Opinion: BANS vs phpBay(WP plugin) vs phpBay API vs Free Options
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I wanted to use "review" but I believed opinion will be better when comparing BANS vs phpBay(Wp plugin) vs phpBay API vs free option. If you don't know, all 4 will let you list eBay items on your site. Like BANS, you pay only once to get phpBay.
I will take each one and give my opinion on it.
BANS
Positive: Simple to use, more secure than phpBay(WP plugin), themes, less cpu resource hog than WP+phpBay(WP plugin)
Negative: Require you to use a MySQL database and will use more space than phpBay API and WP+phpBay(WP plugin)
Opinion: If you are just starting(no real html/php experience) and don't want a blog, BANS is the one for you. Of course, using AuctionSiteWriter will help in the setup of your BANS faster. 
If you have a blog, you could add folder to hold the BANS. You would need 2 MySQL databases in that case.
phpBay(WP plugin)
Positive: It's a WordPress plugin so it's simple to add. I did used the free version(too basic) but I got the paid version because it does offer me more options for my blogs. No need for a new MySQL database. You can cloak the links and and even filter out words. That's a nice option and using it. The reader can select the country and see items available to them.
Negative: It's more WordPress fault here thus it's less secure since it's using WordPress. Just read my post about it here. Now, imagine 100s of blogs like that. It also take more resource(space/CPU time) than phpBay API but less than BANS sites.
Opinion: If you already have a blog or a few blogs, why not list items at the end of your post that might interest your readers. Personally, I would not start a big network of WP+phpBay(WP plugin) blogs just to list items on it. I already added phpBay(WP plugin) on my other blog.
phpBay API
Positive: The base code take less space(20KB) vs 6590KB(BANS) vs 4200KB(WP), no MySQL database required. More flexible.
Negative: You need to know some coding before using it. No themes.
Opinion: The potential is there but it does demand more from users. After looking at it, I started to support it in AuctionSiteWriter. I'm sure I will find a way to make it much simpler for users. The fact that you don't need a MySQL database is a big factor to me. It's one less step and some hosting package are limited on the number of MySQL per package but not with Host Gator. I bought a few pre-owned domains and used AuctionSiteWriter to generate a 1 page parking page instead in just 1 minute.
MyStarterBlog + MSB eBay Plugin($7 each)
Positive: The base code take less space(100-150KB) vs 6590KB(BANS) vs 4200KB(WP), no MySQL database required. Not a CPU hog on the server, more flexible, secure(no backend), use themes, RSS feed, sitemap.xml, no footprint.
Negative: You need Windows.
Opinion: I'm biased here but it's the least costing solution of the paid ones. Also, since you "Generate" the site on your computer, you have an automatic backup.
Free solutions
Positive: Free
Negative: Limited
Opinion: I should point that eBay has a free snippet available but don't offer the cloaking aspect for example. I also did not use it. Also, phpBay(WP plugin) has a free version. It's was too simple for me but it did give me an ideal.
Conclusion
Some will tell you that you don't need BANS or phpBay at all since free options are available. It's true but it also depend on your overall need too. Setting up a few WP blogs is not the same as creating a network of 100s of "stores".
Each site has a solution that's a better fit for it. It also depend on your own skills. Adding content on a regular basis on a blog, thus updating WP more often, is not the same has a "set and forget" site. Maybe it's me but I don't want to hunt down for plugins, deal with trackbacks or security issues thus BANS or phpBay API is a good solution for the "set and forget" sites.
But since I'm using this blog as my flagship general blog, don't be surprise if I add posts using phpBay(WP plugin) soon. I already modified a few popular post using the free version but will add other kind of post to see how it would perform by attracting new search engine traffic. Of course, I will upgrade that plugin to the paid version. I already have a series in mind and will be original content.
That's the beauty of having my "name" in the domain name. I'm not bound to anything. 
Edit: To show Frank C(comments) some examples, I used phpBay(WP plugin) paid version. Noticed that I could sell the item to US, CA, UK ... thus possibly increasing my sales. That's something that I like. I did not change the default colors. The second example adds categories(617), keyword filtering.
[phpbay]Die Hard blu-ray, 6[/phpbay*]
![DIE HARD 4: LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD [BLU-RAY]](http://thumbs.ebaystatic.com/pict/330735428065_0.jpg) DIE HARD 4: LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD [BLU-RAY]  US $.99
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 Die Hard with A Vengeance Blu-ray US $1.56
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 Die Hard 4: Live Free or Die Hard (Blu-ray Disc, 2009) US $15.00
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 Die Hard The Ultimate Collection Blu-ray 4 Disc Set +Bruce Willis + NEW / SEALED US $2.90
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 Die Hard (Blu-ray Disc, 2007) BRAND NEW US $3.99
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 Die Hard 4: Live Free or Die Hard Blu-ray Disc, Bruce Willis,Timothy Olyphant US $4.88
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| Have garden a blog? Add garden related items instead |
This is the same thing but with categories(617), keyword filtering . I just want the Die Hard movie or Collection.
[phpbay]Die Hard blu-ray, 6, 617,"harder vengeance live 3 4"[/phpbay*]
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Die Hard (Blu-ray Disc, 2007) BRAND NEW US $3.99
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 Die Hard (Blu-ray Disc, 2007) US $4.99
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 Die Hard (Ws) (2007) - Used - Blu-ray US $7.66
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 Die Hard 2 (Ws) (2007) - Used - Blu-ray US $7.66
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 DIE HARD BLU RAY US $8.00
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 DIE HARD - THE ORIGINAL NUMBER ONE - BRUCE WILLIS (Blu-ray Disc, 2007) Like New US $8.95
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| Have garden a blog? Add garden related items instead |
Ebay script
Edit 2009/04/20: I added MyStarterBlog
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12 Comments on this post
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Frank C said:
I think you should investigate what you can do with the free eBay widgets. They’re quite flexible in terms of what they can search, what they can display and where they can be placed. And don’t forget about single links and RSS feeds either. Both these can be quite powerful too. I’ve been using all these options after trying out BANS and phpBay and I’ve come to prefer the free options.
I suppose the primary complaint about them is the lack of cloaking. This doesn’t affect if people click through or not from what I’ve observed. It probably doesn’t matter to Google either, their algorithm will figure it out. All it does is cloak your info from competitors which shouldn’t be all that important either unless your trying to work a highly competitive, cut-throat, niche.
July 4th, 2008 at 11:20 am -
Steve McGrath said:
Thanks for the input Frank. That’s why I added the free options and knew that you were using it. Then again you have a few blogs from what I understand and I think you don’t intend to create a vast network(100+) of sites. I maybe wrong so correct me. Also, Frank you are a programmer so you are used to more complicated things
If someone want to work on WP only and want to add something fast, phpBay is very good and simple.
[phpbay]Resident Evil: Apocalypse blu-ray, 6, 617[/phpbay]
That will show me a list of 6 Resident Evil Blu-ray for sale from the Movie section(617). I don’t need to anything more. I think you must login on eBay and let it create the code for you? No, Yes
July 4th, 2008 at 11:46 am -
Frank C said:
Hi Steve,
I do plan on having about 100 different sites using the eBay widget, probably more that are mini-sites that blogs though.phpBay is rather simple to use but, like most simple products, I found it to lack the flexibility I wanted, at least in the free version. Maybe the API and paid WP plugin address this better.
I don’t need to login to eBay to make changes to the widgets. I just change the values in the Javascript to the keywords I want. I do have to look up the category numbers if I use them and that requires a trip to eBay. Of course, this is kind of a ‘programmer’ thing like you said. I’ve got a tool I’m working on that would streamline this into a mini-site generator but it isn’t ready for release yet.
July 4th, 2008 at 12:38 pm -
Steve McGrath said:
Thank for the updates on the sites(not blog) numbers.
Yes, the phpBay API and plugin are better than the free option. You have up to 10 parameters too.
If you only have to change the Javascript, then it’s not that big a deal for you then. I understand too about the category. I do the same and have a bookmark(main, auto).
You minisite generator is like what I’m doing with AuctionSiteWriter and phpBay API(basic). If you noticed, I did not named it BANSWriter like I was about to do first. I wanted some flexibility to support other kind of script or widget. Like I mentioned before, it was next on my list but you did picked my curiosity.
July 4th, 2008 at 12:54 pm -
Steve McGrath said:
Frank, I finally took the time to add the paid phpbay plugin and show you 2 examples in the posts. Since you know more the widget than me, can you do that above? Is it parameters that you can control in the Javascript?
The default in is a “list” but I prefer “columns”. I also cloaked the links. The panel and command([phpbay]) has moreoptions but I did not use most of them.
July 4th, 2008 at 1:58 pm -
Frank C said:
A couple of things
You couldn’t really do a column view with the widget directly although you could do it with the RSS feed without a lot of trouble.
I don’t like offering additional, on-site, navigation like showing pages, sort by, or anything like that. I only want clicks that send people to eBay, setting the cookie. If they’re going to search around for something I want them to do it on eBay (with my cookie set), not on my site. To that goal I only show between 3 and 10 items with a search form, usually pre-filled.
July 4th, 2008 at 2:19 pm -
Steve McGrath said:
Good points there. I just remove most of it now. Come and see it
July 4th, 2008 at 2:25 pm -
Frank C said:
That’s more of what I had in mind.
Is there a search option in phpBay? I don’t remember there being one, at least in the free version.
July 4th, 2008 at 2:34 pm -
Steve McGrath said:
I did not find one. Maybe in the version? I also noticed that the combobox for countries has disappeared too. I must go along with the sorting option.
July 4th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
Opinion: BANS vs phpBay(WP plugin) vs phpBay API vs Free Options | McGrath Dot Ca…
It’s not a review but it’s what I think about it. So, I decided to write my opinion between each of this following solutions: BANS, phpBay(WP plugin), phpBay API, Free Options.If you don’t know, it’s a way to make money from eBay by listing items …
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