Attributes always required yet replaced

GarageSale Launch Control 2023-01-31 20-33-16

The attributes field always is a very, very long process, and filled in with default entries that really should be blank; but I get used to typing the same things in for each item [the title, publisher, author, etc, stuff that is often listed elsewhere in the Ebay listing!]. What I don’t understand is why this is required when the preflight process shows that the work I did, that GS required me to do, is replaced by another field instead. Help?

GS 9.2.1 Pro

I understand that filling out all these item specifics required by eBay is a lot of work.
Please note that it’s not GarageSale that requires these attributes, instead they are required by eBay. If you don’t enter the required item specifics, eBay won’t let you start your listing.

If you use a “Product”/barcode at the same time, eBay sometimes overwrites some of these attributes. Unfortunately, you have to fill-out the item specifics anyway. There is no way around this, I am afraid.

I don’t use item specifics. I use a AppleScript to automatically insert the commonly required ones with the phrase “Not Applicable”. Doubleclick the AppleScript as its done.

I have another AppleScript which copies “Not Applicable” to the clipboard so I can immediately past that into any other additional required attributes.

If you sell in a category regularly create a template with the attributes already set, then keep duplicating that template.

I use item specifics on 100% of my listings. It helps the algorithm place your items in front of the searchers. If you use not applicable on every listing it will cripple the search and your sales will be hampered. Yes, it requires extra work but we are on ebay to sell.

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And you can always (“always”) copy and paste the item attributes between listings that are similar. When I find myself listing a pile of magazines with similar attributes (same title, different months), I will fill out the Attributes pane in the first one, and then use the little gear dropdown in the upper corner of the Attributes pane to “Copy Settings”, then select the others and “Paste Settings”.

This speeds things up a lot.

The only caveats here are (1) it can be tricky to find the places you need to change manually in the pasted attribute pile, if it’s a complicated category, and (2) you need to use “Paste Settings” before you use the clipboard for anything else. If you accidentally cut-and-paste some text, the attributes will be removed from the clipboard and you’ll need to open the pane and select “Copy Settings” again.

Given how often I use this feature, I’m reminded that I wish the main Edit menu would include “Copy Settings”, grayed out when the context is inappropriate but active when I have one listing selected…

That might be risky, since I would be cutting-and-pasting data I might not be looking at, but it is also a laborious process to find the information I do want to cut-and-paste so maybe about the same amount of risk vs work.

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This is what I do as well. Sometimes the pasted ones don’t “take” until you click off and close the pane ( in a “torn off pane” instance) causing the new ones to be lost and not pasted in.

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Instead of using the gear icon to copy/paste item specifics, you can right-click on the listing in the left outline view and use the “Copy Listing Components”/“Paste Listing Components” commands there. Maybe that works better for you.

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What is the “left outline view”? I am right clicking all over the place and don’t see copy and paste listing components. Never mind I finally found it. I will try it.

OOOOh boy, that is better! I can pull all kinds of info over. Price, weight, shipping info, returns. Wow, why have I not seen this before?

The help is your friend :slight_smile: :
Bulk Editing - Copying and Pasting Listing Components

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I’ve read it beginning to end. If I don’t know what I am missing then I just don’t know what I am missing. I will have to do it again to see what else I am missing. I was only using that list to do design settings. I will have to read the list closer. Thanks for creating a great program!

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:exploding_head:

I would like to suggest, respectfully, that maybe the documentation is a little too “do not repeat yourself”. This sort of thing would be great in a section like “Ways to Approach Common Tasks”, which just repeats all the many ways to do X. Where X is stuff like

  1. create a smart group that pays attention to status
  2. update auto-cancellation
  3. modify attributes/settings
  4. force update of some/all listings
  5. write a Javascript/AppleScript utility
  6. usw.

this implies the documentation might get 2x as big, but it might get 10x as useful :slight_smile:

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Ok, I know I am just being greedy but it can’t hurt to ask. What I now need is some way to flag a listing that I am using to get components from. I often go looking to another listing to see what it sold for previously and I need a quick way to get back to my listing I am working on. Like the mail program has a little flag to add to an email. It also could be a very quick way to make up special smart groups to do special work on

You could use the “Tags” feature to flag such a listing maybe:

https://manual.iwascoding.com/gs8/en/Listings_Section-Tags.html#Tags

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:scream: How it that possible!!! 2 new things in one day! :joy:

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By the way, the “What’s New” section on the GarageSale website gives you a nice overview over everything that’s new:

… and the “Features” section offers a long list of all major features (including links to the help).

Are the tags Smart Group accessible? Say I mark 10 listings with a red tag, can a smart group put them in one folder?

You could create a smart group that uses “Tag > Is > Red”

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:weary: When I think of all the time I’ve been doing repetitive tasks… You are the best!

Is there any way to add “FONT” “Type face” “Font Color” and “Font size” to the Copying and pasting list? I spend tons of time cleaning up these as they constantly are changing on their own. Bold type shrinks from 18 to 15 and type font jumps to Arial from Georgia and color jumps to light grey or blue from black.