Section 10.3. Other Places to Talk About eBay

10.3. Other Places to Talk About eBay

You can stick around eBay to discuss it with other eBayers, but if you want a no-holds-barred discussion, look beyond eBay itself. All eBay-sponsored discussions and chats have a Report button or link at the top, and eBay will remove posts that violate its policies (Section 10.1.1) and sometimes suspend eBayers from posting.

So if you want to get down and dirty, check out one of the other places online you can go to discuss eBay. You can find eBay- related groups on sites like Google and Yahoo! and forums on a number of sites.

10.3.1. Google Groups

Usenet is a network of discussion groups, called newsgroups , that began in 1979 with a couple of computers linked by a single network and grew into a huge, complex system that links millions of people and computers to more than 20,000 active newsgroups. Topics include everything you can imagineand probably more. There are dozens of groups devoted to eBay and online auctions.

The easiest way to check out Usenet is through Google, which has hosted the groups since 2001. Point your Web browser to www.google.com and then click the Groups link (or just go to http://groups.google.com). Type ebay or " online auctions " into the text box and then click Search Groups. The page that opens looks like the one in Figure 10-12.

Figure 10-12. If you want to find groups that are explicitly about eBay, click a link next to "Related groups": either the name of an interesting looking group or the "more" link to see all Google Groups on the subject of eBay. The lower part of the page shows individual posts that mention eBay; click the post title to read a particular message or the name of the group (such as rec.models.scale) to look at current discussions in that group.

Google's Group Directory page (which you get to by clicking the "more" link in Figure 10-12) shows you a list of groups and lets you sort them to find a good match. When you search Google Groups for a keyword like eBay, the page that appears (the Group Directory) lets you sort the results by region (like Canada, Europe, or the U.S.), language, activity level (high, medium, or low), and number of members (from fewer than 10 to more than 1,000). Figure 10-13 shows the Group Directory.

You can read Google Groups just by surfing around. If you register with Google, you can sign in to reply to posts, or you can subscribe to a group and get messages in your email inbox. (All you need to register is an email address; head to the Groups home page, http://groups.google.com, and then click the Join link to open short form you fill in to become part of the club.)

Note: Google Groups include both Usenet newsgroups and Google-sponsored groups and email lists. To create your own Google group, look on the Google Groups main page for the "Create new groups" link.

Figure 10-13. This page shows the eBay groups that have an activity level of "high," meaning there are lots of discussion threads but possibly also lots of spam.

10.3.2. Yahoo! Groups

Yahoo! offers a number of groups that discuss all things eBay. Go to www.yahoo.com, click Groups (or just point your Web browser to http://groups.yahoo.com), and then type ebay into the text box and click Search. Figure 10-14 shows what the results page looks like. Yahoo! hosts thousands of eBay-related groups. Some are large, some small. Some have dozens of posts every day; others haven't had a post since the Clinton administration.

When you find a group that looks interesting, click its title to go to that group's main page. On a group's page, you can read the group's rules and see how many posts have appeared on that group in the last seven days, as well as a calendar that tracks the number of monthly posts. Look for an activebut not overwhelming group that states on its page that it doesn't allow spam posts.

Here are some popular Yahoo! groups related to eBay:

• eBay-sellers (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eBay-Sellers)

• ebay_spamfree_dealers (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ebay_spamfree_dealers)

• selling_on_ebay (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/selling_on_ebay)

• eBay (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eBay)

• eBay_For_Newbies (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ebay_For_Newbies)

Figure 10-14. Searching Yahoo! Groups for ebay brings up more than 3,000 groups, ranging from fewer than 5 members to more than 1,000. In addition to a short description of each group, the list shows the number of members, whether a group archives (saves) its posts, and whether you have to be a member to read posts. Click the title of any group to join.

When you find a group you want to join, go to its main page and click the Join This Group button. You must have a Yahoo! ID to join a Yahoo! group. (If you don't have a Yahoo! ID, you can sign up for one as part of the process of joining a group.) The registration process asks you to make a few choices. You can receive messages via email, either individually or in daily digests, or you can choose not to get group-related email at all, reading messages on the group's Web site instead. Digest or Web-only subscriptions are good for highly active groups that threaten to overwhelm your inbox with a constant bombardment of email. Click the Join button when you're done to start reading and posting.

If you want to change your settings laterfor example, if you signed up for email messages but would rather read posts on the Groups page, you can. Go to http://groups.yahoo.com and then sign in. Signing in takes you to My Groups, a page that lists all the Yahoo! groups you're a member of. Above the list of groups is a link that says Edit My Groups. If you click it, you can change your settings or leave a group.

10.3.3. Forums on Other Sites

Sites related to Internet auctions and commerce often have places for visitors and members to chat. At these sites, anyone can read the discussions, but you have to register with the site if you want to participate.

10.3.3.1 FatWallet

FatWallet, shown in Figure 10-15, is a bargain hunter's resource that posts deals, coupons , and cash-back offers from various retailers. Some eBay sellers use Fat-Wallet to find bargains to resell at a profit on eBay.

Figure 10-15. FatWallet hosts a number of forums related to getting a good buy; its discussion boards have names like Hot Deals, Travel Deals, and Free Stuff. eBay discussions take place in the Online Auctions forum. To find it, go to www.fatwallet.com, click the Forums tab, then look in the lefthand menu and click Online Auctions.

10.3.3.2 Online Traders Web Alliance

The Online Traders Web Alliance (OTWA) has been around since 1999 and bills itself as "the largest Independent Auction Community on the Internet." OTWA's forums (www.otwa.com/community) include the following:

• @OTWA . General discussion boards, including new member orientation, a forum specifically for eBay, and another for non-eBay auctions.

• OTWA Marketplace . A section for classifieds, where you can advertise your auctions or describe what you're shopping for.

• eBusiness . Discussion boards related to doing business online, including security, Web design, and marketing/advertising.

• Antiques and Collectibles Arena . Buying, selling, and collecting items from breweriana to sports memorabilia to period furniture and vintage jewelry .

• Member SIGs . SIGs are special interest groups run by OTWA members on a range of topics, including disability issues, freebies, and graphic arts.

If you register with OTWA, you can post, take polls , or send a private message to an OTWA member. On the OTWA home page, click the "join our community today!" link to sign up.

10.3.3.3 AuctionBytes

AuctionBytes (www.auctionbytes.com) has a massive collection of resources for online auctions, including news stories, interviews, selling tips, and two free email newsletters reporting up-to-the-minute auction news (Section A.4). Look in the lefthand menu of any page on the site for the Forums link to peruse these discussion areas:

• Announcements . Includes announcements about the boards themselves and a place to talk about auction news.

• Online Auction Sites & Services . Includes discussions of issues related to safe trading, marketing, packing and shipping, and copyright issues.

• Collector's Forums . Includes discussions of all types of collectibles.

• Fixed-Price Store Fronts . Includes classified ads for buyers and for sellers.