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If you're an eBay Store owner and want an alternative to using eBay's Listing Frame left side bar, FreeForm's two column layout capability will help you create your own as was done in this item description.
Because eBay's keyword spamming policies require descriptive links be created as images some up front work is required to create the images. The working buttons above were created at grsites.com.
The sample buttons below were created at cooltext.com which I found a little easier to use for simple text. Any color combination and size for the text and button can be created there.
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Even if you don't own an eBay store, using a side bar for cross promotion to your other listings can be helpful. If you consistently list in the same eBay categories links can be constructed to take shoppers to your items for sale in those categories. You may instead of creating text buttons show representative items as your link images.
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A side bar is also good for any kind of message you want to get across to your shoppers but don't quite know how to weave it into your actual item description. Below are a few examples to inspire you.
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You could use this space to describe why it is safe to buy from you.
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You could use this space to describe the features of your shipping policies.
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Looking for an eBay template that's just right?
You're invited to stop searching and start building!
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This auction is for a service. My assistance in creating your own unique custom template using the free to use online tool FreeForm. For the record, this is not a digitally delivered item. It's not even an item at all. Again, it's a service.
I published FreeForm on the web years ago to help sellers design and use their own custom templates for creating item descriptions without having to learn HTML. FreeForm, via a Builder interface provides for creating attractive and effective selling layouts including display of as many photos as you desire in the body of your item descriptions. You provide the ingredients, FreeForm creates the HTML.
Learning to use FreeForm, just to display photos without having to depend on and pay eBay to host and display them, makes the effort worthwhile. To accomplish that, a non-eBay web host for your photos is required. Some sellers use free hosting services with FreeForm, more use EAPH which is a host designed especially for use with FreeForm. I won't bore you with that here, but please see my About Me page if you'd like an explanation of how that came about.
HTML is free and so is FreeForm
(almost - supported by donation)...
FreeForm itself is free to try for as long as you want, supported by completely voluntary donations. So, learning to use it is cost free except for the time invested. At first glance many sellers perceive FreeForm as requiring a long time to master, but it's fundamentally quite simple. Typically the only real difficulty is getting started because FreeForm provides so much flexibility, so many formatting options. That's what I'm here to help with. As with many things - ''it's easy if you know how''. With my coaching and hands-on assistance the learning curve is greatly shortened.
Ultimately everyone wants to feel confident any particular tool they'll be investing time to learn will meet their needs. FreeForm is indeed a tool meant to be used over the long haul so for most sellers is a good investment. FreeForm's adaptability has a lot to do with that. As your needs change, you can alter what you create using FreeForm to match. Conversely, pre-made templates or less flexible tools effectively lock you in.
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How I can offer this service so inexpensively...
- FreeForm includes lots of instructions, help pages, screen recordings of FreeForm being used, and an assortment of sample templates to use as starting points. Most sellers who use FreeForm never asked for or needed my help. The basics are covered, so I'm free to help with unusually ambitious design or layout goals - what I consider the ''fun stuff''.
- FreeForm is an entirely online program. Everything you create may also be saved online in FreeForm itself. In fact, that is how FreeForm gains its principle value. Simply load what you have saved back into the Builder then replace, add, or remove the ingredients (photos and textual content) as needed and you're done.
Upon invitation, I will also be able to load what you have saved into the Builder to make changes and save for you to use. There's hardly a more convenient collaboration tool than FreeForm. Certainly no better way for me to teach techniques than by demonstrating examples using your own ''stuff'' to keep it real for you.
- There are no distribution costs I need to pass on to you. Typical technical difficulties associated with installing programs on computers and keeping those programs updated are avoided. If you have a decent Internet connection and a relatively healthy computer you have all you need to use FreeForm.
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If you win this auction and find FreeForm isn't the right tool for you please request a refund and I will issue without argument no matter how much time I've spent assisting you.
The refund is unconditional even if you misunderstand the nature of the auction. Along those lines, sadly, I need to include that I am not selling ''adapters'' or anything else that could be shipped to you. The only two negative feedbacks I have ever received were from a bidder who somehow thought he was buying adapters of some sort. I immediately issued refunds but not before the buyer left the negatives or realized his mistake. Per eBay rules at the time, even though the buyer was willing to revoke the negatives, eBay did not allow it.
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FreeForm at RobsHelp has been helping eBay sellers since 1999 and EAPH Hosting since 2002. On any given day there are usually over 50,000 item listings on eBay with descriptions created using FreeForm.
On any given day there are usually well over 250,000 pictures viewed on eBay delivered from EAPH servers.
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This entire item description including the side bar above and the prettier portion below, demonstrating some of FreeForm's capabilities, was created all in one FreeForm Builder layout. No patching together, no use of HTML other than produced by FreeForm.
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FreeForm redefines what eBay
templates can and should be...
Without any HTML knowledge or experience you are empowered by FreeForm to design custom templates for use in creating eBay auction item descriptions, About Me pages, eBay Store Custom Pages, or web pages. And, without having to learn or wade through and edit HTML, you can display more or less pictures, more or less text, and even alter the template itself on the fly as you create individual pages.
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One of FreeForm's more popular features is the ability to design a frame around the entire presentation such as I have done surrounding this portion of the page.
That is accomplished using FreeForm's Frame Builder tool. You may use colors, wallpapers from FreeForm's Libraries, or your own images (graphics or even photos) to construct the frame layers.
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FreeForm is unique in that it serves as a platform from which you may both create and save what you create (within FreeForm itself) for loading back into the Builder on future occasions to use as the foundation for creating other auction item descriptions or pages.
Replace the pre-existing contents with new contents, remove some, leave some, add more, etc. Because you are working in the Builder you are also able to change anything and everything to produce presentations highly tailored to the particular item being sold or to the needs of the particular page being created.
FreeForm provides for up to 20 separate 'containers' into which what you create may be saved. With EAPH Hosting membership, because of the additional storage space made available, saving is unlimited via use of the EAPH Save and EAPH Method loading.
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You may create text boxes such as this using any text color and background color you desire. If you like, add a surrounding border as I have done here.
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HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) is what enables colors, pictures, links, background wallpapers, and design layouts in web pages. Because HTML is allowed in eBay Store and eBay auction item listings, most of what is possible with full web pages also becomes possible within the description portions of the selling and custom pages eBay provides to sellers.
FreeForm's modular design interface is a shortcut to all that HTML potential without the need to learn a bit of it. You will be able to present your items for sale on eBay more effectively and professionally. Perhaps more importantly building your own auction templates keeps you in control. As your needs change you can readily adjust your templates and/or adapt them on an individual basis to showcase some items differently than others.
FreeForm enables you to use the same basic template to create an eBay About Me page, eBay Store pages, eBay auction auction item descriptions, and even stand alone web pages such as you would publish at your own web site.
If standard eBay templates are not enabling you to showcase your items. If you need more, including photos embedded into your item descriptions, background wallpapers, interesting color schemes, and custom layouts then try FreeForm. Freeform is probably the most versatile program available on the web for constructing custom eBay auction templates and eBay pages without needing to learn HTML. It is almost certainly the most flexible such program you will find anywhere for the price...
FreeForm is completely independent of eBay and free of their transaction fees that would otherwise need to be passed on to you. As a result, and because FreeForm is not itself a photo hosting service it is capable of being supported by completely voluntary contributions. There is no absolutely no obligation or commitment required to give it a try.
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Successful selling on eBay often requires display of great looking photos. FreeForm can't make you a better photographer but you are able to display photos in any size you desire and as many of them as you like.
By using your own hosting for the photos and displaying them in the body of your item descriptions using FreeForm you retain control over their display quality and completely avoid having to pay eBay for picture hosting.
Because photos are usually the most important ingredient in item descriptions I suggest building templates around the photos. That is, put the photos in first and then select colors and wallpapers that accentuate the photos.
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Notice how this bold background color accentuates the item
and causes the photo to seemingly pop right off the page.
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Like text boxes, photos may be assigned a border. You may use a solid color or a style. The styles are not a true frame such as you'd hang on the wall, but the effect can be simulated like this: 
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You may display text to the right of any photo without even having to create a two column layout. FreeForm's Picture Input Areas include a join with text option that was used here.
If you need to display smaller photos in your presentations but make larger versions available you may use supersize (click to enlarge). I didn't have a large version of the ''picture goes here'' image to the left, so clicking on it will open a test pattern image.
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You may use your own graphics, logos, and backgrounds
One great advantage of FreeForm's independence from any listing or template service is not being limited to the selection of graphics or template layouts available with any particular such service. While FreeForm does include libraries of public domain background wallpapers and a library of email link images, there is absolutely no need to feel restricted to using them either. Admittedly, most of us are not capable of creating professional appearing graphics, but the Internet is full of sites that offer them either freely or with credit given to the artist. With FreeForm you are empowered to use whatever you find that works best for you.
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If you want or need to format text on an individual word by word basis you may use FreeForm's Text Input Area WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) text editor. You may apply bold, italics, underline, change size, change font, change color, or all of the above. You may - format text
- as bulleted
- lists
You may - format text
- as numbered
- lists
You may center text You may indent text
You can even insert images in with the text, adjust blank space around them, assign borders, and align in relation to the other contents of the text box. The image to the right is right aligned.
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- Display as many images (graphics and photos) as desired, in any sequence, size, or position
- Insert textual content wherever desired in ads - great for talking up and pointing out features in adjacent photos
- Complete control over text fonts, sizes, and colors
- Color pickers for background colors or use your own custom colors
- Background wallpaper libraries or use your own backgrounds
- Frame Builder Tool to attractively frame ads with background color and wallpaper layers
- What You See Is What You Get - WYSIWYG Text Editing Tool
- Create links to web sites, ''About Me'' pages, ''Sellers Other Items'', and to send seller an email
- Gallery Builder Tool - provide eBay item numbers for click to visit eBay cross-promotion, or create click to enlarge thumbnail presentations, or create attractive list type galleries and menus
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Lot's of different ways to use what you create
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- Easily save and use your own custom templates over and over again
- Create eBay ''About Me'' and eBay Store pages
- Code Input Areas enable including your own HTML, Shipping Calculators, Counters, etc.
- Save what you create as stand alone web pages that you can publish to your own web sites
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The most important requirement is you! - If you've had any exposure to online tools for creating eBay auctions or have used templates provided with listing services then you'll have grown accustomed to limited options and, because of those limitations, to a path being laid out clearly before you. FreeForm is not like that. Instead, you are involved through the whole design process. FreeForm takes care of the technical matters but does not stand in the way of your imagination, creativity, and design goals.
FreeForm has been tested thoroughly using Mozilla Firefox 2, FireFox 3, and Microsoft Internet Explorer version 7. AOL users are recommended to upgrade to AOL 7.0 or higher. MAC users should use the FireFox web browser.
While there are absolutely no third party advertisements or information gathering third party cookies in FreeForm, ''First-Party'' cookies are used for member conveniences and JavaScript is used to create new windows.
It may be necessary to turn off popup blocking while using FreeForm because javascript is used to open new windows.
To be able to display your own graphics and photos within the body of eBay auction item descriptions and pages requires the use of a web host for storage of those images. That requirement is completely unavoidable no matter what service you use yet is somewhat masked with less flexible ones. More about image hosting immediately below.
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FreeForm is not itself a web host for pictures...
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FreeForm can be using in conjunction with any web host (including free ones) to enable the display of as many photos as desired, in any sequence, size, or position. By doing so you completely eliminate the need to pay any eBay photo hosting fee add-ons when listing items.
For best results use an image hosting service with which you retain full control over photo size and quality.
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FreeForm's HTML will work wherever HTML is accepted
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Along with taking the HTML created by FreeForm directly to the eBay site for use as auction item descriptions you can also use it with Turbo Lister or any other listing programs that accept HTML for the description portion of item listings.
In fact, a common practice is to use FreeForm in conjunction with eBay's Turbo Lister to store listings in Turbo Lister for posting on eBay at a later time. If it is your practice to create listings throughout the week then post them all on one day, that's a good way to go.
Along with using for eBay auction item descriptions FreeForm can be used to create eBay About Me pages, and eBay Store Custom pages. As far as FreeForm is concerned the process is exactly the same. The only difference is where you use the resulting HTML on eBay.
When using for web pages there is a difference. EAPH members have a way to publish web pages directly from FreeForm to their EAPH web space. To create web pages for use elsewhere it is required that the page you create in FreeForm be downloaded to your computer, then uploaded to your web host. A tool for accomplishing the download is included in FreeForm's Preview Page menu.
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What to expect when learning to use FreeForm...
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Here is a quote from an email that is typical of what you will experience when learning to use FreeForm:I have to tell you that I'm absolutely THRILLED to have come across your site!! I Google'd ''backgrounds in ebay listings'' or something close and am glad to have landed where I did! I'm a seasoned ebayer buyer, have sold a few items here and there, but now am giving it a more serious try at the selling part. Just starting my ebay store, going to be very small scale, but I wanted something more than the plain-jane listings I'm used to working with. I've admired the listings I'd see that were so fancy and have always wondered, ''How'd they do that?''. Now I'm able to do the same, thanks to your site! And yes, at first glance, I didn't think Free Form would be something I could tackle on my own. After just a few minutes of playing however, I was having fun and loving the results! (Don't I sound like a commercial?!) I love it! Thanks soooooo much!
Summer Although Summer is probably exaggerating by describing her learning time in 'minutes' instead of 'hours', what she describes is what I promise - if you stick with it you will be pleased with the results and you will have a tool that will serve you well for many years. In the course of learning and using FreeForm please always feel free to write to me for assistance. FreeForm's saving pages even include a link you can use that will launch your email program with information to allow me to access what you are working on - look for the link labeled ''Please help with this description''.
Over the years it has been my great pleasure to assist in a hands-on way with fine tuning of templates. All I ask is that you meet me halfway by having learned FreeForm's basics especially saving and loading your work. Rob Bell
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