eBay has released a new generation of its Seller's Assistant product line, eBay's desktop tools designed for medium-to-large volume sellers, under a new name - eBay Blackthorne. The new product line includes Blackthorne Basic and Blackthorne Pro (formerly known as Seller's Assistant Basic and Pro).

eBay said the new Blackthorne programs are easier to use, have improved listing features and advanced business features, such as better support for multiple eBay businesses and users and the ability to design highly customizable consignment plans.

Current subscribers can download Blackthorne for free, and users pay a monthly fee of $9.99 for Blackthorne Basic and $24.99 for Blackthorne Pro. To avoid disruption, the Blackthorne products will not replace existing Seller's Assistant products and both programs can be used on a computer at the same time.

eBay is no longer adding new features to Seller's Assistant, but said it will continue to support the product until May 2006. Subscribers who have not done so already will need to switch to Blackthorne at that time.

eBay originally acquired Blackthorne Software in December 1999 and changed its name. At the time, many users complained because they had purchased the Blackthorne software outright and objected to the monthly fees eBay instituted.

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200510181315272.html

http://pages.ebay.com/blackthorne