AuctionGenieTM 4.2.2


© 2001-2011 Luxcentral Enterprises
All rights reserved

Published by:

Luxcentral Enterprises
7319 Beau Road
Sechelt, BC V0N 3A8
Canada
Email: auctiongenie@luxcentral.com
Web: http://auctiongenie.luxcentral.com/

AuctionGenie is a program that manages selling, buying, tracking, and related activities for items listed on the eBay online trading web site at http://www.ebay.com/. You can use it to create and post your own listings (including eBay Store listings), place bids, track the status of items you're interested in (even those for which you have not yet placed bids), prepare transaction reports, send feedback, and manage post-closing transactions such as payment and delivery.

AuctionGenie can be licensed for a term of one year (renewable) and licensees are entitled to use all updates published during the year. Updates are very important because they provide enhancements that are often needed when eBay modifies existing functionality or adds new features. Go to the AuctionGenie home page at http://auctiongenie.luxcentral.com/ for information on the licensing fee, how to pay it, and how to register your copy of AuctionGenie.

Note that AuctionGenie submits listings to the United States eBay web site located at www.ebay.com.

Table of Contents

System Requirements and Helper Applications

AuctionGenie works with Mac OS X and three helper applications — a web browser, an email client, and an FTP client. This software must be installed and properly configured prior to running AuctionGenie.

International Considerations

By default, the AuctionGenie databases are designed to accept the standard date and decimal number input formats used in the United States:

If you run AuctionGenie in a Mac OS X environment where different input formats are in effect, you will see a dialog similar to the one below.

Locale
The dialog for choosing system settings for data entry.

Click Yes to use your familiar system settings for date and decimal number entry. In Germany, for example, this normally means you would enter 30.11.2006 for November 30, 2006 and enter 10156,43 (or 10.156,43) for ten thousand one hundred fifty six and 43 hundredths.

At present, the only alternative numeric format supported is one where the comma is used as a decimal point. You cannot use a format where the space character acts as the decimal point.

Alternatively, you can set whether or not to use system settings for data entry by checking or unchecking the Use system formats item that appears in the Format menu of the eBay Bidding and Selling databases when you are running Mac OS X in a non-U.S. locale.

Downloading AuctionGenie

You can download the AuctionGenie software to your Macintosh computer from the following location:

Universal application: http://auctiongenie.luxcentral.com/download.html
[version 4.2.2 — Requires Mac OS X v. 10.1 to 10.6 — 12.2 MB]

The file you download is called AuctionGenieX.zip and is compressed to minimize the download time. To use it, you must first decompress the file by double-clicking it. On recent versions of Mac OS X, this launches Archive Utility to perform the decompression. On earlier versions, you may need a program called StuffIt Expander, or equivalent. You can download a free copy of the most current version of Stuffit Expander directly from Smith Micro at http://www.stuffit.com/mac-expander.html

Updates to AuctionGenie are made available from time to time. To check whether a software update is available, use the Check for AuctionGenie Update... command in the Help menu of the application. It will advise you on whether an update is available and, if so, allow you to go to a download page to get it. See Appendix 13 for information on transitioning to a new version of AuctionGenie.

Running AuctionGenie

Once you've decompressed the downloaded AuctionGenie software, a folder called AuctionGenie Home is created on your hard disk. Inside this folder are the following files and folders:
If you are currently using an older version of AuctionGenie, see Appendix 13 for instructions on how to move your existing data files to this new version of AuctionGenie.

You can rename the AuctionGenie Home folder and move it to any location on your hard disk, but don't remove or rename any of the files or folders inside it. To make it more convenient to launch AuctionGenie, you may want to create an alias to the program file (using the Make Alias command in the File menu of the Finder desktop) and place it on the desktop. You can also drag the program file icon directly to the Dock.

Configuring AuctionGenie

When you run AuctionGenie for the very first time, you are asked to complete a Preferences form. The information you enter on this form is needed to allow AuctionGenie to automatically place bids on eBay, submit new auctions listings, upload picture files for items you're selling, and to tailor its behavior just for you.

AuctionGenie Preferences
The AuctionGenie Preferences form.

The AuctionGenie Preferences form is divided into nine sections:

Click the Save button when you have completed the Preferences form. You can change the values at any time by choosing the Preferences command from the AuctionGenie menu.

eBay Authorization

Before you can use AuctionGenie to communicate with eBay, you must authorize AuctionGenie to access your eBay account on www.ebay.com. When you run AuctionGenie the first time, an eBay Authorization dialog appears which you can use to do this. (You can also bring up this dialog at any time by choosing the eBay Authorization... command from the AuctionGenie menu. You might want to do this if you change your eBay User ID.)

eBay Authorization
The eBay Authorization dialog.

To provide authorization to eBay, follow these four steps:

  1. Enter your eBay User ID in the field provided in the dialog, then click the eBay Sign In button. This brings up the eBay Sign In page in your browser.
  2. Type in your eBay User ID and Password on the eBay Sign In page, then click the Sign In Securely button.
  3. Another page will appear in your browser asking you to authorize eBay to share your eBay transaction information with AuctionGenie. Click the Agree and Continue button to confirm the authorization.
  4. Return to the dialog in AuctionGenie and click the Confirm Authorization button.
Authorization typically lasts for approximately 18 months, though it can be cancelled by you at any time (from your My eBay page) or, on rare occasions, by eBay management. When authorization is about to expire, or has expired, you will again see the eBay Authorization dialog when you start up AuctionGenie.

Quick Guide to Using AuctionGenie

Following this section is a detailed reference to using all the capabilities of AuctionGenie. The purpose of this section, however, is to provide a quick overview of how to use AuctionGenie for the most common buying and selling actions. Begin by firing up your internet connection and launching AuctionGenie.

Using AuctionGenie

The main AuctionGenie window is a master control panel for your local eBay Bidding and Selling databases. It is organized into four tabbed panels: Buying, Wins, Selling, and Post-Sales. To activate a panel, click its tab.

The Buying panel deals with auctions you are bidding on that are still in progress whereas the Wins panel manages activities relating to closed auctions that you're monitoring. The Selling panel deals with auctions involving items that you are selling; the Post-Sales panel manages activities relating to closed auctions. Each panel hosts a group of command buttons that you use to perform a related set of common operations.

Choose the AuctionGenie Reference Manual item in the AuctionGenie Help menu to show the reference manual (this document) in your web browser. Choose eBay Auction Category Numbers to show the list of available auction category numbers and their corresponding names. The eBay Auction Category Chooser item shows a hierarchical list of categories that you can quickly browse through to locate a category of interest. Since eBay changes its categories from time to time, you should periodically use the Check for Auction Category Numbers Update... command in the Help menu to update AuctionGenie's category file. Because of the large number of categories, an update takes several minutes to complete even with a high-speed internet connection, so be patient.

Buying Panel. The command buttons in this panel let you add auctions to the bidding database (by entering Auction ID numbers directly, by extracting information automatically from a browser that's showing an eBay auction listing page, or by importing from the eBay system all auctions you've previously bid on), display a list of open auctions, and update bidding statistics. (If you want to place a bid, you must do so directly from the item's listing page on the eBay site.)

Buying Panel
The AuctionGenie Buying panel.

The command buttons in the Buying panel are as follows:

Wins Panel. The command buttons in this panel let you perform a variety of activities on closed auctions, such as viewing lists of auctions won, lost, not yet paid for, not yet received, etc. You can also create and send feedback on sellers as well as create transaction status reports for delivery to sellers via email.

After you win an auction it is important that you promptly add key information to its record in the eBay Bidding database. This allows you to track the auction properly through completion and ensures that the lists shown by many of the commands in the Wins panel are accurate. The information you need to add includes the seller's contact information, the date when you received the seller's notification to pay, the date when you sent payment, the amount you paid, and the date when you received the item. Enter this information while in the Detail view of the auction record. (See The eBay Bidding Database section below for a description of the bidding database view modes.)

Wins Panel
The AuctionGenie Wins panel.

The command buttons in the Wins panel are as follows:

Selling Panel. The command buttons in this panel let you show open auctions, create new auctions, show new auctions not yet listed, submit auctions to eBay for listing, update bidding statistics, and relist auctions that did not sell.

Selling Panel
The AuctionGenie Selling panel.

The command buttons in the Selling panel are as follows:

Post-Sales Panel. The command buttons in this panel let you perform a variety of activities on closed auctions, such as viewing lists of winning bidders, auctions not sold, and auctions not yet paid for. You can also create and send feedback on buyers as well as create transaction status reports for delivery to buyers via email.

After an auction successfully concludes it is important that you promptly add key information to its record in the eBay Selling database. This allows you to track the auction properly through completion and ensures that the lists shown by many of the commands in the Post-Sales panel are accurate. The information you need to add includes the buyer's contact information, the date when you received the buyer's confirmation, the date you received payment, the amount paid, and the date when you shipped the item. Enter this information while in the Detail view of the auction record. (See The eBay Selling Database section below for a description of the view modes.) Note that AuctionGenie automatically enters the date when you notify new winning bidders to pay using the Notify New Winning Bidders command, so there's no need to enter it manually.

It is also a good idea soon after an auction closes to delete its associated picture files from your FTP site, especially if you have limited space on your site. You can use an FTP client program such as Fetch, Interarchy, or Transmit to do this.

Post-Sales Panel
The AuctionGenie Post-Sales panel.

The command buttons in the Post-Sales panel are as follows:

The eBay Bidding Database

Viewing. The eBay Bidding database organizes the data for all the auctions you've added to it from the Buying panel. The database supports three primary views you can use to inspect each auction. One is the List view where several auctions are shown in the database window at once but with only one line of information per auction. A second is the Gallery view which is a list of auctions that shows the auction title, description, and thumbnail picture as well as price and bidding information for each auction. The third is the Detail view where only one auction is shown in the window, but all information tracked for the auction is shown.

Two other views, the Print view and the Reports view, are also available. You can switch between views using the icon buttons that appear at the top of most database windows.

Print View

The Print view can be used to print mailing labels, a transaction record, and a standard cover letter directed to the seller of an auction item you've won. You can enclose this letter with your check when you send payment to the seller. See the section Printing Mailing Labels, Packing Lists, Cover Letters, and Transaction Records, below, for more information on Print view.

Reports View

The Reports view lets you prepare a report that summarizes lists of transactions. There are five different report types: Auction Items Won, Auction Items Not Won, Auctions Still Open, All Auctions, and Current Found Set of Items.

There are three different report styles: Sorted by Close Date with monthly subtotals, Sorted by Close Date with no subtotals, and Sorted by Category. All three styles include grand totals for number of transactions, average response time, amount payable, amount paid, and mailing costs. The first style also includes monthly subtotals.

You can choose one of the following transaction periods for the report: Any time, Year-to-date, Current month, Current quarter, Last month, Last quarter, Last year, and Last year-to-date.

Note that the report style and period selections are ignored if the report type is Current Found Set of Items because all the items in the current found set are used in their current order for this report type. If you want the items to be sorted in the report, you must sort them explicitly before generating the report. For the three report styles supported, specify a sort order that begins with closeMonth, closeDate, or auctionCategory, respectively. See the discussion of how to use the Sort command of the database near the end of this section.

After you select the report type, the period, and the report style, click the Print Report button to print the report or the Show Report button to preview it on the screen. When you preview a report, move from page to page in the document by clicking on the top and bottom portions of the card catalog icon on the left side of the window. To return to the Reports view, click the Continue button on the left side of the database window.

List View
The List view of the eBay Bidding database.

List View

The fields included in the List view, from left to right, are:

Note that you can sort the records shown in List view by any field by clicking the name of the field at the top of the window. Reverse the order of the sort by holding down the Command key.

Gallery View
The Gallery view of the eBay Bidding database.

Gallery View

Gallery view is another type of list view that shows, for each item, a thumbnail picture, title, description, start price, current bid, high bidder, close price, close time, and the time remaining until the auction closes. You can also enter the amount of your next bid here.

Note that the time remaining is initially calculated when you first enter Gallery view and is not automatically updated; to update the time remaining values, click the refresh icon to the left of the field.

Three icons to the left of the picture allow you to view the official eBay listing page for the item (link icon), go to Detail view for the item in the eBay Bidding database (magnifying glass icon), or delete the item from the eBay Bidding database (red x icon). You can click the thumbnail picture to bring up a larger view of the picture.

Detail/Item View
The Item Info panel of the Detail view of the eBay Bidding database.

Detail View

The fields in the Detail view are organized into three main panels: Item Info, Result, and Seller Info. The fields, from left to right and top to bottom, are: Item Info Panel:
Detail/Result View
The Result panel of the Detail view of the eBay Bidding database.

Result Panel:

Note that the response time, the number of days between the date you sent payment and the date when you received the item from the buyer, is shown at the bottom of this panel. This value is automatically filled in by AuctionGenie when both of these dates have been entered. Also at the bottom of the panel is the eBay User ID of the seller.

Also shown at the bottom of the panel is the Bidding History for the auction — this is a list of who bid what amount at what time (only the highest bid made by each bidder is shown). This field is automatically filled in by AuctionGenie when the auction closes. Click the Bidding History field label to bring up eBay's complete bidding history page for the item in your web browser.

Two buttons at the very bottom of the panel allow you to print mailing labels or a cover letter relating to the transaction. For more information, see the Printing Mailing Labels, Packing Lists, Cover Letters, and Transaction Records section below.

Detail/Seller View
The Seller Info panel of the Detail view of the eBay Bidding database.

Seller Info Panel:

At the bottom of this panel is a Show Seller Auctions Page button you can click to view in your web browser a list of all the seller's eBay auctions. (Hold down the Command key when you click to include closed auctions in the list.) Another button, Show Seller Feedback Page, lets you view the seller's eBay feedback page.

Three other buttons allow you to print mailing labels, a cover letter, and a transaction record relating to the transaction. For more information, see the Printing Mailing Labels, Packing Lists, Cover Letters, and Transaction Records section below.

At the very bottom of the panel is a list of other items sold by this seller which you have saved in the eBay Bidding database. If you were the winning bidder for a particular item, a ✔ appears on the right side of the item's line. Click on an item's line to go directly to the corresponding record in the database.

Note the Copy Address button opposite the seller's last name field. Click it to copy the entire mailing address to the clipboard.

You will probably use the List view most often because it provides a convenient snapshot of all your auction activity (or at least that portion that hasn't scrolled out of view). The Detail view is needed to access information not included in the List view and is most often used to enter and view the name and address of the seller for auctions you've won as well as post-auction information such as dates of payment and delivery. The easiest way to get to the Detail view for a particular auction is to start in List view, select the auction by clicking in any of its fields, then switch to Detail view.
Navigating. Moving from one auction record to another in the bidding database is straightforward. In List view, simply scroll until the line containing the auction of interest is visible, then click in any field on the line. (A small black bar in the left margin indicates the current record.) In Detail view, click the bottom portion of the card catalog icon in the top-left corner of the window to move forward one record; click the top portion to move to the previous record. Once you've moved to a record of interest, you can edit it by clicking the mouse in the field you want to change; you can also use the Tab key to move between fields.

Note that once you have selected an auction in the bidding database, you can display its eBay auction listing page in your web browser by clicking the link icon next to the Auction ID number.

Searching. Use the Find Mode command in the View menu to search the bidding database for a group of auctions that satisfy particular criteria. When you enter the command, a blank search form appears. Simply enter what you're looking for in the appropriate fields (switch to a different view if necessary), then click the Find button on the left side of the database window.

Here are some useful searching tips:

After a search, you may want to omit some auctions from the set of found auctions because you don't want to include them in a follow-up operation such as printing or sending transaction status reports. To temporarily omit an auction, click in any field for the auction, then choose the Omit Record command in the Records menu. It is important to realize that omitting is not the same as deleting; an omitted auction is still in the database, a deleted one is gone forever.

Searching, by its nature, restricts the set of auctions being shown to those that match the search criteria (the found set). To restore the set to all the auctions, use the Show All Records command from the Records menu.

Note that if you go to Find mode and then decide not to perform a search, you can return to viewing the auction records by choosing the Browse Mode command from the View menu.

Sort
The Sort Records dialog.

Sorting. To sort the found set of records, first select the Sort command from the Records menu. In the Sort Records dialog that appears, click the Clear All button to remove the current sort order. To specify a field to be sorted, click its name in the Field List, then click the Move button to move it to the Sort Order list. (Repeat for other fields, as desired.) Click the Sort button to perform the sort. (See Appendix 1 for the meanings of the most common fields in the database.)

Records are sorted by the first field in the Sort Order list. Records with the same value in this field are sorted by the second field specified, and so on. You can change the order of the fields in the Sort Order list by dragging the double arrow to the left of the field name up and down the list.

Deleting. Deleting auctions from the database is necessary from time to time in order to purge obsolete records that waste space on your hard drive and slow AuctionGenie operations. The general recommendation is to retain all open auctions and all those auctions where you were the winning bidder, but to delete others soon after they close. Of course, you may want to keep even losing auctions around if they serve some useful purpose such as making it easier to monitor price trends.

Deleting an auction is very easy, but remember that it's an action that cannot be reversed. To delete an auction, click the Delete Auction icon button at the top of the window in Detail view or the red x on the auction's line in List view. (Thrill-seekers can hold down the Command key to avoid the confirmation dialog.)

Printing. Use the Print command in the File menu of the bidding database to print an individual auction record or all the auction records currently being browsed. If you print when List view is active, you probably want to print all the auction records, so choose AuctionGenie DB in the third popup menu in the Print dialog, then click the Records being browsed radio button in the bottom portion of the Print dialog before clicking the Print button. If you're in Detail view, you probably want to print just the one auction you're looking at, so click Current record instead. Note that you should click the Print icon at the top of the window in Detail view, or the similar icon on an auction's line in List view, to perform three specialty printing operations for a particular auction — printing mailing labels, a transaction record, and a standard packing list (or a cover letter, for the Bidding database).

Using the Auctions Menu. The Auctions menu includes several commands you can use to show various groups of auctions. They are similar in function to many of the command buttons found on the Bidding and Wins panels of the AuctionGenie Panel. There are also commands to show in your web browser the eBay Auction Listing page for the currently selected auction, your My eBay page, and your eBay Feedback page. In List view, two rows of "Show" buttons near the top of the window can also be used to display common groups of auctions.

The eBay Selling Database

Viewing. The eBay Selling database organizes the data for all the auctions you've added to it from the Selling panel. The database supports two primary views you can use to inspect each auction. One is the List view where several auctions are shown in the database window at once but with only one line of information per auction. The other is the Detail view where only one auction is shown in the window, but all information tracked for the auction is shown.

Three other views, the Print view, the Report view, and the Defaults view, are also available. You can switch between views using the icon buttons that appear at the top of most database windows.

Print View

The Print view can be used to print mailing labels, a transaction record, and a standard packing list directed to the successful bidder in your auction. You can include this packing list when you ship the item to the buyer. See the section Printing Mailing Labels, Packing Lists, Cover Letters, and Transaction Records, below, for more information on Print view.

Reports View

The Reports view lets you prepare a report that summarizes lists of transactions. There are five different report types: Auction Items Sold, Auction Items Not Sold, Auctions Still Open, All Auctions, and Current Found Set of Items.

There are three different report styles: Sorted by Close Date with monthly subtotals, Sorted by Close Date with no subtotals, and Sorted by Category. All three styles include grand totals for number of transactions, average response time, amount receivable, amount received, and mailing costs. The first style also includes monthly subtotals.

You can choose one of the following transaction periods for the report: Any time, Year-to-date, Current month, Current quarter, Last month, Last quarter, Last year, and Last year-to-date.

Note that the report style and period selections are ignored if the report type is Current Found Set of Items because all the items in the current found set are used in their current order for this report type. If you want the items to be sorted in the report, you must sort them explicitly before generating the report. For the three report styles supported, specify a sort order that begins with closeMonth, closeDate, or auctionCategory, respectively. See the discussion of how to use the Sort command of the database near the end of the previous section.

After you select the report type, the period, and the report style, click the Print Report button to print the report or the Show Report button to preview it on the screen. When you preview a report, move from page to page in the document by clicking on the click the top and bottom portions of the card catalog icon on the left side of the window. To return to the Reports view, click the Continue button on the left side of the database window.

Defaults View

The Defaults view is handy for specifying the standard or default values to be used for fields in the Item Info panel of an auction record whenever you create a new auction record in the eBay Selling database. New records are created with the Create New Auction command in the Selling panel or the New Auction icon button at the top of the database window in List view.

List View
The List view of the eBay Selling database.

List View

The fields included in the List view, from left to right, are:

Note that you can sort the records shown in List view by any field by clicking the name of the field at the top of the window. Reverse the order of the sort by holding down the Command key.

Detail/Item View
The Item Info panel of the Detail view of the eBay Selling database.

Detail View

The fields in the Detail view are organized into four tabbed panels: Item Info, Result, Buyer Info, and Inventory. To go to a panel, click the name of its tab. The fields, from left to right and top to bottom, are: Item Info Panel (to be completed when you create a new auction; as noted above, the initial values for fields in this panel are those specified in the Defaults view):
Detail/Result View
The Result panel of the Detail view of the eBay Selling database.

Result Panel:

Below the feedback fields is the eBay User ID of the high bidder as well as the response time, the number of days between the notification date and the date when you received payment from the buyer. The latter value is automatically filled in by AuctionGenie when both of these dates have been entered.

The Bidding History for the auction is a list of who bid what amount at what time (only the highest bid made by each bidder is shown). This field is automatically filled in by AuctionGenie when the auction closes. Click the Bidding History field label to bring up eBay's complete bidding history page for the item in your web browser.

Two buttons at the very bottom of the panel allow you to print mailing labels or a packing list relating to the transaction. For more information, see the Printing Mailing Labels, Packing Lists, Cover Letters, and Transaction Records section below.

Detail/Buyer View
The Buyer Info panel of the Detail view of the eBay Selling database.

Buyer Info Panel:

You will probably use the List view most often because it provides a convenient snapshot of all your auction activity (or at least that portion that hasn't scrolled out of view). The Detail view is needed to access information not included in the List view and is most often used to enter and view the name and address of the buyer for auctions you've listed as well as post-auction information such as dates of payment and delivery. The easiest way to get to the Detail view for a particular auction is to start in List view, select the auction by clicking in any of its fields, then switch to Detail view.
Navigating, searching, sorting, deleting, and printing operations are performed in the same way as described above for the eBay Bidding database. The eBay Selling database also has an Auctions menu similar to the one in the bidding database which you can use to show various groups of auctions, show in your web browser the eBay Auction Listing page for the currently selected auction, and show your My eBay page. In List view, two rows of buttons at the bottom of the screen can also be used to show various groups of auctions.

Printing Mailing Labels, Packing Lists, Cover Letters, and Transaction Records

The bidding and selling databases both have the ability to print mailing labels and transaction records. The selling database can also print a packing list and the bidding database can print a standard cover letter relating to a transaction. To use these features, click the Print icon that appears at the top of most database views. This brings up a new view with three buttons: Print Mailing Labels..., Print Packing List (selling database) or Print Cover Letter (bidding database), and Print Transaction Record.

Print Packing List and Print Cover Letter are straightforward. The first, used in the eBay Selling database, prints a summary of the transaction you can use when sending an item to a successful bidder. The second, used in the bidding database, prints a standard form letter you can use when sending payment via postal mail to a seller.

Print Transaction Record allows you to print a summary of the eBay transaction for your records.

Labels
The Label Printing Setup form.

Print Mailing Labels... brings up a Label Printing Setup form that outlines the three basic steps for printing mailing labels for a transaction:

Note that you can also go directly to the Label Printing Setup form by clicking the Print Mailing Labels... button in the Result or Buyer Info panels of the Detail view of the eBay Bidding database as well as the Result or Seller Info panels of the Detail view of the eBay Selling database. These panels also include a button for printing the cover letter.

Analysis
The Statistical Analysis page.

Statistical Analysis

The eBay Selling database includes a form you can use to analyze the sales data stored in the database. Go to this form by choosing Statistical Analysis from the Auctions menu (Command-5).

The following analyses are available and can be performed by clicking the appropriate button on the Statistical Analysis form:

The result of an analysis is shown in a text field. You can select and copy this text into another application, such as a word processor, text editor, or email client.

Note that an analysis is performed on the group of auctions currently active in the eBay Selling database (the found set). In most cases, you will want to analyze a group of auction items that sold successfully, so before going to the Statistical Analysis page to perform an analysis, restrict the found set accordingly. For example, to view only those items that have sold, choose Show Auction Items Sold from the Auctions menu.

As described earlier in this manual, you can use database searching techniques to narrow the active group of auctions to any group you like. For example, to find only those auction items that were sold in the year 2005, search for auctions where the Close Price field is >0 and the Close Date field is 1/1/2005...12/31/2005.

AuctionGenie's Bookmarks Menu

The AuctionGenie Bookmarks menu includes two standard items you can use to show your 'My eBay' Page and your eBay Feedback Page in the browser. Use the Manage Bookmarks... command (at the bottom of the menu) to add custom items for taking you to any other web pages you like; you can also use this command to modify, delete, or rearrange existing custom items.

Bookmarks
The Manage Bookmarks dialog.

Manage Bookmarks... brings up a list containing the names, URLs, and shortcut keys of all the web pages you've added to the Bookmarks menu. To add a new web page, click the Add button, then enter a brief description in the Name field (this is the text that will appear in the Bookmarks menu, so keep it short) and the page's URL in the URL field. You can also assign a shortcut key to a bookmark by specifying it in the Key field — it must be a single digit from 0 to 9 so you can assign shortcuts for a maximum of ten different bookmarks. Use the Tab key to move from field to field.

To change the position of an item in the list, click any field in its row, then move the item with the Move Up and Move Down buttons.

If your browser is already displaying a web page of interest, and the active field in the bookmarks list is a URL field, click the Use URL Shown in Browser button to automatically paste the URL for the page into the URL field. (Note that this feature is unavailable if you are using the AOL browser.)

To delete an item, click any field in its row, then click the Remove button. When finished editing, click OK to confirm the changes, or Cancel to discard them.

Note that you can include a dividing line in a menu by specifying an item whose name begins with a hyphen ("-").

Finding Auctions by Keyword and by User ID

AuctionGenie has two Find commands, located in the Edit menu, that can be used to search the eBay system for auctions that contain certain keywords or involve a particular bidder or seller. Finding auctions is much easier using these commands than using the eBay search page at http://search.ebay.com/ because they have simplified search option dialogs that support only the most frequently-used options.

Find Auctions by Keyword

Use this command to find auctions, on the eBay site, that match a set of keywords that appear in an auction listing. When you select this command, the following dialog appears:

Find By Keyword
The Find Auctions by Keyword dialog.

In the first text box, type in the names of all the keywords that must appear in the auction listings you're looking for. Separate one keyword from another with a space character. Here are two tips to keep in mind when specifying keywords:

In the second text box, type in the names of other keywords, any one of which must also appear in the listings.

In the third text box, type in the names of the keywords that must not appear in the listings.

The popup menu that follows is used to indicate whether you want to look for the keywords in the title of the auction or in the title or description.

Use the category popup menu to indicate whether you want to search through All Categories or in a specific eBay category.

Check the Search completed auctions only box if you want to restrict the search to completed auctions. If the box is unchecked, only active auctions are searched. Note that it is not possible to search completed auctions if you are looking for keywords in the title or description, so this check box is unavailable if this option is selected. It is also unavailable if you have specified Add auctions to bidding database.

Check the Search all eBay sites worldwide box if you want to search not only the main www.ebay.com site, but also the international eBay sites (notably www.ebay.de in Germany).

Use the Show newest auctions first box to control the order in which the found auctions are returned. If this box is checked, the list is returned in reverse chronological order by start date.

The three radio buttons in the bottom section of the Find dialog are used to control what is to be done with the results of the search:

To begin the search operation, click the Show button. (The button name changes to Add if you are adding auctions to the bidding database or Bookmark if you are bookmarking the search query.)

The initial settings in the Find Auctions by Keyword dialog are the same as those you specified the last time you used the dialog. Click the eraser icon in the top right of the dialog to clear all the text input boxes and set the check boxes and radio buttons to their default values.

Find Auctions by User ID

Use this command to find auctions, on the eBay site, that have been bid on or listed by a particular person. When you select this command, the following dialog appears:

Find By User
The Find Auctions by User ID dialog.

In the first text box, type in the eBay User ID of the person who is the subject of the search. If you specify keywords in a has listed search, as described below, you can enter more than one User ID in this text box; separate one User ID from the next with a space or a comma.

In the popup menu that follows, indicate the nature of the auctions to be searched, those that the person has bid on or has listed.

If you're searching for auctions that a person has listed, you can also specify keywords to narrow the search. To do this, check the and that include the keywords box, then fill in the next set of three text boxes:

The popup menu that follows is used to indicate whether you want to look for the keywords in the title of the auction or in the title or description.

Use the category popup menu to indicate whether you want to search through All Categories or in a specific eBay category. This option is available only if you are performing a has listed search.

Check the Search completed auctions only box if you want to search through completed auctions instead of active auctions. (When performing a has bid on search, this box is named Search completed auctions also and checking it enables searching of completed and active auctions.) Note that it is not possible to search completed auctions if you are performing a has listed search and have specified Add auctions to bidding database, so this check box is unavailable in this situation.

Check the Search all eBay sites worldwide box if you want to search not only the main www.ebay.com site, but also the international eBay sites (notably www.ebay.de in Germany). This option is available only if you are performing a has listed search; for has bid on searches, worldwide auctions are always searched.

Use the Show newest auctions first box to control the order in which the found auctions are to be listed. Normally, the list is in reverse chronological order by close date. If this box is checked, the list is in reverse chronological order by start date.

The three radio buttons in the bottom section of the Find dialog are used to control what is to be done with the results of the search in the same manner as described above for the Find Auctions by Keyword command.

To begin the search operation, click the Show button. (The button name changes to Add if you are adding auctions to the bidding database or Bookmark if you are bookmarking the search query.)

The initial settings in the Find Auctions by User ID dialog are the same as those you specified the last time you used the dialog. Click the eraser icon in the top right of the dialog to clear all the text input boxes and set the check boxes and radio buttons to their default values.

AutoPilot Operation

You can configure AuctionGenie to automatically update bidding and selling statistics on a periodic schedule. In addition, you can specify when new auctions are to be submitted. To do this, choose AutoPilot Options from the Edit menu to bring up the configuration dialog.

AutoPilot
The AutoPilot Options dialog.

To enable automatic updating of bidding statistics, check the Update bidding statistics box. Indicate the frequency of updates by specifying in the box provided the number of minutes between updates. When this feature is active, a clock icon appears next to the Update Bidding Statistics button in the Buying panel of the main AuctionGenie window. If automatic updating is enabled, check the If outbid, send an email to box if you want AuctionGenie to send you an email notification when you have been outbid in an auction you were previously leading. Indicate the email address for the notification message in the box provided.

To enable automatic updating of selling statistics, check the Update selling statistics box. When this feature is active, a clock icon appears next to the Update Bidding Statistics button in the Selling panel of the main AuctionGenie window.

Check the Begin submitting new auctions on box to tell AuctionGenie when to automatically start submitting new auctions in the eBay Selling database. Specify the date in the text box provided and the time in the popup menu. When this feature is active, a clock icon appears next to the Submit Auctions Not Yet Listed button in the Selling panel of the main AuctionGenie window. Note that this option is automatically turned off each time you quit the AuctionGenie program.

Autopilot functions will not work if they are triggered after your system has gone to sleep or the screen saver has been activated. To avoid these problems, be sure to prevent system sleeping by opening the Energy Saver preferences panel, then moving the Put the computer to sleep slider to the Never position. To turn off the screen saver, open the Desktop & Screen Saver preferences panel and move the Start screen saver slider to Never.

AppleScript Support

AuctionGenie supports four commands you can use to control it with the AppleScript application automation facility that is part of Mac OS X. The four commands are as follows:

update bidding statistics
update selling statistics
submit new auctions
submit new bids

For example, use the following AppleScript commands to update the statistics in the eBay Bidding database: 

tell application "AuctionGenie"
  update bidding statistics
end tell

Security Tips

AuctionGenie never stores your eBay password on disk, so it is not possible for anyone to steal your password by examining files created by AuctionGenie on your computer.

However, since AuctionGenie uses the eBay Web Services API to submit new listings as well as place bids, and this is done without the need to supply an eBay password — as permitted by you during the eBay Authorization step — someone with access to your copy of AuctionGenie could submit listings or bids without your consent. To minimize the possibility of this happening, consider the following tips:

If your computer is lost or stolen and you fear that someone may be able to log in to your account without your permission, you should immediately revoke the authorization you have granted AuctionGenie to access eBay on your behalf. Do this by using another computer to perform the following steps: Doing this prevents the copy of AuctionGenie on your stolen computer from submitting new auctions even after you later authorize AuctionGenie once again to perform actions on eBay on your behalf (by choosing eBay Authorization from the AuctionGenie menu and following the steps enumerated in the dialog that appears). The user of your stolen computer cannot perform the authorization step because your eBay password is required to do this.

General Usage Tips

Appendix 1

Creating AuctionGenie Templates

AuctionGenie examines templates for instructions on what text to put in the feedback messages, transaction reports, notifications, and auction listings it generates. These templates are plain text files which include not only the literal text to be used, but also special tags that tell AuctionGenie to include the contents of fields in an auction record being processed. Templates can also include conditional statements that allow for different text to be included depending on the contents of a field in the auction record. Using templates makes it very easy to tailor AuctionGenie to meet your specific requirements.

AuctionGenie looks for templates in several different files:

sellerFeedback This template defines the text for the feedback messages on sellers that are created when you click the Create Feedback on Sellers button on the Wins panel. The default template is shown in Appendix 2. The amount of text this template generates should be limited to 80 characters because of eBay rules; AuctionGenie ignores any additional characters that might be generated.
sellerStatus This template defines the text for the transaction status reports for sellers that are created when you click the Send Transaction Status to Sellers button on the Wins panel. The default template is shown in Appendix 3.
sellerStatusSubject This template defines the text for the subject line of the email message that contains the transaction status report for a seller. The default template is shown in Appendix 3.
boilerplate This template defines the text that is to appear at the end of every auction listing you submit when you click the Submit Auctions Not Yet Listed button on the Selling panel. The default template is shown in Appendix 4.
notifyBuyer This template defines the text for the email notification messages for winning bidders that are created when you click the Notify New Winning Bidders button on the Post-Sales panel. The default template is shown in Appendix 5.
notifyBuyerSubject This template defines the text for the subject line of the email message that contains the notification to the winning bidder. The default template is shown in Appendix 5.
notifyMultipleBuyer This template defines the text for the supplemental email notification messages for winning bidders who have won more than one recently-closed auction. These are created when you click the Notify New Winning Bidders button on the Post-Sales panel. The default template is shown in Appendix 6.
notifyMultipleBuyerSubject This template defines the text for the subject line of the email message that contains the notification to the winner of multiple auctions. The default template is shown in Appendix 6.
paymentConfirmation This template defines the text for the email messages created when you click the Confirm Receipt of Payment button on the Post-Sales panel. The default template is shown in Appendix 7.
paymentConfirmationSubject This template defines the text for the subject line of the email message that contains the confirmation of payment receipt to the winning bidder. The default template is shown in Appendix 7.
buyerFeedback This template defines the text for the feedback messages on buyers that are created when you click the Create Feedback on Buyers button on the Post-Sales panel. The default template is shown in Appendix 8. The amount of text this template generates should be limited to 80 characters because of eBay rules; AuctionGenie ignores any additional characters that might be generated.
buyerStatus This template defines the text for the transaction status reports for buyers that are created when you click the Send Transaction Status to Buyers button on the Wins panel. The default template is shown in Appendix 9.
buyerStatusSubject This template defines the text for the subject line of the email message that contains the transaction status report for a buyer. The default template is shown in Appendix 9.
paymentInstructions This template defines the text of the information that is to appear in the payment instructions field of the auction listing you submit when you click the Submit Auctions Not Yet Listed button on the Selling panel. The default template is shown in Appendix 10.
To override a default template, create a new template with a text editor or word processor and save it as a plain text file (with the appropriate name, of course) in the Templates folder inside the AuctionGenie Home folder. This can be done with programs such as TextEdit, Pages, and Microsoft Word. (A document created with TextEdit can be saved as plain text by choosing Make Plain Text from the Format menu before saving it to disk.) Note that the file name for a template may optionally include a ".txt" extension.

You can examine the text generated by an installed template using the Try Templates command in the Templates menu of the AuctionGenie Panel. This feature is particularly useful for ensuring that new templates you create are well-formed and behave as expected. To view a template, click the radio button opposite its name. Click the Evaluate button to expand the template by substituting actual data for the tags it includes.

The sample data used when evaluating a template is taken from the currently active record in the eBay Selling or eBay Bidding database, depending on the template. If viewing a list of records in a database, you can make one active by clicking in any of the fields in its row.

For convenience, copies of the default templates built in to AuctionGenie are included in the Templates (default) folder located in the AuctionGenie Home folder. If you edit one of these templates, remember to move it to the Templates folder to activate it.

Custom Email Templates

AuctionGenie also makes it very easy for you to create a collection of custom email templates you can use to quickly communicate with buyers.

For these custom email templates, the following specific rules apply:

To use one of these email templates, first go to the eBay Selling database and select the database record for which you want to send an email. (If viewing a list of records in the database, you can make one active by clicking in any of the fields in its row.) Then, go to the AuctionGenie Panel and select Send Email to Buyer (using template) from the Templates menu.

In the window that appears, you can choose the template you want to use from the Email template popup menu. When you do this, the email message as well as the subject line is shown and have been completed using the data for the fields in the current database record.

Note that the subject line and the message are editable, so you can modify them any way you like before clicking the Send Email button to send the email using your preferred email client.

Note also that the default template for the subject line is the same for all email messages created from custom email templates. It is: 

Re: eBay #<<auctionID>> [<<auctionTitle>>]

A different subject line can be used by putting a template called emailSubject in the Email Templates folder. If you create such a template, be sure that it generates only a single line of text.

Using Tags

In the simplest case, a template contains the literal text of the message you would like AuctionGenie to use.

In practice, you will want to define a richer template that allows a message to be customized for the particular auction record being processed. You do this by including special tags in the template that tell AuctionGenie to include the contents of fields in a eBay Bidding database or Selling database record. There are also tags for including the text of certain AuctionGenie preferences.

The tags placed in a template are of the form <<tagName>> — that is, two 'less than' symbols followed by the name of the tag and terminated by two 'greater than' symbols.

The names of the tags you can use are as follows:

tagNameDescription
Tags for AuctionGenie preferences:
myUserIDyour eBay User ID
myNameyour name
myPostalAddressyour street address (first line)
myPostalAddress2your street address (second line)
myCityyour city
myStateyour state or province
myZipyour zip code or postal code
myCountryyour country
myFullAddressyour full multi-line mailing address, including first name, last name, street address, city, state, zip code, and country
myPhoneyour telephone number
myEmailAddressyour email address
currentDatethe current date (format: DD-MMM-YY)
 
Tags for fields in the eBay Bidding database:
auctionIDeBay ID for the auction
auctionTitletitle of the auction
auctionSubtitlesubtitle of the auction
auctionDescriptiondescription of the auction item
auctionCategorythe name of the category in which the auction is listed
auctionCommentscomments you've added to the auction record in the database (in the Result panel)
auctionNotesnotes you've added to the auction record in the database (in the Result panel)
auctionCurrencythe name of the currency in which bidding is conducted (USD, CAD, AUD, GBP, EUR, JPY, CHF, INR, TWD, etc.)
paymentInstructionspayment instructions for the auction, as supplied by the seller
startPricestart price for the auction
buyItNowPriceBuy It Now price for the auction
closePriceclose price for the auction
bidCountthe number of bids placed by all active bidders
quantitythe quantity of items offered in the auction (this can be more than 1 for a fixed-price listing)
quantityWonthe quantity of items won (this can be more than 1 for a fixed-price listing)
amountPaidthe amount of money you sent to the seller
PHfeePaidthe postage & handling fee you paid to the seller; this is the difference between amountPaid and closePrice
closeTimeclose time for the auction (eBay time)
closeDateclose date for the auction (eBay date)
closeTimeLocalclose time for the auction (your local time)
closeDateLocalclose date for the auction (your local date)
notifyDatethe date when you received a notice from the seller requesting payment
paymentSentDatethe date when you sent payment to the seller
receivedDatethe date when you received the item from the seller
paymentMethodthe name of the payment method used
shippingMethodthe name of the shipping method used
trackingNumberthe tracking number for the shipping method used
responseTimethe number of days between paymentSentDate and receivedDate
sellerFirstNameseller's first name
sellerLastNameseller's last name
sellerPostalAddressseller's postal address
sellerCityseller's city
sellerStateseller's state or province
sellerZipseller's zip code or postal code
sellerCountryseller's country
sellerFullAddressthe full multi-line mailing address for the seller, including first name, last name, street address, city, state, zip code, and country
sellerPhoneseller's phone number
sellerFaxseller's fax number
sellerEmailseller's email address
sellerUserIDseller's eBay User ID
sellerRatingseller's eBay Rating
sellerCommentsthe comments you've made about the seller and saved in the bidding database
sellerFeedbackthe feedback you've provided to eBay on the seller
 
Tags for fields in the eBay Selling database:
auctionIDeBay ID for the auction
auctionTitletitle of the auction
auctionSubtitlesubtitle of the auction
auctionDescriptiondescription of the auction item
auctionCategorythe name of the category in which the auction is listed
auctionCommentscomments you've added to the auction record in the database (in the Result panel)
auctionNotesnotes you've added to the auction record in the database (in the Result panel)
sellerCountrythe country in which the auction item is located
quantitythe quantity of items offered in the auction (this can be more than 1 for a fixed-price listing)
quantitySoldthe quantity of items sold (at present, this field is meaningful only for standard auctions, not for fixed-price listings; it is set to 1 when a standard auction closes with a successful bidder, otherwise it is blank)
eBaySiteCountrythe country of the eBay site where the auction has been listed
auctionCurrencythe name of the currency in which bidding is conducted (USD, CAD, AUD, GBP, EUR, JPY, CHF, INR, TWD, etc.)
startPricestart price for the auction
PHfeethe postage & handling fee (for buyers located in eBaySiteCountry)
PHfeeIntlthe postage & handling fee (for buyers not located in eBaySiteCountry or sellerCountry)
PHfeeLocalthe postage & handling fee (for buyers located in sellerCountry); this value is meaningful only if sellerCountry is not eBaySiteCountry (use PHfee if you are located in eBaySiteCountry)
PHfeeExpectedthe postage & handling fee, calculated according to the actual location of the winning bidder; this value is meaningful only if buyerCountry is not blank (i.e., the buyer's country is known) and if the postage & handling fee that applies to a buyer in buyerCountry (PHfee, PHfeeIntl, or PHfeeLocal) is not blank
closePriceclose price for the auction
bidCountthe number of bids placed by all active bidders
watchCountthe number of eBay users who have added the auction to their watch lists
amountDuethe amount due from the buyer (if located in eBaySiteCountry), not including sales tax; this is the sum of closePrice, PHfee, and the amount in the Other field in the database; this value is meaningful only if the Site P&H field in the database is not blank
amountDueIntlthe amount due from the buyer (if not located in eBaySiteCountry or sellerCountry), not including sales tax; this is the sum of closePrice, PHfeeIntl, and the amount in the Other field in the database; this value is meaningful only if the Intl. P&H field in the database is not blank
amountDueLocalthe amount due from the buyer (if located in sellerCountry), not including sales tax; this is the sum of closePrice, PHfeeLocal, and the amount in the Other field of the database; this value is meaningful only if the Local P&H field in the database is not blank and if sellerCountry is not eBaySiteCountry (use amountDue if you are located in eBaySiteCountry)
amountDueExpectedthe amount due from the buyer, including sales tax, the postage & handling fee, and the amount in the Other field of the database, calculated according to the actual location of the winning bidder; this value is meaningful only if buyerCountry is not blank (i.e., the buyer's country is known) and if the postage & handling fee that applies to a buyer in buyerCountry (PHfee, PHfeeIntl, or PHfeeLocal) is not blank
salesTaxRatethe rate (in percent) at which sales tax is to be calculated by a winning bidder located in your tax jurisdiction
salesTaxStatethe name of your tax jurisdiction (it will be No Sales Tax if no sales tax is payable)
shippingIsTaxablethis field is set to "Y" if shipping & handling fees are taxable
salesTaxAmountthe amount due for sales tax; this is meaningful only if the buyerState field is not blank (i.e., the location of the buyer is known)
salesTaxTentativeAmountthe amount due for sales tax if the buyer is located in the jurisdiction indicated by the salesTaxState field; this is meaningful only if the buyerState field is empty (i.e., the location of the buyer is not known), otherwise use salesTaxAmount for the actual sales tax due
insuranceFeethe amount of the insurance fee
payPalOptionsthis field is set to "Accept PayPal" if payment using PayPal is accepted
payPalAddressthe email address to which buyers should send PayPal payments
amountReceivedthe amount of money paid to you by the buyer
closeTimeclose time for the auction (eBay time)
closeDateclose date for the auction (eBay date)
closeTimeLocalclose time for the auction (your local time)
closeDateLocalclose date for the auction (your local date)
notifyDatethe date when you sent a notice to the buyer requesting payment
confirmationDatethe date when the buyer confirmed the request for payment
paymentReceivedDatethe date when payment was received from the buyer
shippingDatethe date when the item was sent to the buyer
paymentMethodthe name of the payment method used
shippingMethodthe name of the shipping method used
trackingNumberthe tracking number for the shipping method used
responseTimethe number of days between notifyDate and paymentReceivedDate
multipleWinCountthe number of auctions in the current group being processed that the buyer has won (this value is meaningful only in the notifyMultipleBuyer template)
multipleWinAmountthe total of the close prices for the auctions in the current group being processed that the buyer has won (this value is meaningful only in the notifyMultipleBuyer template)
inventoryCostthe amount you paid for the item when you acquired it
inventoryDatethe date when you acquired the item
inventoryIDthe internal identification code you use to track the item
inventoryNotesinventory notes relating to the item
inventorySourceinformation about where you acquired the item
buyerFirstNamebuyer's first name
buyerLastNamebuyer's last name
buyerPostalAddressbuyer's street address
buyerCitybuyer's city
buyerStatebuyer's state or province
buyerZipbuyer's zip code or postal code
buyerCountrybuyer's country
buyerFullAddressthe full multi-line mailing address for the buyer, including first name, last name, street address, city, state, zip code, and country
buyerPhonebuyer's phone number
buyerFaxbuyer's fax number
buyerEmailbuyer's email address
buyerUserIDbuyer's eBay User ID
buyerRatingbuyer's eBay Rating
buyerCommentsthe comments you've made about the buyer and saved in the selling database
buyerFeedbackthe feedback you've provided to eBay on the buyer

For example, to include the title of an auction in a message, put the tag <<auctionTitle>> in the template.

Note that lines beginning with the "#" character are comments and are ignored by AuctionGenie. Make liberal use of comments to fully document your custom templates.

Using Conditional Statements

You can also include conditional statements in a template. This makes it possible to tell AuctionGenie to generate different text depending on the result of a comparison operation. The general structure of a conditional statement is as follows:

<<if tagName compareOp value>>
....
<<else>>
....
<<endif>>

tagName is the name of a database tag, as described above, but note that it is not bracketed by << and >>.

compareOp is one of the following comparison operators:

compareOpDescription
= is equal to
<> is not equal to
< is less than
<= is less than or equal to
> is greater than
>= is greater than or equal to
~ starts with (for text comparisons only)
| contains (for text comparisons only)
* ends with (for text comparisons only)

value is the value against which the contents of the field specified by tagName are to be compared. value can be a number or it can be text enclosed in quotation marks. Comparison operations involving text are not case sensitive.

When AuctionGenie processes a template and encounters a conditional statement, it begins by evaluating the comparison specified by compareOp.

If the comparison is true, all text up to <<else>> is included and the text from <<else>> to <<endif>> is ignored. (If there is no <<else>> — it is optional — everything up to <<endif>> is included.)

If the comparison is false, all text up to <<else>> is ignored and the text from <<else>> to <<endif>> is included. (If there is no <<else>>, everything up to <<endif>> is ignored.)

Note that conditional statements may themselves include other nested conditional statements. But be careful to ensure that each <<if>> has a corresponding <<endif>> to signify the end of the conditional statement.

Here are two simple examples of the use of conditional statements:

<<if auctionTitle ~ "Luxemb">>
This item relates to Luxembourg.
<<endif>>

This conditional statement uses the ~ comparison operator to check whether the auctionTitle field starts with "Luxemb". If it does, the phrase "This item relates to Luxembourg." is generated, otherwise no text is generated.

<<if responseTime > 14>>
Very slow delivery
<<else>>
Rapid delivery
<<endif>>

In this example, the responseTime field is inspected. If it holds a number more than 14 the phrase "Very slow delivery" is generated, otherwise "Rapid delivery" is generated.

Examine the default templates listed in Appendices 2 through 11 for other examples of the use of conditional statements.

Appendix 2

Default Template for Feedback Messages on Sellers

The default template AuctionGenie uses to create feedback messages on sellers is shown below. It is used when you click the Create Feedback on Sellers button in the Wins panel. To replace it, create a new template file called sellerFeedback and put it in the Templates folder. See Appendix 1 for information on how to write a template. 
Item received (from <<sellerCountry>>) <<responseTime>> days after
I sent payment <<if responseTime<15>>
***** (excellent)
<<else>><<if responseTime<22>>
**** (very good)
<<else>><<if responseTime<29>>
*** (good)
<<else>><<if responseTime<36>>
** (fair)
<<else>><<if responseTime<43>>
* (slow)
<<else>>
(poor)
<<endif>>
<<endif>>
<<endif>>
<<endif>>
<<endif>>

Appendix 3

Default Template for Transaction Status Reports for Sellers

The default template AuctionGenie uses to create transaction status reports for sellers is shown below. It is used when you click the Send Transaction Status to Sellers button in the Wins panel. To replace it, create a new template file called sellerStatus and put it in the Templates folder. See Appendix 1 for information on how to write a template. 
To: <<sellerFirstName>> <<sellerLastname>> [<<sellerEmail>>]

Transaction status for eBay item #<<auctionID>>:

<<if notifyDate<>"">>
<<notifyDate>>: I received your notification to pay.
<<if paymentSentDate<>"">>
<<paymentSentDate>>: I sent my payment to you
<<endif>>
<<auctionNotes>>
<<if receivedDate="">>
<<currentDate>>: I have not yet received the item <-- current status

Please send the item right away if you have not already done so.

Contact me via email immediately if you have not yet received my payment.
<<else>>
<<receivedDate>>: I received the item from you <-- current status
<<endif>>
<<else>>
I have not yet received your notification to pay.
Please tell me the total amount due and where I should send payment.
<<endif>>

Thanks,

<<myName>>
<<myPostalAddress>>
<<myPostalAddress2>>
<<myCity>>, <<myState>>  <<myZip>>
<<myCountry>>
(email: <<myEmailAddress>>)
(eBay User ID: <<myUserID>>)

----- TRANSACTION SUMMARY IS BELOW -----

eBay #<<auctionID>>  [<<auctionTitle>>]
Final price:      <<auctionCurrency>><<closePrice>>
Quantity:         <<quantityWon>>
Auction ended on: <<closeDate>>
Note that the subject line of the email message that contains the transaction status report for a seller is defined by a template called sellerStatusSubject. The default template is as follows: 
<<if receivedDate="">>
STATUS: my eBay purchase - <<auctionTitle>><<else>>
COMPLETED: my eBay purchase - <<auctionTitle>><<endif>>
If you create your own custom sellerStatusSubject template, be sure that it generates only a single line of text.

Appendix 4

Default Template for Auction Listing Boilerplate

Boilerplate text is automatically included at the end of the description for each new auction listing submitted to eBay when when you click the Submit Auctions Not Yet Listed button in the Selling panel.

To specify boilerplate text, create a new template file called boilerplate and put it in the Templates folder. See Appendix 1 for information on how to write a template.

The default boilerplate template generates no text (i.e., the template is empty). However, the useful example template shown below is available in the Templates (default) folder inside the AuctionGenie Home folder — if you wish to use it, simply move a copy to the Templates folder. 

<small>
The winning bidder is to pay in <<auctionCurrency>> currency by check
(drawn on a bank in <<sellerCountry>>) or money order.
<<if PHfee > 0>>
The payment must include <<auctionCurrency>><<PHfee>> to cover postage & handling
for delivery by mail to <<eBaySiteCountry>>.<<endif>>
<<if PHfeeLocal > 0>>
or

The payment must include <<auctionCurrency>><<PHfeeLocal>> to cover postage & handling
for delivery by mail to <<sellerCountry>>.<<endif>>
<<if PHfeeIntl < 0>>
or

<em><font color=green>Postage for delivery of this item to other countries will be very high;
contact me for a quotation before bidding.</font></em>
<<else>><<if PHfeeIntl > 0>>
or

The payment must include <<auctionCurrency>><<PHfeeIntl>> for delivery to other destinations.
<<endif>><<endif>>
<<if salesTaxRate > 0>><<if salesTaxState <> "No Sales Tax">>

Residents of <<salesTaxState>>, please also include <<salesTaxRate>>% sales tax.
<<if sellerCountry="Canada">>

Residents of <<salesTaxState>>, please also include
<<salesTaxRate>>% sales tax.
<<if sellerCountry="Canada">>

Residents of Canada<<if salesTaxState="New Brunswick">> (outside New
Brunswick)<<else>><<if salesTaxState="Nova Scotia">> (outside Nova
Scotia)<<else>><<if salesTaxState="Newfoundland">> (outside
Newfoundland)<<endif>><<endif>><<endif>>, also include
6% GST or 14% HST, whichever applies to your province or territory.
<<endif>>
<<endif>><<endif>>
</small>
Note that this template also includes HTML tags, namely <small>, <font>, and <em>.

Here is an example of the text the example template generates for a typical auction listing where the postage & handling fee is $1.00, the international postage & handling is $1.80, the bidding currency is USD, and the country is the United States:

<small>
The winning bidder is to pay in USD currency by check (drawn on a bank in United States) or money order.

The payment must include USD1.00 to cover postage & handling for delivery by mail to United States.

or

The payment must include USD1.80 for delivery to other destinations.
</small>

Appendix 5

Default Template for Buyer Notifications

The default template AuctionGenie uses to create the email notification message for a winning bidder is shown below. It is used when you click the Notify New Winning Bidders button in the Post-Sales panel. To replace it, create a new template file called notifyBuyer and put it in the Templates folder. See Appendix 1 for information on how to write a template. 
To: <<buyerEmail>>

Congratulations, you were the successful bidder in the following auction on eBay:

     #<<auctionID>>       "<<auctionTitle>>"
     Winning bid:      <<auctionCurrency>><<closePrice>>
     Auction ended on: <<closeDate>>

The total amount due, including the postage & handling fee, is as follows:
<<if PHfee > 0>>

--> <<auctionCurrency>><<amountDue>> if you are located in <<eBaySiteCountry>>.
<<endif>>
<<if PHfeeLocal > 0>>

or

--> <<auctionCurrency>><<amountDueIntl>> if you are located in <<sellerCountry>>.
<<endif>>
<<if PHfeeIntl > 0>>

or

--> <<auctionCurrency>><<amountDueIntl>> if you are located elsewhere.
<<else>>

If you are located elsewhere, tell me immediately so that I can provide you with the
amount of the postage & handling fee for your location.
<<endif>>

(If you want registration and/or insurance, let me know and I'll tell you the
additional fee to add for these special services.)

<<if salesTaxRate > 0>><<if salesTaxState <> "No Sales Tax">>

Residents of <<salesTaxState>>, please also include
<<salesTaxRate>>% sales tax.
<<if sellerCountry="Canada">>

Residents of Canada<<if salesTaxState="New Brunswick">> (outside New
Brunswick)<<else>><<if salesTaxState="Nova Scotia">> (outside Nova
Scotia)<<else>><<if salesTaxState="Newfoundland">> (outside
Newfoundland)<<endif>><<endif>><<endif>>, also include
6% GST or 14% HST, whichever applies to your province or territory. <<endif>>
<<endif>><<endif>>


<<if sellerCountry="United States">>
Please send payment to me by check (drawn on a bank in the United States) or money
order.
<<else>><<if sellerCountry="Canada">>
Please send payment to me by check (drawn on a bank in Canada or the United States)
or money order.
<<else>>
Please send payment to me by money order in United States of America dollars.
<<endif>><<endif>>

Please also respond via e-mail to this message to confirm notification. Provide your
mailing address so that I may prepare in advance your material for mailing.
		
Thank you!
		
<<myName>>
<<myPostalAddress>>
<<myPostalAddress2>>
<<myCity>>, <<myState>>  <<myZip>>
<<myCountry>>
(email: <<myEmailAddress>>)
(eBay User ID: <<myUserID>>)
Note that the subject line of the email message that contains the buyer notification is defined by a template called notifyBuyerSubject. The default template is as follows: 
eBay win: <<auctionTitle>>
If you create your own custom notifyBuyerSubject template, be sure that it generates only a single line of text.

Appendix 6

Default Template for Notifications to Winners of Multiple Auctions

The default template AuctionGenie uses to create the supplemental email notification message for a winning bidder who has won more than one recently-closed auction is shown below. It is used when you click the Notify New Winning Bidders button in the Post-Sales panel. To replace it, create a new template file called notifyMultipleBuyer and put it in the Templates folder. See Appendix 1 for information on how to write a template. 
To: <<buyerEmail>>

You were the successful bidder in <<multipleWinCount>> of my just-closed eBay
auctions, with the total of the winning bids amounting to <<auctionCurrency>><<multipleWinAmount>>.

Since I will send these lots to you together in the same package, I can reduce the
total postage & handling fee to:

--> <<auctionCurrency>>xx.xx if you are located in <<eBaySiteCountry>>
<<if PHfeeLocal > 0>>

or

--> <<auctionCurrency>>xx.xx if you are located in <<sellerCountry>>
<<endif>>
<<if PHfeeIntl > 0>>

or

--> <<auctionCurrency>>xx.xx if you are located elsewhere
<<endif>>


Please include the appropriate amount for postage & handling when you pay for your
lots.

Regards,

<<myName>>
<<myPostalAddress>>
<<myPostalAddress2>>
<<myCity>>, <<myState>>  <<myZip>>
<<myCountry>>
(email: <<myEmailAddress>>)
(eBay User ID: <<myUserID>>)
Note that the subject line of the email message that contains the notification to the winner of multiple auctions is defined by a template called notifyMultipleBuyerSubject. The default template is as follows: 
Summary of multiple eBay lots won from "<<myUserID>>"
If you create your own custom notifyMultipleBuyerSubject template, be sure that it generates only a single line of text.

Appendix 7

Default Template for Confirmations of Payment Receipt

The default template AuctionGenie uses to create confirmation of payment receipt messages is shown below. It is used when you click the Confirm Receipt of Payment button in the Post-Sales panel. To replace it, create a new template file called paymentConfirmation and put it in the Templates folder. See Appendix 1 for information on how to write a template. 
To: <<buyerFirstName>> <<buyerLastname>> [<<buyerEmail>>]

Your <<auctionCurrency>><<amountReceived>> payment for "<<auctionTitle>>" has now been received.
This item will be shipped within two business days to the following address:

<<buyerFirstName>> <<buyerLastName>>
<<buyerPostalAddress>>
<<buyerCity>>, <<buyerState>>  <<buyerZip>>
<<buyerCountry>>

Thank you very much for your business.

<<myName>>
<<myPostalAddress>>
<<myPostalAddress2>>
<<myCity>>, <<myState>>  <<myZip>>
<<myCountry>>
(email: <<myEmailAddress>>)
(eBay User ID: <<myUserID>>)
Note that the subject line of the email message that contains the confirmation of payment receipt is defined by a template called paymentConfirmationSubject. The default template is as follows: 
PAYMENT RECEIVED: your eBay purchase - <<auctionTitle>>
If you create your own custom paymentConfirmationSubject template, be sure that it generates only a single line of text.

Appendix 8

Default Template for Feedback Messages on Buyers

The default template AuctionGenie uses to create feedback messages on buyers is shown below. It is used when you click the Create Feedback on Buyers button in the Post-Sales panel. To replace it, create a new template file called buyerFeedback and put it in the Templates folder. See Appendix 1 for information on how to write a template. 
Payment received (from <<buyerCountry>>) <<responseTime>> days after
I sent a notice <<if responseTime<8>>
***** (excellent)
<<else>><<if responseTime<15>>
**** (very good)
<<else>><<if responseTime<22>>
*** (good)
<<else>><<if responseTime<29>>
** (fair)
<<else>><<if responseTime<36>>
* (slow)
<<else>>
(poor)
<<endif>>
<<endif>>
<<endif>>
<<endif>>
<<endif>>

Appendix 9

Default Template for Transaction Status Reports for Buyers

The default template AuctionGenie uses to create transaction status reports for buyers is shown below. It is used when you click the Send Transaction Status to Buyers button in the Post-Sales panel. To replace it, create a new template file called buyerStatus and put it in the Templates folder. See Appendix 1 for information on how to write a template. 
To: <<buyerFirstName>> <<buyerLastname>> [<<buyerEmail>>]

Transaction status for eBay item #<<auctionID>> [<<auctionTitle>>]:

<<auctionNotes>>
<<if confirmationDate<>"">>
<<confirmationDate>>: I received your confirmation by email
<<else>>
I have not yet received your confirmation by email.
<<endif>>
<<if paymentReceivedDate="">>
<<currentDate>>: I have not yet received your payment <-- current status

Please send payment right away if you have not already done so.

(Payment required is <<auctionCurrency>><<amountDue>> if you are in <<eBaySiteCountry>>
<<if PHfeeLocal > 0>>, <<auctionCurrency>><<amountDueLocal>> if you are in <<sellerCountry>><<endif>>
<<if PHfeeIntl > 0>>, or <<auctionCurrency>><<amountDueIntl>> if you are located elsewhere<<endif>>
.<<if salesTaxRate > 0>><<if salesTaxState <> "No Sales Tax">>
 Residents of <<salesTaxState>>, 
please also include <<salesTaxRate>>% sales tax.<<endif>><<endif>>)
<<else>>
<<paymentReceivedDate>>: I received your payment
<<if shippingDate<>"">>
<<shippingDate>>: I sent the item to you <-- current status
<<endif>>
<<endif>>

Thanks,

<<myName>>
<<myPostalAddress>>
<<myPostalAddress2>>
<<myCity>>, <<myState>>  <<myZip>>
<<myCountry>>
(email: <<myEmailAddress>>)
(eBay User ID: <<myUserID>>)
Note that the subject line of the email message that contains the transaction status report for a buyer is defined by a template called buyerStatusSubject. The default template is as follows: 
<<if paymentReceivedDate="">>
STATUS: your eBay purchase - <<auctionTitle>><<else>>
COMPLETED: your eBay purchase - <<auctionTitle>><<endif>>
If you create your own custom buyerStatusSubject template, be sure that it generates only a single line of text.

Appendix 10

Default Template for Auction Listing Payment Instructions

This template defines the additional text that AuctionGenie is to include at the end of the payment instructions field when a new auction listing is submitted to eBay. The default template is empty, so no text is generated. To replace the default template, create a new template file called paymentInstructions and put it in the Templates folder. See Appendix 1 for information on how to write a template.

Note that the paymentInstructions template must not include HTML tags since these tags are ignored by the eBay system.

Appendix 11

Creating Custom Layout Style Templates

A layout style template contains HTML code describing the appearance of the body of your auction listing on eBay. AuctionGenie comes with four built-in layout styles, Standard, Over-Under, Picture-in-Middle, and Side-by-Side. You use the Layout Style popup in the Item Info panel of the Detail view of the eBay Selling database to choose the style to be used when an item is listed.

It is possible to create your own layout styles, but you must have a thorough understanding of HTML coding to do this. A custom template you create must contain well-formed HTML code for a portion of a complete web page — the portion that would normally appear between the <BODY> and </BODY> elements.

A layout style template should also include two meta tags, template-info and template-author, to provide information about the template for display in the Try Layout Style Templates window. template-info provides a brief description of the template and template-author provides copyright and authorship information. For example, here are the two meta tags for the Over-Under template:

<meta name="template-info" content="Over-Under layout style. Consists of a table with two horizontal cells. The top cell contains the item description and the boilerplate text; the bottom cell contains the pictures.">

<meta name="template-author" content="Copyright 2006 Luxcentral Enterprises">

A layout style template can also contain eBay Selling database tags representing information about the item that is to be included in the listing (see Appendix 1 for a description of these tags). For example, you would use the <<auctionDescription>> tag to refer to the description of the item that you've entered in the database.

There are several additional tags you can use in a layout style template only:

Tip: If you include an HTML <img> tag to display the primary picture file, precede it with a <!--AG--> comment. This allows other users of AuctionGenie to automatically download pictures when adding your auctions to their bidding databases. In other words, include this line of HTML code in your template: <!--AG--><img src="<<pictureURL>>">

After creating a layout style template, save it in the Layout Styles folder inside the AuctionGenie Home folder, giving the file a descriptive name. However, don't call your template Standard — you are not allowed to override this built-in template.

The names of any custom templates you create and install will show up in the Layout Style popup list in the Item Info panel of Detail view of the eBay Selling database the next time you start up AuctionGenie. (If the name of a style template includes a ".txt" extension, the extension is removed from the name shown in the list.)

You can examine the text generated by a layout style template using the Try Layout Style Templates command in the Templates menu of the AuctionGenie Panel. To view a template, select its name in the Layout Style popup. Click the Evaluate button to expand the template by substituting actual data for the tags it includes. Click the Preview in Browser button to view the listing as it will actually appear on a web page.

The data used when evaluating a template is taken from the currently active record in the eBay Selling database. If viewing a list of records in the database, you can make one active by clicking in any of the fields in its row.

For convenience, copies of the default layout style templates built in to AuctionGenie are included in the Layout Styles (default) folder located in the AuctionGenie Home folder. If you edit one of these templates, remember to activate it by moving it to the Layout Styles folder.

Appendix 12

Creating Custom Lists

AuctionGenie allows you to specify the contents of three different lists it displays in popup menus in the eBay Bidding and eBay Selling databases: the lists of payment methods and shipping methods (used in the Result panel of the Detail view of both databases), and the list of inventory sources (used in the Inventory panel of the Detail view of the eBay Selling database).

To install a custom list, create a plain text file with each item in the list on a separate line, then save the file (with the appropriate name, as described below) in the Lists folder inside the AuctionGenie Home folder. Note that the file name for a list may optionally include a ".txt" extension.

A file containing a custom list must be given a specific name, a name which depends on the type of list being created:

inventorySources This is the list of items to be shown in the Source popup in the Inventory panel of the Detail view of the eBay Selling database. If you do not specify a custom list, AuctionGenie uses the following default list: 
   General inventory
paymentMethods This is the list of items to be shown in the Payment Methods popup in the Result panel of the Detail view of the eBay Selling and eBay Bidding databases. If you do not specify a custom list, AuctionGenie uses the following default list: 
   American Express
   Cash
   Cashier's check
   Certapay
   Discover
   MasterCard
   Money order
   PayPal
   Personal check
   ProPay
   Visa
shippingMethods This is the list of items to be shown in the Shipping Methods popup in the Result panel of the Detail view of the eBay Selling and eBay Bidding databases. If you do not specify a custom list, AuctionGenie uses the following default list: 
   Airborne Express
   FedEx
   Post
   Post - media mail
   Post - express
   Post - insured
   Post - priority
   Post - registered
   UPS

The custom lists you create and install as described above will be activated the next time you start up AuctionGenie.

Appendix 13

Upgrading From an Older Version of AuctionGenie

To upgrade to this version of AuctionGenie from an older version, you must move important files and auction data from the old AuctionGenie Home folder to the new one. Here's how to do this: The new version of AuctionGenie is now ready to use. Once you're satisfied that all your data and preferences are still available, move the old AuctionGenie Home folder to the Trash.

The final step is to move the new AuctionGenie Home folder to where the old folder used to be located, then rename it to the same name (if the old folder had a different name). This step ensures that pictures in the bidding database will still be visible.

Appendix 14

Recovering Damaged Database Files

It's rare, but it's possible for the eBay Bidding or eBay Selling database file to become damaged to the extent that it will not open. This can happen, for example, if your system crashes while AuctionGenie is running or if you turn off your system without using the Finder's Shut Down command.

If a database file is damaged, you will see the following message when you try to open it:

Damaged
The damaged database dialog.

In most cases, you can easily fix the damaged file. To do so, click OK when you see the above dialog, then perform the following steps:

File recovery is now complete. The old damaged file, renamed by the addition of the word Old to its original name, is in the AuctionGenie Home folder and can be moved to the Trash after a successful recovery.

Note that if recovery is unsuccessful, you must revert to using a backup copy of the damaged file. You should make regular backup copies of the AuctionGenie Home folder. All the vital files AuctionGenie uses are in this folder, so making the backup is as simple as copying the folder to your backup drive.

Appendix 15

eBay Auction Category Numbers

Click here to go to the list of eBay auction category numbers.
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