Adding a Sales List

Want to post a sales list on the Web pages? Want to have potential buyers notified about the availability of specific insulators that you have for sale?

The Insulator Finder (for sellers) may be for you!

• What is it?
• How do I post a for sales list?
• What should my sales list look like?
• How do I include photographs of my insulators?
• What seller information do I need to provide? or what is the format of the "Seller Information Header"?
• How do I mark some insulators sold?
• Questions?

What is it?

This is a simple service where you can post a for sale list by sending an email message to the Insulator Finder! A web page with your insulator for sale is automatically generated, and they are added into the Insulator Finder! database. All people who have registered their want list will be automatically sent email if your list contains any pieces they are looking for.

How do I post a for sales list?

Simple. Follow these instructions at http://www.insulators.info/forsale/add/post/. Note: Lists sent via email as attachments will not longer be accepted! Within a day or two you will get an acknowledgement that your list has been received and the address of the web page with your list on it.

What should my sales list look like?

Since your sales list will be processed by a computer program, it is very important that it conform to a specific format. This format is not hard to generate however! You can use any word processor, spreadsheet, or even a simple text editor such as NotePad. You can download this sample sales list in either Microsoft Word format, or Microsoft Excel format. and should be compatible with all versions of Word. If the sample sales list is displayed in your browser, just use the menu item "File" "Save as..." and save it in the area you want. If you would like the sample in another format, please contact me!

Your list must be in a "table" format. Each row corresponds to one insulator, and each column contains one of the attributes about the insulator. Creating a table is easy if you use a word processor or a spreadsheet application.

If you use another method, such as NotePad, each column (or field) must be separated from the next with a single tab. Or many people find it convenient to use a vertical bar | to separate the columns. You can put spaces around the vertical bar for human readability.

Note: Some columns are required, and others are not. If you include a column, please use the heading that is listed below. Do not create your own headings!

Required columns:

Your sales list must contain at least the following columns of information. The order of the columns is not important, although you will find it easier to follow the order below.

CD

The CD number, for example 122 or 100.2

Primary Embossing (can be abbreviated to Primary)

This is the standard Primary Embossing name used in the Price Guide. You can use the Primary Embossing or the Primary Embossing Abbreviation, although you will probably find it will be easier to use the Primary Embossing Abbreviation. Valid values can be found in this table of Primary Embossings. Invalid names will cause this listing to be rejected, and an error will be reported to you.

Color

The color of the insulator. Do not abbreviate color names! People using the Insulator Finder! can specify specific colors to look for, and if you abbreviate them they will not match! Do not put other "comments" like "A real tough color" in the field. Use the Description field for that.

Price

I'm sure you wouldn't forget this one! You can optionally precede the price with a dollar sign $. Either whole dollar amounts "$5" or fractional amounts "$3.50" are acceptable.

Recommended columns:

It is recommended that these columns are included. If they are, you do not have to have data for each insulator in every column. None of these columns affect the searching and matching that the Insulator Finder! does. However, the additional information provided is reported by the Insulator Finder! and also included on the automatically generated Web page.

Embossing Index (can be abbreviated to Index)

This specifies a specific embossing, the three digit number in front of the listing in the Price Guide. This field is not required, but if omitted, specific embossing wants will not match your listed insulator. However, general embossing wants will still match.

Condition

This is used to describe the condition of the insulator. You can just specify a general grade, such as VNM, and/or qualify it with addition comments about the condition.

Optional columns:

These columns are completely optional. If you include them, you do not have to have data for each insulator in every column. None of these columns affect the searching and matching that the Insulator Finder! does. However, the additional information provided is reported by the Insulator Finder! and also included on the automatically generated Web page.

Description

This field is used to add additional comments or details about the insulator. If you do not specify the embossing index, it is particularly important that you give some detail of the embossing here. Otherwise it will not be clear to the buyer what they are getting!

Stock

This specifies a "stock number" or "ID number" or some other method you use to identify the insulator that you would like included on your sales list.

Photo

This field is used to specify the full Internet location of a photograph of your insulator. The photos must be in either jpeg or gif format (jpeg format is strongly recommended!) You must include the http:// prefix as well. A typical location might look like http://www.ultranet.com/~meier/151purple.jpg - Note: the location is case sensitive so be sure and get it correct! If you are unsure of what it should be, the best thing to do is to copy the photo out to your web area, and then view it yourself. In your browsers location bar, just copy & paste the full location text. You don't need photos of all your insulators -- just leave this field blank if you don't have a photograph for a specific insulator.

A full example:

What seller information do I need to provide?
or what is the format of the "Seller Information Header"

In addition to your sales list, in the format described above, you need provide information about yourself. This is done with a few keywords that you provide in the file before the contents of the list. Please provide all this information so the buyer has enough information to contact you by email, phone, or snail mail! Use the keywords exactly as spelt below. Do not create new ones or abbreviate these!

Required keywords:

Name:

Your name. Please include your first and last name.

Email:

Your email address. Please be sure to specify it correctly!

Recommended keywords:

Address:

Your address, up to three lines. Use the keywords Address1: Address2: and Address3: for this information.

Phone:

Your telephone number, and any other information, such as "No calls after 10pm EST please".

Information:

Here, you can put multiple lines of information about your shipping policy, return policy, and any other information that you feel is important. Try to limit this to at most 3-5 lines. Note: This must be the last keyword you use in the Seller Information Header, even if you include some of the optional keywords. There must not be blank lines contained within your information description, but there does need to be one blank line following it, to indicate the information text is complete.

Optional keywords:

Title:

Try to keep the description short - a few words at most. Do not include your name -- it will be automatically appended to this title. If omitted, the title on your sales list will be "Glass Insulators".

Photo:

You can include a single photo that appears at the top of your sales list. This is different than the Photo column which you provide per insulator. The format of this photo must be in jpeg format, and it is recommended that it be sort of a "thumbnail strip" of a number of insulators. Try to keep the image around 500 pixels wide and 75 pixels tall. Provide the full web location including the http:// prefix for this file. See the description of the Photo column for more information about determining the correct web location.

NIA:

If you are an active NIA member, please include your NIA number.

A full example:

Name: John Q. Public
Email: jqp@hotmail.com
Address1: 154 Hemingray Lane
Address2: Muncie, IN 54321
Phone: (800) 555-1212; Call before 10pm EST!
NIA: 1154
Title: Rare Hemingray Insulators
Photo: http://www.myisp.com/~meier/salelist.jpg
Information: I generally ship UPS, and the buyer pays the actual shipping cost. Payment is due when the insulators are received. Seven day return privilege it you are not satisfied, but please call before returning the insulators.

How do I mark some insulators "sold"?

There are two ways to mark your insulators sold to the "Insulator Finder". Both ways involve modifying your original list, and posting it at http://www.insulators.info/forsale/add/post just like you were posting a new list. Please do not ask me to "mark pieces x, y, and z on my list as sold". The "Insulator Finder!" is a computer program, not a human! You can use either method below, the choice is yours!

The first method is simply to delete the lines with the insulators that you have sold, and send the list back to the Insulator Finder. Your list on the Insulators for Sale page will now only list those items.

The second method actually marks the insulators on the Insulators for Sale page as "sold". A number of sellers and buyers find this more desirable, because they can see what you had for sale, and how much it sold for. "Sold" insulators are marked with a icon, and the price is crossed out like this: $15. Again, to indicate that pieces have sold, you post the full list to the "Insulator Finder" at http://www.insulators.info/forsale/add/post, but you make one of two modifications. If you included a Stock number column, simply replace the stock number with the word Sold (any combination of upper and lower case will do). Or, if you did not include a stock number column, replace the price in the Price column with the word Sold. At some point, when you are making another update, you may wish to actually delete the insulators that are sold, because your list can become very hard to read when 80% of the insulators are all marked ! Use your own judgment here.

When should  I mark some of my insulators as sold?

There is really only one reason to mark your insulators that have sold, and that is only if you are getting a number of email messages or phone calls requesting pieces from your list that have already been sold. If you have only sold a few insulators, and/or you have not had repeated called for some of the insulators you have sold, there is no reason to update your list. If you do feel that your list should be updated, use one of the the procedures listed above to mark your insulators as sold, and send the Insulator Finder! your updated list. Please, do not sent an updated list more than once a week. Likewise, don't feel you have to send updates weekly either! This is still not a 100% fully automatic process!

Questions?

Please address any questions about the want list format, comments or suggestions about this facility to .

Don't be overwhelmed by the apparent complexity of the format of the sales list. It really isn't that bad! I'm more than willing to help you format your list for posting. Just ask me!

Remember to check the sample Microsoft Word template too!

Return to the Insulators For Sale page

Last updated Tuesday, November 25, 2008