of a postal strike over July and August of 2016.

and now

(4) This is here....... eBay's link policy..

My brain was ready to explode....

What next?

---------------------------------------

I had everything planned and ready to proceed..... and then this....

Crazy to do it... and.... Crazy not to do it.....

ypdc_dennis · ‎08-25-2017

@cumos55 wrote:
Survived....
(1) Turbolister died for me in August 2014.... and I moved to Auctiva
(2) All listings were edited from US to Canadian dollars, over 30 days in May 2016
(3) The possibility of a postal strike over July and August of 2016.
and now
(4) This is here....... eBay's link policy..

What next?

The possibility of a postal strike for 2018. The main contract expires in January.

dm5519 · ‎08-25-2017

I don't use Auctiva, but the "Click to Enlarge" Gallery feature didn't work for me on a couple of new listings I launched yesterday, even though my images were 1600 x1200.

cumos55 · ‎08-25-2017

The Postal Union... CUPW... is more than ready for a strike... telling their membership to be prepared

The federal government is working for a bill to allow a corporation to adjust a pension plan from defined benefit to defined contribution without any question..

Bill C27.. and CUPW is very unhappy

CUPW is also looking for Postal Banking......

Pensions and postal banking among other things were a concern with the last strike

ypdc_dennis · ‎08-26-2017

@cumos55 wrote:
The Postal Union... CUPW... is more than ready for a strike... telling their membership to be prepared

That's not news.

CUPW leadership is always in battle mode, eager (or so they say) for a strike.

Telling their members to prepare for a strike is standard procedure.

-..-

rose-dee · ‎08-26-2017

@cumos55 wrote:
Survived....
(1) Turbolister died for me in August 2014.... and I moved to Auctiva
(2) All listings were edited from US to Canadian dollars, over 30 days in May 2016
(3) The possibility of a postal strike over July and August of 2016.
and now
(4) This is here....... eBay's link policy..

My brain was ready to explode....
What next?

Oh NO, no, no, no, no. I can't believe this is happening now! Why can't eBay leave us and the site alone for a few months and give us time to actually focus on selling instead of doing their busy work for them?

I just two days ago finally finished re-doing all my important multi-quantity listings for my pattern line, including removing all active content, re-doing most of the photos and uploading new ones.

I didn't see this notice on Auctiva yesterday, it's a good thing I didn't, or my brain would have exploded too.

I keep saying they're just one more Seller Update away from killing me off for good. Maybe this one is it....

rose-dee · ‎08-26-2017

@cumos55 wrote:
From Auctiva...
As you may have heard in eBay's Summer Seller Update they’ll be changing their link policy this September. They also have explained that all item description images need to be HTTPS come October 1st.

I just read the Auctiva announcement about the supersized images, and hopefully they will find an alternative before long. I'm still seeing supersized images on my recent listings, so I suppose Auctiva hasn't yet got to mine. Can you imagine the job it must be for Auctiva to clear all these on eBay?

I don't quite understand about the HTTPS images. When you click on an Auctiva image inside the description area, the supersized image comes up as an https page (on Auctiva.com). Or did you mean something else?

The one thing I do rather resent is that Auctiva has been using the supersize link to shoe-horn in advertisements on each edge of the screen -- have you noticed? I'm not very happy about having my detailed image (the service which I'm paying Auctiva for) book-ended by totally unrelated commercial advertisements that also seem to have active content. Maybe this is the real issue that eBay has with these links.

Being a belt-and-suspenders type, I have always used the eBay gallery photos as well as photos within my Auctiva description, so at least those can still be zoomed in on. But still -- more wasted time as usual with eBay.

dutchman48 · ‎08-26-2017

I got rid of Auctiva as they had just too many image problems for me to continually deal with and it does not seem to stop.

rose-dee · ‎08-27-2017

I can't say I've had any significant image problems with Auctiva, but for quite some time their text editing features worked very poorly. They seem to have upgraded and resolved the latter issue in the last few months.

Still, the reason I've stuck with Auctiva is that, through all the messes that eBay has created over the past 4 years in particular, and the services and features it has monkeyed with or deleted, I can always rely on my saved listings on Auctiva being safe and sound. And I especially like it that Auctiva keeps up with eBay policy changes, so if I prepare a listing on Auctiva and do the error check, I know I'll have no trouble with it from eBay.

Mind you, I've been careful never to need to go past the basic ($2.95/mo) fee. There are ways to make the most of the ground-level Auctiva service.

pocomocomputing · ‎08-27-2017

One concern with eBay changes is that there are less benefits in using a third party tool and a higher risk of the third party tool shutting down with little or no notice for financial reasons. Over the past years a few listing sites has closed down leaving the sellers using them with no listing or access to their pictures.

Most third party tools allow uploading of listings from CSV files (spreadsheet format) but few allow downloading this type of file from listings on their tool. So no way to backup your listings and photos to your computer..

An recent example of an abrupt change in policy is PhotoBucket, a free photo hosting site. With the recent change to links in a listing, they also could not redirect photos in the description to their site where they showed ads. The ads pay for the free photo hosting. No ads allowed so PhotoBucket stopped showing images in listing and showed an image saying the seller needs to upgrade to a paid account. The paid account was $300 or $400 USD a year!

So I think today there is a much stronger risk of any third party tool, paid or unpaid, shutting down unexpectedly. Sellers should somehow keep their listings and photos on their computer. This was easy with free eBay Turbo Lister but that is going away. Hopefully the Seller Hub will incorporate upload and download feature as promised indirectly by eBay allowing sellers to store their listings on their computer for free.

The last couple of eBay Seller Updates has created a lot of uncertainty in a seller keeping their listings and photos safe.

dutchman48 · ‎08-27-2017

Being a pessimistic realist or a realistic pessimist, Ebay would like everyone to have a store and list everything good till cancelled, then there will be no need to worry about anything as far as Ebay is concerned.

Nothing to save, no pictures to lose, and total control of all their listings to do with as they please.

I somehow don't believe Ebay will ever do anything that will help sellers move their listings elsewhere unless they do it one at a time from scratch.

Another way to keep them locked into Ebay.

Some of the competition can move any listings to their site if you are looking for storage only

Not the greatest for smaller collectible sellers but great for the mega sellers and Chinese, and India at a later date.

rose-dee · ‎08-29-2017

@pocomocomputing wrote:

An recent example of an abrupt change in policy is PhotoBucket, a free photo hosting site. With the recent change to links in a listing, they also could not redirect photos in the description to their site where they showed ads. The ads pay for the free photo hosting. No ads allowed so PhotoBucket stopped showing images in listing and showed an image saying the seller needs to upgrade to a paid account.

Ah yes, so that explains why I've been noticing those weird images about upgrading. I've seen them in a few places.

I'm not certain, but isn't/wasn't Photobucket a free service? I'm hoping that the fact that Auctiva has paying subscribers may mean they have some resources to be able to re-tool and keep up with eBay. Even if Auctiva discovers that the supersize links are completely impossible, it still presumably wouldn't mean that they couldn't continue to host pictures.

But I agree that the potential is there that eBay policy could kill these services. The thing that probably mostly sticks in eBay's craw about services like Auctiva is that they have links which include outside ads, as you say -- and ads that they aren't paying eBay to run on its site.

I suppose there's also cloud storage as another alternative, even if there is no coordination with eBay listing policies. Better to have photos and descriptive text stored somewhere rather than nowhere.