Alternatives to Turbo Lister
Turbo Lister was first introduced by eBay as an enhanced seller's tool on the well-known auction website. Prior to this time, the majority of sellers had to list each auction item individually, which could be time-consuming. With automation, sellers were able to list items in bulk packages, uploading and listing them simultaneously. The listing software was designed to work seamlessly with eBay's selling features, so that each item packaged would appear as its own auction similar to an individual listing. The concept was good, but the product did have its deficiencies that caused users to look around for alternatives.
Turbo Lister Glitches
Most people are driven to an alternative when the tools they are currently using don't work up to par. Turbo Lister had its share of complaints. System crashes were common. The toggling between detail, adding a photo, and going back to detail seemed to hang up some machines processing the software. The result was a program failure. This was especially common in Windows Vista, which crashed with many other third-party software as well.
Free Alternatives
Like many other software functions, shareware or freeware programs sometimes have an answer to a problem. For Turbo Lister's function, selling items on eBay, it turns out that there is a no-cost alternative. AuctionSplash seems to be a viable player as a software choice, avoiding the heavy processing problems that plagued Turbo Lister. Instead, AuctionSplash runs with low system demands and offers the same features for listing detail, photos and similar data.
Paid Alternatives
If you don't mind paying a fee or charge for a better alternative then you should consider the packages provided by Auctiva or Inkfrog. In addition to just the instructions that come with the software there is a vibrant community for both software programs, answering oddball questions that aren't necessary covered in the general troubleshooting sections of the guidebooks. Even with a cost, it's not much of an out-of-pocket expenditure, staying under $12 for either.
Auctiva
The user interface of Auctiva is not a challenge and can be picked up by most users. Although there are a number of windows to toggle, the general approach of the software is very straightforward. In addition, unlike Turbo Lister, you are given boilerplate language pieces to use for various auction issues such as deal with returns or shipping caveats. For the more technical sellers there are plenty of options including language on deal with shared sales such as consignments and other similar relationships.
Inkfrog
Inkfrog also aims to provide an easy-to-use interface while retaining the core benefit of bulk auction listing uploads. This package includes the inventory management also provided in Turbo Lister and an added feature of showing profit made or lost on sales after costs. Turbo Lister only gives you gross sales at the end of the auction and the fee amounts in a separate column.
Vendio
One of the newer players on the alternative block is Vendio, which promises to handle all of eBay's platforms in addition to other major auction/sale sites like Amazon and Shopzilla as well. In comparison to Auctiva and Inkfrog, Vendio tries to differentiate itself by offering the same features and then addressing some of the more niche eBay functions such as refunds, coupons, storefronts and sales analysis. The most interesting point from Vendio is that its cost is free (basic platform only), which makes it at least an attraction to try since nothing is lost up front. More detailed platforms start at $10 a month.
