I've given the new "Promotions Manager" a try, I'll see in about 10 minutes what the result is. It took me nearly an hour to get my sale set up (see "Issues" below). BTW, for those who don't yet know, this is the feature that replaces the old "Markdown Manager" (which I liked, it was quick and easy to use). Thanks to Tyler, I was at least able to find the new feature. However, I think the programming needs work:
Issues I had:
- First time through, I couldn't see all my store categories in the selection list, no matter what I did. Then it occurred to me there might be more below the screen. I adjusted my screen from 100% zoom to 75%, and there it was at the very bottom -- "See all categories". OK, somebody needs to re-design the layout of this feature. A lot is obliterated by the bar across the bottom of the screen.
- Two of the categories I chose produced no visible results on the list of items chosen. Other categories did populate the list. Whatever is going on there, I don't know. I played around with this for nearly 1/2 an hour, then gave up, selected "All Inventory", still didn't see all my items on the list, but what the heck, I hit the "Launch" button, we'll see what happens.
- I started this adventure trying to set up 2 levels of discount for 2 different sets of categories -- 15% and 20%. Presumably the programme is intended to handle this, but it was so convoluted, and the items in the 2nd set just didn't appear at all, so I gave up. I'd say avoid this until the eBay programmers make it work properly.
I'll report back once I see what the damage result is in my store.
On the positive side, if they can make this feature work easily and be more user-friendly, in principle it is more flexible and customizable than the old feature. Like most newly-introduced features on eBay, it needs attention to really be of use to sellers. I can't imagine trying to set up a 2-level sale with 5,000 items in 30 different categories. Forget that for now -- or tell us if you're in this situation and have tried it.
