Essential apps for running an eBay business

July 23, 2008

Recently I’ve switched to a new laptop and had to take stock of the programs and hardware I use to run my eBay business. Hunting for install disks, drivers and trying to remember passwords is always a challenge and I thought it would be interesting to find out what other sellers consider essential software / hardware.

Apart from the normal operating system (WinXP - I refuse to go to Vista), Office (MS again), AV (AVG from Grisoft), Turbolister and printer drivers (I use the HP Universal driver which works for any HP printer so you never need another) these are my top five essential apps:

Fluid Mask

Fluid Mask is the ultimate photo editing sofware enabling you to cut out unwanted or cluttered backgrounds and produce professional looking product shots. It’s a tad expensive and made more so by virtue of the fact it’s a Photoshop plugin - Photoshop itself isn’t cheap.

However there is a budget version in the form of Bling! It which is in some ways even better for producing product shots. No where near as complex as navigating your way through Photoshop, it uses the same technology and is highly recommended.

Google Store Connector

Top tip for getting your products listed on Google Product searches is to use the Google Store Connector. This will extract your fixed price listings from eBay and post them to Google Product, and includes all BIN and SIF listings compared to the eBay prepared Google Feed which only exports SIF listings.

Google Store Connector costs nothing and there is no fee for listing your eBay items on Google Product (which is essentially a shopping comparison site). If you’re not already using it install and run it today.

uConnect USB Skype Adapter

I don’t know how I’d cope without Skype and my USB Skype Adapter which enables me to make and accept Skype calls and connects them to my normal landline handset.

The uConnect adapter turns my phone into both a land line and a Skype phone in one, and because it’s permanently connected to my docking station as soon as I turn my laptop on either at home or in the office Skype is up, running and connected to my landline handset.

CutePDF

What do you do when a buyer asks for an invoice? SMP invoice printing enables you to simply print invoices and printing to CutePDF creates a PDF document you can email to the buyer.

Although I enclose a VAT invoice with all shipments, often an accounts department won’t receive them. CutePDF enables me to quickly and easily provide them with duplicate copies by email.

3G Broadband

There are few locations that a mobile phone signal can’t be accessed in the UK, and 3G broadband enables you to connect to the Internet when you’re away from home or office.

Currently I’ve two 3G devices - the 3 Broadband dongle and the Skypephone. Both work equally well and although the 3 Broadband dongle self installs the Skypephone needs you to run the install disk before you can use it as a 3G modem.

Those are my essential apps for keeping my eBay business running smoothly. What applications or products make your life easier and that you wouldn’t be without?

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under Featured, News | 22 Comments