File Exchange using ISBN numbers to auto-populate---Selling Manager Pro only?

[chris-s-g]

Hi All,

I am trying to list all my half.com inventory that ebay rather annoyingly killed without warning* and I thought File Exchange would be a great way to do it.  However, it seems like the menus and instructions take me to features only available to "Selling Manager Pro" subscribers without making it clear that I was just taken to a feature to which I am not subscribed until I actually try to use it.  Thsi is a lovely way to force us to pay more once we've invested the time and energy into learning the system and specific templates...

My question is this: is there any way to use the eBay catalog information to list items by ISBN where it automatically populates the title, uses a stock photo, etc. if you are NOT subscribed to Selling Manager PRO?  I am a small-time seller with a basic store.  I sell unused things just to see them not get wasted and maybe so we can afford to buy a few unused things from other sellers, so my "margins" are negligible.  Is paying $16 per month (or $50 more per month to "uprgrade" my store) the only way to list DVD's and books without the tedium of entering each individual ISBN number, condition, etc. as separate listings?  I really want to use file exchange, but the thought of giving this company another $50 per month BECAUSE they blew away all my inventory information really, really bugs me.  

Thank you in advance for your advice.  Those whose reply would be, "go big or go home" need not respond.  Thanks.

-Chris

*(they said "My Account" would still be available and since "Manage My Inventory" is under "my account" I stupidly thought I would be able to see my inventory information after they burned down the warehouse!)

[dollybeauty]

Moving your listings from half dot com to eBay is a bit complicated, but doable.

If you have  even some Excel skills, it is not so bad.

You do not have to subscribe to SellingManagerPro, but do have to subscribe to FileExchange (free).

If you can follow the instructions in this thread, you can do ok. - https://community.ebay.com/t5/Tools-Apps/Half-dot-com-sellers/td-p/27464089/jump-to/first-unread-mes...

Just remember that eBay has required fields that half did not. But if you use the catalog template listed in that thread, you should be ok.

I was not a half seller, but understand FileExchange. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

[chris-s-g]

Dollybeauty,

Thank you so much for your reply and for trying to help me. But, I get nothing when I submit the request for the snapshot (which is the first step of that solution). Half.com says I have no inventory. eBay's so-called "customer service" confirmed that that information is inaccessible forever and went away when half.com went away. These forums are full of people like me who discovered their inventory wiped out without warning. Telling us that the "My Account" link would continue to be active active meant worse than absolutely nothing; it was downright misleading. I would have done this before the site went dark had they announced that they would be removing all inventory records at that time. I'm sick of **bleep**ing about it and I am trying to move on, so I'll stop now.

So, I'm back to my original question: is there a way to use file exchange on eBay's end (don't worry, I'm Excel-savvy, used to work in IT database design so I get the concepts, no problem) to trigger the ISBN to autofill the "title" and other catalog items without being a ProSeller? When I follow the steps to this from the file exchange tutorial, I am taken here: http://pages.ebay.com/file_exchange/SMP_selecttemplate.html?id=0 which leads me to the template, that I fill out according to all their criteria (note that for "Product:IncludePreFilledItemInformation" I set the value to "1" for true). After submitting it I get the error, ""Error - ""chris-s-g"" is not subscribed to Selling Manager Pro. To subscribe go to http://pages.ebay.com/selling_manager_pro|chris-s-g|" (which is a broken link, but that's not really the point here). I guess I could sign up for the free trial of Selling Manager Pro, use it to list my half.com inventory before the trial expires, and then cancel it. That is the only workaround I can think of, short of typing every title, publisher, etc. for every book and movie just to make a few cents on each. Ugh. eBay ruined half.com, I wish they never had acquired it, but I'm sure Josh Kopelman got his payout so he doesn't care...

[dollybeauty]

First I am a Pro subscriber, so that may explain the difference.

Second, when I use the link - http://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/listing/listing-advanced-sellers/file-exchange.html#m17-tb3 - I get this page -

(top and bottom of the page is cut off in this image)

Click on the CSV format. You will not see anything happen, but the template is downloaded to your download directory.