'Block remedy' locks non-US sellers out of Turbo Lister
16/11/2008 at 20:49
pile of rubbish
I normally avoid updating TL until it stops working: if it’s not broken, I don’t try and fix it. But today I’d added some new categories to my Shop, so I ran the “check for updates” process. Once TL had downloaded the upgrade, it competely failed to sign into two of my selling accounts: I got a strange message saying “block remedy” and a link to “continue” to another sign in page, which hung indefinitely, not letting me in to list.
Finally a thread on the HTML and Technical Issues board came to my rescue. I had to completely uninstall the UK version of TL I was running and reinstall the US version from scratch. Signing into that, I then got a new screen telling me that eBay didn’t recognise my computer: I don’t know why because it’s the same one I’ve been listing from for months. One automated phone call and an input PIN code later, my problem was solved; I can now list again.
This sign-in problem isn’t limited to Turbo Lister: other sellers are reporting the “block remedy” message appearing when they try to sign into Omniture, so it seems to be a problem with third-party authorisations, rather than with Turbo Lister specifically. Perhaps eBay could take the line recommended by eBay Ink and let us know what’s going on?
Photograph by Chiara Marra.
Alex says
11:37 pm on 16/11/2008
To let you in on a little secret, use AuctionSage.
I can not comprehend why anyone would live through the torture and waste their time (literally) using the ant-hill that is bug-ridden TurboLister.
Ed (BuildaSkill) says
11:42 pm on 16/11/2008
Very rarely have a problem with Turbo Lister here – though I will admit it is definitely the Don Quixote of Firewall tilting. Once you figure out how to make the two get along, it is fine.
But thanks for the heads up Sue – I was thinking last night that it was about due an update because of the category changes several sites rolled out last week – pleased I didn’t bother now.
That said, I do normally go read the TL and Tech boards before triggering an update …. just in case.
Ed
Judy says
1:56 am on 17/11/2008
if it’s not broken, I don’t try and fix it
Sue, I wish eBay would follow your lead and stop ‘fixing’ things that don’t need it, and fix the thing that ARE actually broken.
Blackthorne is a great selling and management tool. Well worth the (I think – that’s what it was last time I used it) USD 25 per month.
northumbrian says
8:06 am on 17/11/2008
same old story these programs are US centered ,
Blackthorns not perfect, but its far and away much better than turbo lister,
I cant work out why ebay persist with turbo lister, its bloated with problems and bugs ,the development staff seem to spend more time fixing ,than developing
Sue Bailey says
10:31 am on 17/11/2008
Judy, Norf: Blackthorn looks great but it doesn’t support non-English sites, so it’s useless for me on .fr, .be and .ch.
Had never heard of AuctionSage, Alex, I must admit: the problem with third-party tools is that eBay fiddle with stuff so often that it’s almost impossible for a 3P developer to keep up. Hence I prefer to stick with the in-house tools if I can.
northumbrian says
11:26 am on 17/11/2008
Blackthorn is not that much better for some updates either,
it took months for blackthorne to update the international site visibility option
and its interface with ebays picture manager is clunky, though its ftp to your own webspace works very well,
if you think outside of the box and cherry pick what is of use on Blackthorne it is a great $25 a month investment
we simply use it to list and dont use any of the other features at all
Sue Bailey says
12:15 pm on 17/11/2008
“thinking outside the box” isn’t exactly possible when it can’t list on the sites I list on.
Kate says
5:56 pm on 17/11/2008
#1 I use Turbolist because it’s free, everything else you have to pay for. Unlike some of you I don’t sell enough to justify monthly fees for all sorts of add-ons.
Like Sue through, I try not to update TL unless I really need to.
And has anyone else noticed, just lately, even though I always tick the “keep me signed in for today” box, every time I open a new window, or do something different (try to buy something for example) and definitely if I accidentally close the ebay window or have to re-boot, I have to sign in again, I’m sick of signing in all the time.
northumbrian says
6:09 pm on 17/11/2008
free is very often false Economy
and if you must have free there is AUCTIVA & the Poster Toaster
northumbrian says
6:21 pm on 17/11/2008
Sue
have you tried
auctiontamer
it
covers the following
eBay US, eBay Austria, eBay Australia, eBay Canada, eBay France, eBay Germany, eBay India, eBay Italy, eBay Netherlands, eBay Spain, eBay United Kingdom, eBay Stores, eBay Motors, uBid, Futuryo, GunBroker, JustBeads.
we have use it ,and found it as good as anything, and much better than most
the only reason we use blackthorne is for its ease of adding pictures!
Alex says
9:12 pm on 17/11/2008
Sue:
AuctionSage is amazingly well maintained. Far better than TurboLister any day.
I used to use TL1, then when TL2 was forced on me, I was shocked at the fact that it had gone from bad to worse, performance wise.
AuctionSage is SNAPPY, has sellthough statistics, excellent templating support, free scheduled listing, mass find and replace (ebay’s constant ts and cs changing bothering you?)
Other features.. automatic feedback tool, PayPal processing tool, invoice your customers, sending a PayPal payment link to them to click on, it keeps track of ended and unsold listings so you can relist…
You have a direct line to the developer, which seems to never sleep as I always get a personal response withing hours.
Trust me, AuctionSage is the one.. I spent a good 2 weeks evaluating tools when making the TL1 switch. You will never look back!
It manages your inventory, gives you profit margin info, tracks your eBay orders, files and manages not paid disputes..
Give it a go, to put it mildly. If I were to be blunt, ditch Turbo Lister. AuctionSage really is the one – I have a 1st Class Computer Science degree and can very happily rubber stamp it.
Here are some independent reviews of it;
http://www.auctionsoftwarereview.com/software/auctionsage.asp
I sorely miss using the tool now that I am web-site only!