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The current release of the Enuuk
Auction Platform is v2.0 and although
this continues to suffer from a few bugs we work closely with the team
behind the code to identify and rectify bugs, as well as to highlight
where the system could be made more user friendly. We have also
identified to the team where code can be re-written to reduce the time
taken to calculate pages by over 70% providing a massive speed
improvement.
We have found the phpAuction support team
to be responsive and
very helpful and can supplement this with our own services in tracking
down and identifying issues with PHP and SQL as well as optimising code
to ensure that the Enuuk Auction Platform provides an excellent engine
for an auction site.
We have also developed our own custom built
modules (also known as modx) and changes, which may be of interest to
other users of Enuuk
and these are set out below. We are happy to help install them on
your server at an extra charge, or provide the full details of all
changes required in order to implement them. These modules appear
on the Sell My
Retro website so that you can see them in action for yourself and
compare them against your own website's performance.
Please note that in order to install any of
these updates to the
code yourself, you will need an unobfuscated version of the code (ie.
it is
unprotected), otherwise we can install them for you for an additional
fee.
We welcome feedback on our modules and
changes, and how they may be further developed in order to continue to
increase the facilities and user friendliness of the Enuuk platform.
Finally, we have now linked up with a
website designer who is able to provide a bespoke website design
service to provide a true professional design for your auction website.
Standard chargeable modules we have
produced to date:
We have also produced a range of free modules, which are detailed on
the Independent
Enuuk
Platform
Forums.
A late addition to the Enuuk auction
platform has been the ability to upload auction details in bulk.
The Enuuk auction platform currently only supports a plain text file,
with the auction fields
in a fixed order and separated by either tabs or a double hash (#) sign.
We found this too constrictive and
following a request from a trader, decided to launch this new module,
which allows you to create a CSV file containing all of the auction
details. This has two benefits:
1) You can export auctions from the eBay
Turbo Lister program and upload the exported file direct to a site
running the Enuuk auction platform.
2) As the CSV file utilises column headers
to differentiate the fields, you can now edit the auctions more
comfortably using a spreadsheet program, such as Excel.
We
recommend that you use the Enhanced Item Details and the International
Shipping Modules with this.
Bulk Upload of CSV file module
for
Enuuk v1.1 - £40
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Set Category Specific Fees
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We have now implemented a new module which allows you to set different
fees for each category - these can be any of the currently active fees.
You can specify whether the fee is to be inherited (the default) - in
which case, the system works its way up the category parent tree until
it finds a category with the fee set (or ultimately, the default fee).
A useful module, which allows you to have some categories which are
cheaper to list in that others.
Change Default Language module for
Enuuk v1.0 - £150
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As supplied, the Enuuk auction platform,
allows you to add additional language sets to cover the use of
auctions, the website pages and emails, which makes it into a
powerful auction platform which can be easily adapted for use in
multi-national auctions.
Unfortunately, the default language remains
steadfastly as English US which means that is the standard language
used by users who do not select another default, and by internet search
engines, such as Google. We encountered an issue with the dates
which are displayed, as we are based in the UK - we did not want to
create an entire new language folder just for UK English, and so
decided the best way would be to amend the default.
Unfortunately, the default is hard coded
and so we have identified all of the changes required throughout the
code
and the SQL database engine.
Change Default Language module for
Enuuk v1.1 - £10
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As supplied, the Enuuk auction platform,
shows all currencies as the value, followed by three letters indicating
the currency type. However, in many cases, where it is not an
unusual currency, users would prefer to see the symbol for the
currency. For example, v2.00 would show 2.50 GBP as the current
value of an item. Most users would prefer to see £2.50.
This currently supports GBP, USD, CAD and
Euros, but other currencies can be added easily.
Currency Display module for
Enuuk v1.1 - £40
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Current versions of the Enuuk auction
platform,
do not allow you to edit an auction when there are already bids.
This module has been devised to allow you
to edit auctions, even when there are bids, although your options are
restricted. You can add to the item description, amend pictures,
and alter the reserve price (provided it has not been reached).
You can also edit the Buy It Now price if it is still active - in both
instances, you cannot reduce them to less than the current price of the
item.
All other details can be edited as if there
were no bids on the auction, as we feel that this would not impact on a
user's decision to bid.
When the auction is amended, all existing
bidders are then notified by email that the auction has changed.
Edit Auction with Bids module for
Enuuk v1.0 - £50
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v1.6 of the Enuuk
auction platform added the ability for users to select favourites
which can then be linked to quickly using the link to My Favourites in
the top right hand menu. You can add webstores, users and auction
listings as your favourites.
This module changes this in a couple of
ways.
1. Popular items are now shown on the index
page - we added a small section which
calculates the top 5 (maximum) items which people have marked as
favourites and shows them on the index page, in order of popularity.
2. When you go to My Favourites, Enuuk
lists details of all of the offers which you have marked as
favourite plus all of the offers listed within any webstores which you
have marked as favourite, plus any auctions listed by users that you
have marked as favourite. This leads to an extensive list of
offers - although duplicates are removed, even closed offers are
included in the list.
We therefore decided to turn this around
completely.
On My Favourites page, you now get three
different headings:
- Favourite Offers (ie. just the offers which you have marked as
favourite)
- Favourite Webstores (a list of webstores which you have marked as
favourite)
- Favourite Users (a list of users which you have marked as favourite).
Nice and simple.
Enhanced Favourites module for
Enuuk v1.1 - £25
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The speed of an auction site is critical and current versions of the
Enuuk auction platform can be quite slow when handling images. We
have made modifications to the code to enhance the handling of images
as follows:
- Thumbnails are stored of all images - rather than
relying on the browser to resize images to the right size. This
enhances the speed of display on the index pages, category pages,
search results pages and when viewing an offer.
- When viewing the details of an auction item (an offer
in Enuuk terms), the main image appears as a thumbnail a max of 153
pixels in width. We have added the ability to enlarge this image,
by clicking on it to see the original full size image.
- One thing which is prevalent on the internet, is
people using images from other websites without their permission.
We have included the ability to add a user defined text or PNG graphic
watermark to
all images on your
website.
- You can also now delete images from the auction
details.
Note: This module also includes code to create the relevant images for
existing auctions, so that you do not have to worry about re-creating
the auctions.
Enhanced Image Handling module
for
Enuuk v1.3 - £100
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When listing items for sale on SellmyRetro.com
(or any Enuuk auction based site), one of the main
features which is missing is the ability to state whether an item is
new, used or refurbished.
We also wanted to ensure that if an item is
listed within a "Books" category (or sub-category), then details of the
ISBN for the book can be added (with validation of the number).
This module adds that ability to the
software and is essential if you intend submitting details of your
auctions to Google Base.
If you are selling cars on your auction
website, you may also want to consider the Vehicle
Reports
module.
Add Enhanced Item Details module for
Enuuk v1.1 - £20
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We have made a few improvements to the handling of messages sent from
user to user within the Enuuk Auction platform.
- The top of each page now shows the number of unread
emails (if any) against My Messages.
- When you reply to a message, the original text and
subject matter are copied across to the reply.
- In My Profile, My messages also indicates the number
of unread messages.
Enhanced Message Handling module
for Enuuk v1.1 - £20
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This is one feature that is perhaps most
crucial to maintaining good relations between buyers and sellers.
It builds upon the features in the Simple Payments module , the Currency Display Module and the International Shipping Module (all
of which are included) and includes the following additional features:
- Send invoice to buyer to cover one or multiple items
(amending postage as necessary)
- Mark items as sent
- Track payments through PayPal
- In the case of Lot Auctions when they are closed, you
can see how many were sold
- Multiple purchases of the same item are linked
together
- Email sent to seller on the end of a Lot auction
lists all of the buyers and how many are left unsold
There are a whole host of other minor improvements - a full list
appears on the Enuuk Platform forums.
Enhanced Payments module for
Enuuk v1.0 - £300
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We have written an improved search function for Enuuk.
On the search page, you can now select whether you wish to search for
a) any of the keywords
b) all of the keywords
c) the exact phrase
The filter for search types is now more sensible, and lists just:
- Fixed Price Items
- Standard Auctions
- Scheduled Auctions
- Penny Auctions (if enabled)
- Reverse Auctions (if enabled)
Fixed price items lets a user search quickly when they want to purchase
one item now rather than waiting until an auction finishes to see if
they have been the highest bidder. This therefore returns
matching searches in either Fixed Price Auctions, Lot Auctions, or
where a standard auction has a Buy It Now price available.
Scheduled Auctions lets users find out what is coming up on the site
and mark them as a favourite auction for future reference.
Enhanced Search module
for
Enuuk v1.1 - £40
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We came across various suggestions to enhance the use of Webstores
across the Enuuk Auction Platform.
When you browse categories of auction items in the Enuuk auction
platform, it currently lists all items which are listed within
webstores and fall within that category at the bottom of the
page. This can lead to a long list of items if you are not
careful.
We have changed the whole focus of this:
- When viewing a category, instead of a list of items
to be found in webstores at the bottom of the category listing page,
you now see a list of webstores which have items in that category, with
the total number of items. Click on the webstore to find details
of the items on offer.
- Webstores are actually linked directly to a category
- this enables the webstore to be listed when browsing the category,
even if it has no items for sale!
- When you click on a webstore link, it automatically
lists only the webstore's offers within that category (previously it
went back to All Categories)
- Previously, if none of the webstores have any items
listed within them, then the webstores tab disappears from the auction
website. We found a need to have this always present -
particularly as search engines could take users to a section of the
website which could not be reached by any other means.
- Optionally, you can now earn income from your website
through the
addition of an eBay webstore which has a definable keyword for each
category which is then used to populate the eBay webstore - this allows
visitors to your website to check for similar items and compare costs
on eBay, and if you are signed up to the eBay Affiliate Network, you
can earn commission if they click through to eBay and purchase any
items.
- A further option is to allow two types of webstores,
such as we offer on SellMyRetro.com - a free
webstore, where the webstore owners pay normal fees on the site, or a
monthly subscription webstore, where for £5 per month, the
webstore owner gets a 50% discount on all fees (these figures can of
course be adopted for your own site).
- The webstores can have a user definable number of
items shown in a pageinated list and the listings also include a
picture of the item
Add Enhanced Webstores module
for
Enuuk v1.1 - £100
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Additional eBay Webstore Module -
£100
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Two Webstore Types (Chargeable and
Free) Module -
£50
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If you create an auction with a start date
in the future, in the current versions of the Enuuk Auction Platform,
you can only find them in your profile under Closed Offers.
This module creates a new section in your
user profile for Pending Offers, where all auctions with a start date
sometime in the future are found. You can also activate them
early if you so wish without having to edit the auction. This can
also be useful for the Enhanced Search Module.
v1.2 also now incorporates enhancements in
the admin backend, so that you can view auctions by reference to
closed, active, inactive and sold. It also details the number of
active (or sold) items when it is a lot auction.
Add Pending Offers module for
Enuuk v1.2 - £20
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In current versions of the Enuuk
auction platform, although there is a tick box to indicate if you
are willing
to ship items internationally, there is currently no ability to charge
different rates dependent on destination.
We have therefore created this module which
allocates each country to one of 4 regions of the World (EEC, Europe,
USA and Canada, Rest of World) and allows you to set a different
postage rate for each international area. The correct postage
rate is then applied when the purchaser completes their purchase of the
item, dependent on the region where the purchaser is located (the
domestic shipping rate is applied if they are in the same country as
the seller).
The regions can be edited within the
Administration control panel and we welcome feedback if more regions
are required.
We have also implemented a check as part of
this module to prevent someone from overseas purchasing an item when
the international shipping option is not ticked.
International Shipping module for
Enuuk v1.1 - £150
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This Module improves the way in which a
user can increase their maximum bid against an item.
In current versions of the Enuuk auction
platform, the user sees no difference to an items listing, even if they
are the highest bidder.
The Maximum Bid module implements various
changes:
- If a user enters a maximum bid which is less than the
reserve price, the current price of the item is increased to their
maximum bid (under Enuuk, it remains on the minimum bid)
- If a user is the highest bidder, this is made clearer
on the item details screen, and they are invited to increase the amount
of their maximum bid.
- The seller can always see how much the reserve price
is set at.
Maximum Bid module
for
Enuuk v1.0 - £50
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Sell Item In This
Category
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We found that sellers tend to browse
categories before listing an item in order to check what items are
already being offered and also to choose which is the best category to
use for their auction listing.
We therefore created this mod, which adds a
link to "Sell an Item in this Category" below the breadcrumb
trail. It takes you straight to the sell item form, with the
category already chosen.
Sell Item in this Category module for
Enuuk v1.1 - £10
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This includes some minor improvements to
the Enuuk auction platform in order to provide Search Engine
Optimisation as well as the following new features:
- All fixed priced items are
submitted to Google Base (if required) - see note below.
- A sitemap is also automatically generated
to submit changes to TheFind, Google, Yahoo and Bing.
- A feed is also provided to Twitter (if required)
providing a running tweet of each new auction.
NOTE:
Google
Base is a new means of searching the
internet for items to purchase. With our automated submission
module, you can add this feature to the Enuuk auction platform,
ensuring that your new items are listed on the Google Base search
engine for the time that they are live auctions.
If you wish
auction items to be submitted to Google Base, you will need the Item Details module and also the Simple Payments Module for this to be
accepted by
Google Base. You will also need to open your own Google
Base account and to ensure that your auctions meet
with the terms and conditions of Google Base. The same Google
Base feed can also be submitted to Yahoo Site Explorer.
Add SEO Improvements module for
Enuuk v1.1 - £100
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One thing we found confusing with the Enuuk
auction platform is
that having purchased fixed price items, you have to go to My Profile
and Auctions You have Won in order to actually pay for an item.
We have created this module which adds an
extra page once you confirm that you wish to purchase a fixed price
item (or part of a lot auction), confirming the item you have purchased
and providing you with PayPal and Google Checkout buttons to enable you
to pay for the item (provided the seller has activated these options).
We have expanded on this module to include
many more important features, as part of the Enhanced Payments Module.
Simple Payments module for
Enuuk v1.1 - £50
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When selling vehicles over the internet,
the purchasers want as much information as possible about the history
and condition of a Vehicle.
This module adds the ability to create a
vehicle report for each item listed within selected categories.
The Vehicle Report includes all elements
required for a Disclosure Declaration Statement (under Canadian law -
MDA 2002), as well as details of the bodywork, internal and external
options, odometer reading, engine type, condition of each section of
the car and mechnical defects and much more.
Vehicle Reports module
for
Enuuk v1.0 - £100
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Wiki Content
for Category
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One of the problems with any auction
website is in attracting sufficient people to the website to ensure
that sellers can find enough people interested in bidding, and
conversely, bidders can find enough items to purchase.
We thought the best way of doing this was
to incorporate a wiki, which can be displayed for each category
listing, so that you can provide more information on the types of
auction items which can be found on the website. This
modification to the Enuuk
auction platform provides the ability for the administrator to
create wiki text for each category from the admin backend - the
administrator can then decide whether the Wiki is editable - we decided
to restrict editing to webstore owners, as we felt that they would be
the best ones to provide the content.
As with all of Enuuk, the wiki can be
created in each language supported on your website.
Wiki Content module for
Enuuk v1.1 - £100
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And finally....
Don't forget that all of these modules can be seen in
action on our retro
electronics
and
computing
auction
site
-
SellMyRetro.
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