Frequently Asked Questions

eBay bulk uploads from Bookzangle

Well, firstly: who or what is Bookzangle?

Bookzangle is a multi-bookseller listing site, with a suite of helpful book-selling software utilities made available to its members. Our bulk-upload tools for eBay are part of that software suite. Joining our site at entry-level Bronze Membership is inexpensive (AUD$60 for 6 months), with some important software benefits at that level, and then has a higher fee-based Silver level (AUD$180 for 6 months) for access to the more sophisticated software toolkits. For more on Bookzangle itself, see the second set of FAQ (Bookzangle Bookseller Site) below.

What exactly is your eBay bulk upload solution?

As stage 1, we have added a powerful new eBay module to our existing Bookzangle booksellers' database available to our members. We believe our database to already be about the best bookseller desktop database in the world with its superior Amazon and other-site automated upload routines, and the addition of a direct eBay-compliant output module makes it even more emphatically so. Stage 2 is nearing completion with final testing, and this will permit our members to instruct our fileserver to create perfect and complete eBay listings out of their "ordinary" listings at our site, and automatically send them up to eBay (this will mainly suit members with higher volumes of listings for eBay).

Is the desktop database solution completed and actually working right now for your booksellers?

Yes. A growing number of our members are actively using it to bulk-upload their entire inventory (or large chunks of it) to eBay in a single upload session. They have all expressed deep satisfaction with the results, and the extra sales they are now getting via eBay.

Is your eBay database solution easy to use?

Yes, it is. Basically you do very little other than you do for entering your ordinary listings for Abebooks, Biblio, Bookzangle and other such "plain text" sites. Our database takes all that ordinary entry data and converts it in background mode into eBay speak, automatically creating all the important Item Specifics, eBay Categories and Subjects, postage charges per book to all countries, and an elegant HTML construction for your Description and Comments layout area at eBay, which you can edit and modify endlessly if you so wish, or just leave "as is"..

How do you handle eBay's per-item postage charges for domestic and international shipping?

You set up your own initial Shipping Matrix just the once within our database, before you begin bulk uploads. You can pre-set up to 2 Domestic and 4 International shipping zones of your choice, and then 6 weight ranges numbered 1 through 6 (you decide what those ranges are to be). Thereafter, all you have to do is enter the weight range code 1 through 6 into the special Weight box for each listing, and our database will populate each listing with exact postage rates to every country in the world, exactly as you have specified in your matrix. Couldn't be simpler, really.

How do you direct all my listings into my private Store Categories at eBay?

Our database does that for you automatically. Just as with Shipping, you first do a one-off map of your ordinary categories as used in the "ordinary" part of your database, linking each of these to your desired Store Category at eBay for that category of book. After that, our database correctly auto-populates your Store Categories for each listing on every upload.

Can I upload all my inventory of (say) 8000 books to eBay in a single day or less, using your database?

Yes. Several of our members have already done so. Our database already has powerful Find and Mark routines permitting you to gather up into a single group the exact types of listings you want to send to eBay, prior to clicking your bulk-export-to-eBay button.

Can I preset exactly which countries I am prepared to ship to, and those to which I am not?

Yes, you do that globally when you first do the one-off configuration of your desired eBay settings which cover the exact shipping specifications and costs to all parts of the globe. You can then modify that for any single listing or any batch of listings before uploading to eBay - you might set a group of very heavy books for no international shipping at all, whilst leaving your global settings for lighter weight books fully international, and so on.

Does your database allow me to enter bold, italics, underline, colours and carriage returns into my Comments/Description area?

Yes, all of the above, with simple select buttons marked B, I, U etc much as happens in most text editors. What is more, you can optionally enter (if you have the know-how) any specific HTML commands you want to into your control "Comments" box, and when you click "go" the full HTML-populated Comments box will upload to eBay, but the same contents will be stripped of all HTML codes and carriage returns and inserted into your "ordinary" Comments/Description box for upload to sites like Abebooks etc. So you only have to enter the material the once, and our database creates appropriate "versions" for sites which take HTML (like eBay) and those which don't (like Abebooks and most "plain text" sites).

What about my pictures - surely your database doesn't actually upload THEM to eBay as well?

Actually, it more or less DOES do exactly that. When you list a book at Bookzangle, you can upload up to 9 pictures per book to our site, all of which will display there. What is more, you can enter a text caption for each picture to make the general "window display" even more sophisticated. You click a simple drop-down "Number of Pictures" box in our database with 1-9, for 1 picture through to all 9. When you upload that book from our database to eBay our upload will contain one or more URL links to your Bookzangle picture storage, depending upon what number you have put in that box. That picture, or all 9 of them, will then display automatically at eBay in either vertical or horizontal display depending upon your database preset choice - no further work needed by you at all.

Can I use your database to upload NON-BOOK items to eBay?

Yes. We have created a special Entry Page specially designed so as to facilitate entry of items such as artworks, stamps, coins, CDs, DVDs, prints, engravings - and anything else that you like, really. These all sit as ordinary records in your integrated database along with all your books, but are automatically stamped so that they do NOT upload to Abe and other sites which do not accept such items. For non-book items which those sites DO accept, you simply enter them as if they were a "book" in which case they will auto-upload to both eBay and your other sites simultaneously.

Can you show me an actual listing at eBay which your database has sent up without ANY manual intervention at eBay itself?

Yes, we have prepared a special listing at eBay (a genuine one) which we shall maintain there permanently for demo purposes. That demo listing has a full 9 pictures, each with its caption, and shows the full text layout and postal information which is auto-generated from our database for each uploaded listing. This is approximately how your own listings at eBay will look once you start using our database to upload there, with more or fewer text boxes in the Description area depending upon your global and per-listing choices and pre-settings. The demo listing may be viewed at: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/163524128384

Bookzangle Bookseller Site

How do I upload my books to Bookzangle?

You can automatically upload to us with just about any known booksellers database - Homebase, Booktrakker, Bookhound, Book List, BookMate, BookMine or your own custom-defined database format.

How much does it cost to join the site?

At entry-level Bronze Membership, site membership is a mere AUD$60 for 6 months ( AUD$10/month, about $USD8 ). ALL sales at the site thereafter are entirely commission free.

Silver Membership costs AUD$180 per 6 months. For full fee and member benefits details, see: Member Benefits and Fees

Can just anyone join your site?

No. We have specific quality requirements, and definitely do not want low-quality mega-listers, page -hoggers and PODsters. For full details of our policies and selectivity in that matter, see: Requirements for a New Member

Do I have to use your Bookzangle database if I join?

No, you can use any database of your choice to service your listings at Bookzangle. You can download and experiment with our database, which we believe to be superior to any other. What is more, you can upload to us using BOTH your existing database AND our Bookzangle database whilst you trial the latter, without changing your upload settings.

Can I use your database to bulk-upload my listings to eBay?

Yes, we have developed a very sophisticated bulk-upload routine to eBay within our database (Silver Member version only), and this is being used very successfully by a number of our members to get all their listings in bulk form to eBay. You can use up to 9 pictures at eBay with captions applied to each one, all from within our database. An example of an elegant listing at eBay performed and automated entirely via our Bookzangle database can be seen at: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/163524128384

Will using your database even as Bronze help my uploads to and sales at Amazon?

Almost certainly yes, particularly if you are using Homebase or the ABE Channel program. Our database is adept at getting practically all your listings accepted at Amazon, and auto-arranges them in a manner calculated to increase your sales there. This applies to both Bronze and Silver database versions. Members using our Amazon upload routines report a significant increase in their sales there by doing so.

Does your Bookzangle database have state-of-the-art search and replace and other facilities?

Yes, most definitely, at both levels equally. Our database is hand-crafted to bookseller entry needs, and you can search/sort and bulk-replace data across the whole spectrum exactly as you please. It has an invoicing module which reproduces your logo on each invoice, templates which you can set and save for oft-entered similar items, and a host of other up-to-date features which you will find very helpful in entering your books data.

Is there an Apple Mac version of your database I can download and use?

Not quite, but very close. We have a member in the UK who is currently using our database on an Apple Mac, and we are simply waiting for his final tweaks before releasing a Mac version in both Bronze and Silver versions. We hope to have this full Mac version available very soon now, at both Bronze and Silver levels.

Can I use Bookzangle to store all my pictures and display them from there at all my other sites?

You can upload up to 9 pictures per listing at Bookzangle, and if you are using our database you can attach a dedicated caption to each one, making Bookzangle your shop-window display site for rarer and more expensive listings (or all of them, if you wish). You can also use us as your sole picture cache for all your other sites, and indeed we recommend that you use Bookzangle at this level as your main or sole "Control Centre" for pictures. There is no extra charge for picture storage and usage, as there is at some other sites.

What other benefits and software tools do I get if I join Bookzangle?

You get auto-forwarding of your books and pictures to your other sites at both Bronze and Silver levels, with Variable Data forwarding (different prices for each site etc) at Silver. There is a very useful Picture Management and Online Picture Proofing service available and numerous other software tools and utilities at both version levels, the full list which can be seen at: Detailed List of Member Benefits

Some of your toolkits, databases etc seem fairly complex - how is your Tech Support area?

Second to none, we believe. We have an active Members Forum of which the primary function is Tech Support, and our programmers and other staff check it every few hours, responding to enquiries swiftly and well. In actual fact, most of our software tools are remarkably easy to use after a brief process of familiarisation, and not a great deal of "support" is required for most members.

Is there an underlying "philosophy" behind your site and its activities?

Yes. We believe that the mega-sites like Amazon, eBay and Abebooks have FAR too much control over our online bookselling industry, and we intend over time to gradually erode that hegemony via our unique bookselling site. We are a little choosy about what type of bookseller and listings we accept, and all our efforts are bent to helping quality booksellers gain their independence as much as possible from those large and sometimes rather fee-greedy mega-sites.

Can you guarantee me lots of lovely new sales at your site immediately after joining?

No, or at least not just yet. It's possible, but not highly likely, although our members are now starting to write quite significant sales through our site, and we expect that growth to continue. We are a new site and slowly building our actual sales marketplaces around the world. You join Bookzangle if you want to join in that building process towards a high-quality selling site which WILL attract a growing band of quality customers/collectors, and/or if you wish to use some or all of the many "extra" software benefits we provide our members at every level, including entry-level (free) Bronze.