Hello all, I am having a go at a new site specifically for cj.com using ebay auctions (with a bit of adsense thrown in.) I have been reading around the dp forums but havent seen anything on the ebay Editor Kit. There are a few scripts available that do the same thing as the editor kit but using php and the api. Now I know php and could probably write a script in a few hours - or just buy the one i saw on here (looks good btw phpbay) but I figured I would have a look around ebay a bit first. I found the ebay editor kit. Now for all intensive purposes its the same as the script - it creates a simple snipet to avoid the need for using the api. Now i understand that it will look pretty awful because you have no css control over it, and the links will obviously be ebays, but has anyone had any success with it? I have a feeling for its sheer simplicity it might make the difference. anyway I will run it as a proof of concept and if it fails to get conversions will change to a more customizable script. heres the link if you are interested - (uk version) http://affiliates.ebay.com/ns/EditorKit.htm
Yes, I have tried the editors kit once but I did not like the result. You dont have complete control of how it will look like. So I have settled with phpbay pro.
Here are some issues and differences with the editor kit vs using a RSS parser or API tool: 1. No SEO with the editorkit. This is a javascript widget, so you'll miss out on all the keywords on the site that you would get with a serverside solution. If your site is loaded with EKs, then your site will look very 'thin' to the bots unless you really optimize with articles, etc. 2. Cannot cloak links. Again, this is more SEO related. All links will be showing rover URLs, but again, bots won't even be able to see that, so not a big deal 3. Limited control on look and theme. You mentioned that, you won't be able to change much besides background colors and links colors Personally, I would just run with the RSS solution. It's quite easy and you'll have much more control and get some benefits from generating content with the bots. Here is a simple example script that shows how to parse a eBay RSS file and create paging. Basically, it'll have everything you need to know to start. Hope this helps. hanji
I've been using the editor kit and I'm doing ok with it. It has a few disadvantages as hanji mentioned. I've also got a couple of sites where I parse the RSS file. That works, too, although I haven't done a lot to customize the way it looks, which you can do, unlike the editor kit.
I guess I will leave this current one on as editor and use a parser to do another and compare results. I am sure the parsed version would come out on top - but whether the speed of setup outweighs the difference we will see. cheers guys!