After thorough testing (just went through 24 pages of Mart Logs renewing expired listings), I can say that, while the new "Renew" feature is much appreciated and useful (saves having to remember prices, and logging in/out), it could definitely use some improvements/considerations:
Mart Logs aren't a very user-friendly place to have the Renew feature, unless Mart Logs are improved:
- Mart Log sorting needs improvement. Things originally posted simultaneously (you can sell 6 things at once) have a random sorting order which re-randomizes when you refresh or load the next page. This means you see some things twice (things you just renewed already) and miss other things that randomly hopped to the previous page. (Mart ID# needs its own column which is sorted instead of Date).
- Pokemon/item/purchaser names/prices (and less importantly IVs) aren't visible without clicking. Ideally each would be in its own sortable column. It's annoying and time-consuming to find a particular transaction since every click is blind.
- Currently there is no event logged or sorting criteria for "expired" listings. You have to click everything to see if it can be renewed (see bullet #1)
- Placement: Mart Logs are kind of hidden away and not likely to be seen/used for this purpose.
Possible other solutions:
- Add a "renew" or "renew all" option in Global Link. Preferably the latter since Global Link is slow.
- Using notifications with a "Renew all unsold pokemon" option. Would serve dual purpose of informing when things expire.
- Some form of automatic re-listing (fees can be more than 10pd to dissuade spam of worthless junk).
Right now you have load hundreds of pages (if renewing in bulk), many of which for things which aren't expired yet or are things you JUST relisted (due to sorting issues). Loading up 20 tabs at a time repeatedly can't be great for the server, and eats a lot of ram in the browser. And you have to do the renewal process more than twice as often as before - 3 days renewal time isn't enough - should be at least equal to original listing time.
I'd say I've already exceeded (at 214 things currently) the practical limit of number of pokemon one can maintain on the store at one time. I was hoping to post everything in my boxes 18-36 for sale over the coming days to make some box space.
I think the rationale for these limitations seems to be preventing spam and clutter, but the mart itself has GREAT filtering and sorting functionality, so it doesn't really matter if there are thousands of things for sale at once. I think it would be a good thing personally if there were that many things. There certainly seems to be demand for even some things I considered "junk" and debated releasing -- the adage of "one man's junk" seems true here.
Guessing this is a work in progress, though, since the "Renew" button wasn't announced or even put in the changelog. Again, all these improvements are very much appreciated, and I hope these criticisms don't discourage any staffpeople in any way. I know I timed this post terribly right after Elite 4 was released.