This documentation is for eBay Sellers Watch v1.32. Be sure to download the latest version from the Windows Live Gallery or from eBay Sellers Watch download page.

Quick Start

Syncing with your eBay account

Fig. 1 shows the eBay Sellers Watch Gadget after first install. Your first step should be to sync the gadget with your eBay account. Click the "Login" button to login through the official, secure eBay login page.

Logging in allows eBay Sellers Watch to monitor auctions in your My eBay Selling list, watch your feedback, and load your saved searches and sellers. You only have to login once--the gadget will remember you upon restart, reinstallation, and reuse. When you complete the eBay login process, eBay Sellers Watch automatically sync with all your auctions. Note: eBay Sellers Watch does not have access to your eBay password, email address, or other personal details.

More important sections

Setting your home eBay
Changing photo size
Correcting time
Saved Searches (NEW)
Saved Sellers (NEW)

Using eBay Sellers Watch

Fig. 3 shows eBay Sellers Watch docked in the sidebar and displaying the open auction list (one auction, large photos). The open list contains all your open auctions. When an auction closes, it is moved out of open list and into your closed list after ten seconds.

All auction details are automatically updated at timed intervals, which increase in frequency as the auction gets closer to closing.

To view complete auction details in the flyout windown, single-click on an auction. To view an auction in eBay, double-click on an auction.

Here are the details of the display and controls from top to bottom:

• Your feedback: Displays your feedback and feedback star rating. Mouse over your feedback to access eBay shortcuts (see Fig. 4a below).
• The auction photo is next. In the upper right of the photo is the remaining time for this auction, which counts down in real time. When you are viewing small or no photos, the countdown is directly below the auction title and photo.
• The first two/three lines of text below or next to the photo is the auction title. Due to space limitations, the complete title usually cannot fit here. Only one line is displayed when not viewing photos
• Next is the current price on the left and bid count on the right. If the price is too long, the bid count is hidden. For fixed priced auction the number of items available is displayed instead of bid count.
• Below the price is the current high bidder, and if space providing, the bidder's feedback. "No bids" shows if there are no bids.
• The last line contains the number of people watching this auction in their My eBay and number of hits or visits to the auction (if a counter is used). If the auction has unanswered questions, a red question mark (?) appears to the left of the watch count. (This detail line can be shown/hidden via the settings.)

Below the auction details is the Control Bar.

• First is the Refresh button. Click this to refresh auctions visible in the gadget and reload auctions from your My eBay (when logged in).
• Next is the Auction Browser. This shows the current auction number (or topmost auction if more than one is displayed) followed by total auctions in your open list. Flanking these numbers are up/down buttons to navigate to the previous or next auction in the list. You can also double click on these numbers to jump to the first or last auction in your list.
• Finally we have the List Switcher. Click this to move between your open (green) and closed (red) list.

eBay Shorcuts

Mouse over your feedback to access convenient eBay shortcuts (Fig. 4a).

• Click the eBay logo to open the Search in the flyout window.
• Click the "Home" link to open eBay in a new browser.
• Click the "My eBay" link to open My eBay in a new browser.

Flyout details windows

You can view complete auction details in the familiar eBay format in a convenient flyout window (Fig. 6). Shipping and time zones are based on your home eBay and shipping location. The flyout also displays a dynamic auction countdown. Refresh auction details by clicking the 'refresh' link in the bottom right. You can view the auction in eBay buy clicking the photo or the 'View in eBay' tab on top. Close the flyout by clicking anywhere outside the gadget/flyout.

You can search eBay in the flyout window. Open the search by clicking the "Search" tab in the open flyout or clicking the eBay logo from the eBay shortcuts.

To search eBay, enter a search query into text box and click the green button. To save a completed search, click the pink button. eBay Sellers Watch also reads saved searches from your My eBay. To view a saved search, choose it from the drop-down box on the right.

Main gadget configuration is handled on the Settings window, which can be seen by click on the "wrench" icon that appears when mousing over the gadget (Fig. 2).Choose between different settings by using the drop-down box.

Main Settings

Home eBay: Set this to the eBay site you normally use. All eBay windows that open will open into the eBay site you choose here.

Ship to: Set this to your home location, the country in which you receive shipments. Your home country determines what shipping rates are displayed.

Logged in as ...: This shows you the username of the eBay account currently logged in with eBay Sellers Watch.

Windows Vista Sidebar gadgets have two states. When a gadget is contained within the sidebar, it is "docked". Conversely, you can drag the gadget out of the sidebar and onto the desktop--this is "undocked" or floating. To drag the gadget, use the "grab area" below the wrench icon (see Fig. 2).

Show ... auctions when docked: Choose how many auctions are visible in the gadget when the auction is docked.

Show ... auctions when floating: Choose how many auctions are visible in the gadget when the auction is floating on the desktop, outside of the sidebar.

Scroll auction list by number showing: This option controls how the up and down button work when displaying more than one auction. Select this option to scroll by the number of auctions displayed (e.g., each click moves to the next three auctions if you are displaying three auctions in the gadget). Otherwise, clicking up or down moves by one auction.

Prices in local currency: Select this option to display all prices, besides shipping, in the currency of your home eBay.

Change photo size: Select photo size or to not display photos in the gadget.

Show watch, hits, unanswered questions: Select this option to display this line of details in the sidebar.

Hide fixed-priced items & classified ads: Select this option to hide fixed-price and classified ads. Only competitve-bid auction will show.

Alerts/Sounds Settings

eBay Sellers Watch can notify you with a popup and sound of certain events pertaining to your auctions. Choose Popup & sound, Popup (only), Sound (only), or Off to configure each alert.

Alert ... min before close: Enter a number to receive a notification this many minutes before an auction closes.

Alert when auctions close: Set this alert to receive a notification when an auction closes. The popup alert will contain the winning bidder and final price.

Alert unanswered quest.: Set this alert to receive a notification when an auction has unanswered questions.

Alert on feedback increase: Set this alert to receive a notification when your feedback increases.

Alert on feedback decrease: Set this alert to receive a notification when your feedback decreases.

Configure sounds: Choose a wav file from your computer to play for each notification. Click "Play" to test each sound.

Adjust time by ... seconds: eBay Sellers Watch will attempt to sync itself with eBay Official Time. If the remaining auction time in eBay Sellers Watch does not agree with the time on eBay pages, you may unclick 'Auto' and enter a number (positive or negative) of seconds here to adjust the gadget's internal timer. (Note: It may also be worthwhile to adjust your system clock to agree with eBay official time.)

Slideshow
Slideshow mode cycles through your auctions when you are not using the gadget. Click the checkbox to enable this feature.

Start slideshow when idle for ... min: Enter a number and the slideshow will begin after this many minutes when you are not using the gadget.

Stop slideshow ... min before closing: When set, slideshow mode exits automatically when any auction has less than this number of minutes remaining. Set to 0 to not stop the slideshow when auction approach closing. Note: If you use the gadget or a popup alert appears when in slideshow mode, slideshow mode is stopped.

I sincerely hope you enjoy my gadget. I've done my best to cram tons of features into the small space the Windows Vista Sidebar allows. I'd love to hear from you! Please email any questions or comments to vsell@auctionwatchgd.com.

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Thank you,
Ty Kroll
eBay Sellers Watch Windows Vista Sidebar gadget