LISTER R.I.P.

Lister R.I.P.
----------------

I have been a seller on Delcampe since 2007 and have weathered the various technology challenges that Delcampe faced over time.
The main reason for establishing my stamp business with Delcampe was ‘Lister’.
This has proven to be a great tool during its various iterations.
I have invested heavily in this application with some 58,000 templates that I can call upon to make listing faster and easier and accurate. The WSIWYG approach is so user friendly. That investment created over many years now disappears at the end of year – something I never anticipated.

Since I usually list 10-100 items each day it is critical that I have a tool that is fast and efficient to use and minimises mistakes. The demise of Lister gives me a major problem as neither of the options provided by Delcampe is going to be a substitute as they both have clear drawbacks. They are also much more time-consuming.

The selling form is a slow process – with repetitive tasks for field selection. I cannot save the templates for future use. Probably a non-starter.

Easy Uploader isn’t as its name suggests ‘easy’. I dislike spreadsheets – they are not WSIWYG. Two key aspects of listing are making sure the listing description notes any points of interest about the listing for the buyer and matching the image to the description. Entering a full description and formatting it appropriately into a spreadsheet is not easy – it is not designed for this type of usage. Uploading spreadsheet and images separately and marrying them with the spreadsheet rows is both time consuming and likely to cause mistakes. Any reusing of templates is pretty much impossible.

In summary, neither of the options will suit me and will cramp my ability to list at speed and efficiently.

I am disappointed with Delcampe’s decision. It is surprising since Lister was at one time a USP for Delcampe.
I do note that more third party Lister applications are now actually becoming available for another marketplace – so the importance of a Lister is well recognised.

It is a shame that such an important aspect of Delcampe will disappear.

I fear 2024 is likely to be my last year as a Delcamper.

Alan Catherall
[Hoatzinstamps]

You have said it very well, I thought I was the only one that found Easy Uploader less than easy. I am surprised there haven't been more comments in the forum about this. I, too will most likely end my time with Delcampe in the new year. It's too bad really,I have never had any negative issues with Delcampe before.
T K

You make an interesting point 'why no reaction'.
I think it may be that there was no defined cliff edge - there is now.
And possibly sellers looked at the alternatives - found them wanting - and just continued business as usual with Lister.
The 31st December deadline now focuses the mind.

Alan Catherall
[Hoatzinstamps]

Sorry to hear this Alan. When I was just starting out on the other site they pulled their desktop lister and it was a pain.

I've been running my shop using the selling form since I came to delcampe 10 years ago. Although the selling form does not have templates I use my existing listings as the template so you do not have to start from scratch each time.

For relists from sales I just work through my 'shipped' tab and use sell similar, update the photo and personal reference, and any amendments thats needed, then archive the sale to keep track of whats already relisted.

For new listings I find a similar listing and click sell similar on that, update photo, title, price and personal reference (and description if necessary but mine are more generic than yours with most the detail being in the title).

Once an hour I check the listing on the ongoing tab sorted by most recent to ensure that things are correct. I understand this is not as good as a pre listing check but not that many things sell immediately. I haven't had a sale of a listing in error in this initial hour to date.

I can list 50+ on a day when I have the time to do so including sorting stock to find items to list (which tends to be my limiting factor, not the listing itself).

Hope this is helpful!

Thanks for the input.
This type of 'workaround' has occurred to me.
But as you point out it takes time and discipline.
I can list 50+ items in an hour using Lister and easily add comments about condition etc.

I am annoyed that 16 years of investment has gone down the pan.
The argument they use for Lister's demise is that they can't support it - from my experience and I have used it a lot I have not reported an error!

I guess it is what it is - I will adapt or move on.
Certainly, your approach is better than the alternatives put forward by Delcampe.

Alan Catherall
[Hoatzinstamps]

I also use the process as Steve Hill...I find it works well. The most time consuming issue is the scanning,but once scanned I can easily list 100 items in a day.

I agree with you Alan.

For different reasons, I have been downscaling for the last year or so.

Now, with the demise of the lister, I will list everything I've currently got and that will be the end for me.

I tried the easylister, which is far from easy. It is a wonderful tool, if you want to import from other sites by creating a spreadsheet there and then importing it to Delcampe, but creating a spreadsheet from scratch is a pain. I had one go at it, when they first made the announcement and decided it was not for me.

As Steve said, if you use the online selling form, the "sell similar" option does save some time, but it is not as quick as the lister, specially if you don't have a fast internet connection and you have to wait for pages to load.

Hi Alan,

Thank for taking the time to write to us and to our community.

I understand that a switch to Easy Uploader might not be a suitable option for you.
However, I think a switch to the selling form could be great.
Currently I see that you don't like it as there's no template in place and it's too time-consuming for you.

But we are working on this and we are going to deliver a template tool within the selling form.
At this stage, I cannot give you more details as to what it would look like or when it will be delivered, but I can confirm you that we are currently working on it.

As soon as we have more details to share with you and the rest of our community, we'll reach out to you.

Have a lovely day,
Miranda

Delcampe Customer Service

Miranda,

Thank you for your advance notification of upcoming improvements to the Selling Form.
Equally it is impossible for me comment on the usability of the new version and whether it will sifficiently replace Lister.

It might have been better to have had this new form available to the community before announcing the end of Lister?

I am not sure how the template version will replace the 58,000 templates I have created over the years in the Lister(s) - is it going to be one or many templates? In Lister each listing becomes a template so if you list the same item and very similar again (e.g. mint versus used) maybe years later it can be reused. I think you wil have problems replicating this functionality. But anyhow we will see.

Alan Catherall
[Hoatzinstamps]

Hi Alan,

At this stage and since we are still at the early stage of developing this feature, I cannot give you any more details.

Let me inform you when I get more details to share with you.

KR,
Miranda

Agreed. Easy uploader 2024. Not at all easy and no practical help to work out how to set it up. A template is a MUST for bulk uploading.

At least I am not alone.
The spreadsheet template is just not sufficient, and for me the description is so important - impossible to format in a spreadsheet!

Alan Catherall
[Hoatzinstamps]

Has anyone managed to set up new system yet ?? Help if you have.

See the options decsribed in the thread.
They are not my preferred way forward but obviously work for others.

Alan Catherall
[Hoatzinstamps]

Dear "millcats",

I see that my colleague Marion replied to you this morning.
Feel free to get back to her should you need more help.

Have a good day,
Miranda

Dear Alan,

Please feel free to contact us through the Contact form and provide me with what you have (if you have a spreadsheet).

I'll try to help you.

Kind regards,
Miranda

Thank you for your offer.
I am sorry but I am not wasting anymore time on the spreadsheet route.
It is a hopeless option I'm afraid and not suited to the way I operate.

I will wait to see if the improvements to the standard listing method is a viable alternative.

Alan Catherall
[Hoatzinstamps]

Hi Alan,

The selling form was updated yesterday afternoon.

You can now save your listing template by ticking the box "Save information for future sales" in the right box.
Everything will be saved except the images (Category, title, description...).
If you leave the selling form and come back to it, you'll be able to use the template you have saved by clicking on "Fill in the form" in the top right of the page.
The template can obviously be updated all along.

KR,
Miranda

Thank you for this update.

I assume from your comment that only one template can be saved?

Alan Catherall
[Hoatzinstamps]

Indeed, but it can be updated when you want it.

Sorry to say, but this is another useless option, that nobody wanted.
It only complicates the upload-form, by stretching it like a chewing gum.
What is urgently needed - but will never be available - is a simplified form, concentrated on just ONE page, where all the changeable entries are visible at one glance.
Now, I have to scroll 3 times down, but I often forget to change the end-date or my reference.......as a sign of my age
btw. I am using it - and its various downgrades - since more than 15 years.

Hi -

Another way to do this is to create an Access form or even a goofy Excel form (don't like 'em). I do like Access because it will do what Lister did for us.

The downside is that the seller has to create the form - for me it is easy, because I used to program it all the time. Exporting to Excel or .CSV is easy from Access.

I am inquiring into the Delcampe API and may create a standard form, much like Lister was. What I do need is a complete list of categories which I can't find anywhere on the Delcampe site, except for the collapsed version which you have to drill down into. Access (and Excel) allow you to have List and Combo Boxes which make the task SOOOOOO much easier.

You can also have multiple forms you can get to but the creation of buttons to go there. Finally, you can export in many ways - use the API, Excel or .CSV output.

There is a learning curve, I know. If Delcampe shares the API with me, I can decipher how long it would take to create the basic or full Excel template in Access. Lookups of past items are easy with a search box instead of several key clicks in Excel.

If the Access version can be done, the Access Runtimes can be shared by all for free and you wouldn't need to change anything, so no buying Access itself.

A problem is computer. Excel works well from .XLS to .XLSX and from Windows 3.1 through Windows 11. For other platforms, like Apple, there may be a bridge that allows it. Linux is a different beastie. There may be glitches among the versions of Excel as I've seen.

It's not perfect, but it sure as heck beats out typing in a spreadsheet. Example: I've put my Belgian Railroad cancels in an Excel SS because of special characters such as accents and underlines. They don't work well exporting to .CSV very well. I do have them working in Access, ported over from MySQL database after tinkering with the character set. Lately, the best character set has been introduced to phpMyAdmin for MySQL and they port over to Access well.

(Sorry for all of the geek terms here.)

In fact, entering into MySQL is a chore without a decent form just like Excel or entering text.

I have also created spreadsheets directly from Access with grouping, color, special characters, etc. That's not needed if the tables - only a few things like items, categories, and others are properly set up.

Hmm... I'll follow up after I see what the API offers and if I get the category list. I have placed these questions with customer service.

I can explain any of this in a further private or public reply if needed to. Yes, Lister looked very much like an Access form, only cruder. Placing the info top down is easier to type / follow than working in columns. Finally, reports are pretty easy to do overall.

OK - enough for now!

Tracy_Barber

You really need some response from Delcampe to see whether this is a 'supportable' route to go.

Alan Catherall
[Hoatzinstamps]

Yes. I have already asked for some info and unfortunately it was before the weekend and I probably won't see a response for a little while, due to the amount of Delcampe requests / etc. they see.

If someone, which no doubt they have, created a FREE Lister like app with easy usage and compatible with the majority of software / hardware out there, many people would not complain.

Excel / .CSV are a pain as I mentioned due to character sets as well as simple entering of data. So, trying to add accents / special characters is a chore and sometimes you need them or the meaning (description / title) may be lost.

I have been trained in database management to create top down entry forms instead of left to right column formats, except where the data flow of entering items is "odd". In Excel, one needs to hit F2 in order to change a single character whereas in most database formats you can simply enter the character / etc. where you need it. Further, using the Tab key to go from field to field keeps the form on the screen instead of using the darn scroll bar.

Now, this is the final output that Delcampe wants because investing in a database cost $ and time. It's in the format they can import. Most good databases allow exporting into Excel or .CSV but still they may not be perfect.

As being supportable, if I get the Delcampe import file correct, there should not be a problem. They need to do nothing - the onus is on the the person creating the file. Only those that know how to do this should endeavor the challenge. I believe I do, if given the precise file items and layout, with the categories / etc. Almost 30 years in the IT field helps, with a database / system management 4 year degree of which my capstone class was for 6 credits, took at least 6 months and pertained to Belgian RR cancels - chamfer type - of which very few are brave enough to attempt. Result = A for grade and it tied the rest of my degree together. If I make it long enough, I may update it to look more appealing as well as fill in some blanks from 1908 - 1986 or so.

I'll post what I hear from the Delcampe Help Desk.

Tracy

All I need is completely expanded file of categories. Now, I can create one, but it will take me time to do so. Using what Delcampe shows on their web site, it can be done. The .pdf that goes with their new Upload thingy gives most of the rest of the details of each field.

I've asked about a downloadable file of categories and have yet to hear back. I may struggle through and create an Access database (or any decent version thereof) or DBVart (?) that uses MySql or anything rather than enter my items in Excel. It sux for doing this type of work. Far more work, although doable than with Access.

They were using Adobe Air, which has gone kaput already. Access is a great front end for databases large and small. Creating templates will be easy by using a simple data entry form and then saving it both in templates and as export to Delcampe. One check box and a little code behind it. VBA has a learning curve, but I learned it in Access 1 and 1.1, as well as up to 2010, which is not much different today.

Let me put some thought into it for a few days and look of the Delcampe .pdf file and see if it's worth cutting and pasting the categories. Of course, I'd start with stamp categories. This is not a challenge for me - if I had the categories, it would take me a week or 2.

And, depending on version I use, I could send out the runtime code instead of anyone buying Access from Microsquishy.

Do you have a PC (IBM clone)? It may work on Mac if the correct "bridge" is there. Linux? I don't know.

I'm starting to like this more and more... Stay tuned.

Tracy