mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999
I just got this message and I wanted to make sure as many people see it as possible. I'm saddened by this news as no matter what Ebay is saying, the Seller Hub does not have enough features to replace the main uses of TL. For me I am very unhappy by this news.
Starting July 2020, we will stop supporting Turbo Lister. Downloads of the Turbo Lister listing tool in the US have not been available since 2017.
Because many eBay sellers continue to rely on Turbo Lister to list items quickly and easily, we want to give you plenty of time to transition to other listing options. We’ve already integrated many popular Turbo Lister features in Seller Hub to support you during the change.
We’re committed to providing you with the best tools and functionality possible, and we’re working diligently to develop a solution that will enable you to continue to list on eBay with maximum ease and efficiency. The new solution will offer many of the same popular Turbo Lister features and functionality, including the ability to manage and edit listings offline. We’ll let you know when it is available.
In the meantime, many Turbo Lister features are available in Seller Hub at no cost. You can bulk list, edit, and manage your listings from the Active Listings tab. You also have the option of using other eBay bulk listing tools such as File Exchange. Learn more.
We appreciate your business.
Thank you for selling on eBay.
@ladyroni wrote:On my main store I lost the use of turbolister and had to use Seller Hub. That hurt and still does, created hundreds of drafts while on vacation once. Did not want to list right away, so when I return home I can at my leisure. By the time I did they were all gone!!! Was lost as to what happen, called ebay they are only saved for a short period of time. Ouch, I am not a BIG Seller, but have been with ebay since 1999. In the beginning they were all about small sellers and it had changed over the years, but that is how it started. SAD DAY! I truly hope they come up with a true offline solution for my other stores I use Turbo lister and will be a little lost without it. This is not good for Small part time sellers, but it how things started.... oh well. I will figure this out. Just sad.... long time seller.
If you have TL downloaded to your computer, you can still use it until it is retired later this year.
@mrdutch1001 wrote:When my sales dwindled and Etsy forced sellers to use their Etsy Payment system which took away the ability for sellers to have PayPal only shops, I closed my account there and returned to eBay as my main selling venue. However, sales on eBay have slowed dramatically over the past 2-1/2 years to about 1/10 of what they were, so I have moved most of my inventory over to eCRATER, a much lesser known site, a free and very basic site, but sales have been building... with eCrater sales about 1/2 of my eBay sales during 2019...so I am hoping for the best there.
Why limit yourself? Sell on all three sites.
FYI Free isn't good if you don't get the sales from it. Paying a reasonable fee and getting sales is better than free listings.
@jdbok wrote:
whoever this alan is can you please pass on that for this seller ( and I can't be that different than the norm) if hub just added more than 50 templates--I work with about 150 to keep everything automated and pre typed-- I could make a go of it
it will add so much busywork to my work flow its depressing but zI could make it work with enough pre-filled templates.
I would imagine those who save listings to launch on prime dates could create their listings as templates but only if ebay adds enough space for more than 50 templates for all the money we generate for them.
Alan is the manager of the Community. He won't be able to help with this issue. But when we get some of the people from the team that is creating the newer programming it would be a very good thing to bring up. Whenever I hear on what date they will be on the Weekly Chat I will post a note here so everyone will know.
But just as a note, there are many of us that want unlimited templates.
@bebe-beeb wrote:I did not receive this message in my Ebay account (messages from Ebay), I heard this news from my sister.
Is there a reference to the ability to migrate the listings from tlister to any of the alternative tools? This is my nightmare - if there was a way to export (.csv) from tlister to a newer (free) tool I would do it.
If Tlister is old and they can't support it anymore then enhance the tool and provide a migration to the newest release of the tool. I believe that they closed down the development center that created and supported this tool which was a mistake (IMO). I work in the IT industry and I know that it's difficult to support old programs/products and we encourage users to upgrade to the latest version and until such time we continue to support them - because, after all, they are our customers and that's what you do. The difference is that we provide viable alternatives to the customers because they're the ones that are paying our bills. We would NEVER shut a version of the software down and leave the customer hanging - that's not a wise decision for any company.
Bottom line is that Ebay needs to admit that they made a mistake and hire (or contract out) a small team of developers to rewrite the existing tlister tool, train their support team so they're able to support the tool and provide a migration. Yes it will cost them and the support costs will continue but the ROI would be worth it.
Anyone know the number of users that are currently using Tlister? I wonder if they analyzed the # of users that still use Ebay and the $ in sales that these users generate / monthly?
You will need to do your own research and see which of the alternative programs allow you to migrate your listings. Some do and some don't. I did post a list of some of the other programs available with links up thread a little. They have different levels of service too, so you need to evaluate that for the best fit for you.
That isn't what the email said that they sent out. According to it, they are working on another program or something to better cover the loss of TL. If you go back to my original post, it is close to the end of the email.
While I know some sellers have stated they will leave Ebay because they are retiring this program, I'm not sure how many will actually do that. It is scary for some to have to move to a new program, others don't want to pay for additional services and any number of reasons one may have.
But I do think Ebay does and has realized how important this program is to many sellers. Otherwise they would not have delayed the retirement of this account for three years after the first time they said it was going to retire.
@wvdisney wrote:Zamo-Zuan,
Mandatory functionality for a Turbo Lister replacement:
1. Must be an offline listing tool so you can create and store items for months before uploading them.
2. Must have the ability to create folders to store listings in. (example...Jan listings, Feb listings, etc)
3. A simple, one-page interface would be outstanding. Be able to do EVERYTHING to list an item all on one page, without having to click to open up additional pop-up windows. Pull down-menus for shipping options, etc.
4. Ability to upload items and schedule for a future start date - that's a great feature of Turbo Lister.
5. Simplicity and ease of use would be the key. It doesn't have to be fancy and loaded down with bells and whistles...just something that works and is stable.
6. Not sure what your back end would be? SQL express? Access? Something that folks could fix/troubleshoot if things go wrong would be nice.
SixBit does all of that and more. It's not free like TurboLister was but it's very reasonably priced at only $20.
I have thousands and thousands items (every item I've ever listed) that are all there with their title, images, item specifics, description, pricing and sales history. When I get another one to sell, it's a quick update (if any), add the inventory and the item ready to list again. Bulk changes are a breeze. I can change shipping rates, pricing etc on a thousand items in a minute or less. The time it saves me is worth the price alone.
You can see more details here https://ebaylistingtoolreview.weebly.com/
