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Hack 65 Keep Track of Items You've Sold

Use a simple spreadsheet to record the details
of all your closed auctions.

eBay is not your keeper. They
won't pick up your room, they won't
do your homework, and they won't keep permanent
records of your completed auctions.

If you sell on eBay, you'll need to keep some
semblance of records of all the items you've sold.
You'll need to keep track of who your high bidders
are, whether or not they've paid, and whether or not
you've shipped. It's very easy to
do, and all that's required is a spreadsheet or
database (suitable applications include Microsoft Excel and Microsoft
Access, respectively, both included with Microsoft Office). If
you're not sure which one to use, see Spreadsheet or Database?

Spreadsheet or Database?

Both spreadsheets and databases represent data in a table, a
convenient format for keeping track of your auctions. But each type
of application has strengths and weaknesses, so you should choose the
one that best reflects your needs.

First, if it's too difficult to keep records, then
you won't do it. So make sure to choose an
application with which you're familiar and
comfortable. If you use Excel every day but fear databases, then that
comfort level trumps the rest of the considerations that follow (at
least for the time being).

A spreadsheet requires minimal setup; just type the column headers
explained here across the top, and then start entering the details of
your auctions. Spreadsheets are flexible in that they impose few
limits on the structure or type of data you enter. For instance, you
can drag-and-drop rows to rearrange them, placing multiple auctions
won by the same bidder together.

A database is more rigid, enforcing strict rules on the types of
information you can place in the various fields. But that rigidity
affords certain perks that just aren't available
with a spreadsheet. For instance, you can run queries on a database
to view sales trends, total spent on eBay fees, and so on, or run
reports to make mailing labels. And databases can be much more easily
linked to applications (see Chapter 8), making
them more scalable. Setup is a little more involved, but if
you're comfortable using a database,
it's probably the better choice.

If you're diligent about it, you'll
never forget to send payment instructions again.
You'll always know who has paid (and who
hasn't), and you'll know at a
glance which items still need to be packed up and shipped.

6.2.1 The Fields

Start by creating a spreadsheet with following columns (or
a database with the following fields):

If you're using a spreadsheet, you can set the data
type of a field by first selecting the entire column by clicking the
column header, and then going to Format Cells
Number tab.

If you're using a database and want to print mailing
labels, you'll also want to add fields for the
customer's Name, Address, City, State/Province, Zip
Code, and Country. Refer to your database documentation for details
on reports and how they can be used to make mailing labels.

6.2.2 How to Use It

Every time one of your auctions ends, add a row to your spreadsheet
or database and fill it with the details of the auction. Keep track
of the progress of the transaction: place a in the
"Contacted?" column when you send
payment instructions, another in the "Wrote
Back?" column when the bidder first contacts you,
and yet another in the "Have
Address?" column when you receive the
bidder's full shipping address. Do the same for the
"Paid?" and
"Shipped?" fields. See Figure 6-1 for an example of how it should look.

Figure 6-1. Keep track of the status of all your closed auctions

6.2.3 Automation

At first, it may seem like a royal pain in the keister to have to
write all this stuff down, but it'll quickly get
easier. Plus, you'll find that any time you spend on
it will be compensated by the time saved in not having to repeatedly
wade through your email to figure out who hasn't
paid yet.

But for very busy sellers, the task of keeping the spreadsheet or
database up to date will quickly get out of hand, and
you'll want something less cumbersome. See [Hack #75] and [Hack #76] for some extra-cost, third-party
tools that will keep records for you.

But if you're a hacker and I think that you
are you'll probably want to bypass the
commercial solutions in favor of something you build yourself. In
that case, see [Hack #87] for a custom
eBay API-based solution.