Introduction

alt.marketing.online.ebay FAQ

1.0 Introduction
This article attempts to address the most commonly asked questions about eBay and the newsgroup alt.marketing.online.ebay . In thisarticle you will find answers to questions about both eBay in general and about the commonly accepted guidelines for use of a.m.o.e.

1.0.1 Disclaimer
This article is provided as is without any express or implied warranties. While every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this article, the author, maintainer, and contributors assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

1.1 What is a.m.o.e?
a.m.o.e. is the acronym for our little corner of usenet, namely alt.marketing.online.ebay.

1.1.1 Who should read this FAQ?
If you want tips to improve your auction business or feel a bit lost about how this whole auction thing works, you are in the right place! This faq is a sampling of the collective wisdom from many longtime residents of amoe and provides a broad cross-section of information relevant to both buyers and sellers.

1.1.2 Who created this FAQ and why?
This faq was created by Bill Shaw with contributions from a vast number of the denizens of amoe. See Section 8.0 for a list of credits. The goal is to provide a balanced answer devoid of politics and emotion for many of the common questions asked on amoe.

1.1.3 Where can I find the latest version of this FAQ?
The latest version of the faq can be found at http://www.toppsoft.com/ebay/amoefaq.txt.
An HTML version is available at http://ecal.altervista.org/en/amoe_faq/

1.2 Who is welcome at a.m.o.e?
Everyone with something positive to contribute to the discussion of online auctions is welcome.

1.3 Guidelines for posting questions
Posting questions is a pretty simple process but you might very well find that your question has already been answered! Before posting the question, take some time to read the FAQ, lurk in the group for a while and get a feel for the types of questions that are allowed. Unlike many other usenet groups, amoe is very tolerant of newbies and basic questions are generally answered in a very helpful fashion.

Check http://pages.ebay.com/help/usenet_policy.html for eBay's general usenet guidelines and policies.

1.3.1 Can I advertise my auctions here?
No. You may want to try alt.marketPLACE.online.ebay or a category specific to your product that allows for auction posts. Be sure auction announcements are accepted in any category you decide to use before you post them. If in doubt, don't post in that category.

1.3.2 Can I post announcements here?
That greatly depends on what you are announcing. If your announcement is strictly a commercial message and not of general interest to the online auction community, such as for sale or for auction notices, then the answer is a resounding NO. Because this newsgroup is informational in nature, posts that do not contribute to the ongoing discussion of online auctions are considered off-topic.

If you have a tool or resource that might be of interest to auction buyers and sellers, announcements should conform to generally accepted usenet guidelines and should be posted no more often than monthly. Frequent, repeated postings are considered spam. Responses to genuine queries may direct the poster to your tool provided the reference is on-topic and brief. An excessively long description of your product in response to a general question is not acceptable.

Signature lines should be no longer than four lines and may include links.

1.3.3 What other types of posts are not welcome here?
No posts containing anything but plain text are permitted. Do not post HTML-formatted messages.

Do not post binaries (pictures, executables, archives and other non-plain text posts (usually encoded using encoding schemes such as UUencoding and base64). Posts must be "human readable" in a "human language" (such as English, Spanish, French, Korean, for example). Posting of plain text computer language "source code" should only be used to explain something related to a proper topic.

If your comments are blatantly off-topic or purely inflammatory, take them somewhere else. No posts offerring money making schemes (legal or otherwise) or employment offers of any sort whatsoever. Do not post a message whose primary purpose is just to display your sig.

1.3.4 How are these rules enforced?
Since the alt hierarchy of Usenet is inherently anarchistic, there is no formal enforcement of any rules. However, you can be assured that several of the regulars will report inappropriate posting to eBay, your ISP, or any other party adversely affected by your post. Many of our regulars subscribe to SpamCop (http://www.spamcop.net) and other similar services.

1.3.5 Where can I advertise my auctions?
If you are bound and determined to advertise your auctions on Usenet, take the time to ensure your posts are on-topic and welcome in the groups where you plan to post. I strongly suggest lurking in the group for a while to see what types of posts are welcome. You can also search the group for a faq or check news.answers to see if a faq is regularly posted for that group.

Most ISP's provide free webspace for picture hosting and for your own web site. Take advantage of it! Also, make sure your "About Me" page on eBay is up-to-date. You'd be surprised how many people check it when they are looking at auctions.

1.3.6 Can we talk about other auction-related sites here?
You bet! These types of posts are considered on-topic as long as the discussion is informational in nature and contributes to the collective knowledge of this group. Please note, this does NOT give you the license to spam this newsgroup with advertisements for your latest and greatest auction widget. See Section 1.3.2 for more information on allowable announcements.

1.3.7 Can I cross-post my posts in a.m.o.e. to other groups?
Cross-posting to a limited number of relevant groups is appropriate so long as the post is on-topic for all groups. Excessive cross-posting is considered spam. When replying to messages, be sure to trim any irrelevant cross-posts.

1.3.8 I have a question not answered in this faq. Who should I ask?
Check out the usenet archives at http://groups.google.com and search for the answer to your questions. Odds are that it has already been asked and answered. If you can't find it there, by all means, post your question.

1.4 Is this newsgroup moderated?
No. As far as I know, there are no kill-filters in place for this newsgroup. However, the members of this group enjoy a relatively low noise-level of off-topic posts and spam-reporting is generally in full swing, particularly for repeat offenders.