First, you may be asking yourself "why upload my pictures to my space on AOL when Ebay has its own nifty picture hosting service"???
Well, You are paying for and getting 2 free megs of storage with every AOL screen name you have. ( 2 megs will hold approx. 50 to 75 pictures!!) You have complete access to all of your pictures, you can make them big, or small and you can upload a better picture if you need to, AFTER the auction has started, by just naming it the same as the original one. eBay uses small, crappy pictures in the auction and you only get ONE free. The rest will cost you 15 cents each. Using your space on AOL, you can have all the free pics you want in your auction. When you use eBays pic service, you cannot edit your pics after the auction has bids, (understandable) you cannot upload a better one, or delete them once the auction starts either. They have you locked in to a sub-standard service using sub-standard pictures. Learn how to do it yourself and you'll be much better off.
I'd like to take a couple of minutes to pass along a little info on using AOL's ftp ( uploading) program. Since I first wrote this tutouial, I've come to the conclusion that AOL's ftp program leaves much to be desired, its complicated and slow, and usually I loose 2 out of every 10 pictures I upload to AOL. AOL does not seem to care that they are giving us a second class program and still collecting our money every month and not thinking a thingabout it.
There are 2 ways to upload your images to AOL. You can use the uploading program that AOL provides (it sucks!) or you can use a very simple free FTP program called WS_FTP
I've since started using a ftp program called WS-FTP
LE. It is absolutely the best, fastest, and easiest way to upload
and delete, rename and arrange your pictures out there. Since I
started using it, I have not lost one picture in the uploading
process. With WS-FTP , you can upload one pic or 100 pics with
one click of the mouse. You will need to download this program before continuing.
For the download, click here .
And for a great, easy to
understand tutorial for WS-FTP,click here too..Its the best thing out
there, and with all money AOL rakes in every day, they really
need to re-vamp their ftp program..
I strongly suggest that you learn how to upload by using the above instructions. If not, follow on down to do it the hard AOL way.
I will walk you through this STEP by STEP. Its not hard, heck, I'm a cabinet maker, not a computer wiz. and I can do it, so can you. My first suggestion is PRINT THIS OUT, it will be easier than going back and forth. When you learn this, you can scan, save and upload in about three minutes. I know this looks like a lot, but its not.
1. SCAN YOUR
PICTURE. ( I assume you have a scanner. ) Ebay requests that you
scan at 100 dpi or less. This will allow them do display your pic
faster. If you are using a digital camera, refer to the owners
manual to adjust the settings to the lowest possible dpi and
quality settings. A computer monitor can only display 72 dpi so
any more than that is a waste of space.
2. SAVE YOUR PICTURE.
Its important to save it as a .JPG file. It loads faster and
downloads faster. If your photo program does not show the .jpg
option in the drop down window for the " type of file"
, look for " send/export, it may be there too.
3. GO ONLINE.
4. Numbers 4 through 10 have been condensed to this: Click on
" Keyword" on the AOL main page and enter "My FTP
Space". Then click " go".
Now click on " see my FTP space" ....Now the main
screen comes up. It has things like " open" "
download " "utilities" and so on. You can make
this page a " favorite" so you can come to it in a
flash anytime you like.
11. Click " UPLOAD"
12. Now you will see a " REMOTE FILE NAME " box. Type
in the name that you saved the photo as. You must add the .jpg at the end of
the file's name. IE: car.jpg or bicycle.jpg. (click on "
programs and graphics.") If you don't add the .jpg to the
file name, some broweres won't know its a picture and will NOT
open it, and you will receive all sorts of mail asking why your
pics don't show, and you'll spend many hours trying to figure it
out,,
13. Hit " CONTINUE"
14. Click " SELECT FILE" a screen now comes up that
lets you find the file, ( or picture ) that you want to send to
aol, to be stored, so ebay can find it. Select the place where
you saved it, ie: hard drive, 3 1/2 disk, so on. Click on the one
you need. Now click on the actual file you want to send. On this
same screen, click on "open". You will now be back at
the previous screen, now click " SEND". A screen will
come up showing the file being uploaded. ( Hopefully !! )
15. The photo is now stored at your FTP space, in aol's computer.
That wasn't too bad, was it !!
Now you need to
write down the URL,thats the " address " where the
picture is, at aol. All AOL members have almost the same address
for their stuff. It starts like this.
http://members.aol.com/yourscreenname/thefilename.jpg Example.
I have a copper oil lamp for sale on ebay now. In the "
remote file name, I named it " copperlamp.jpg. So, MY URL
for the picture would be http://members.aol.com/Jacobsenx3/copperlamp.jpgThe
first
part ( http://members.aol.com/your screennamehere/ ) will always
be the same. just add the file name and presto!!! you have a URL
address.
16. THE LAST PART !!! ALMOST DONE.When you are filling out
the " sell your item" page on ebay, you will see two tabs to select from, one is "Ebays picture services" and the other is "Your own web hosting".
You need to click on "Your own web hosting", the page will change and this is where you will put in your one AOL picture, in the box where it says "Picture URL Box"
You can use the same picture address (url) in the 25 cent gallery box in the next section down too. That option displays the little picture next to your auction title on the main index lists of auctions.
If you want more than one picture in the auction, check down some for a link to adding extra pictures, its a piece-o-cake!
REMEMBER, SAVE THE PHOTO AS A .jpg ENDTHE FILE NAME WITH .jpg END THE URL WITH .jpg Thats all there is to it. Do it twice and you can do it in minutes !!!!!!!
If you need help, read it again. If you still need help, email me at wonders-in-wood.us I'll be glad to help. And remember, the boards are a great place to learn new stuff !!!
If you would like to add more than one picture to your auction, try this. Marks Add'l pics.
And for a short
read on what little I know about digital cameras, check this page too!!
When it comes time to remove your picture from your FTP space, go to your main FTP page and highlite the picture that you want to delete and then click " utilities" and then click " delete" and it will be gone.
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