Playing Nice with Other eBay Members

The navigation bar has a handy Community link that connects you to the people and happenings on eBay. eBay has more than 169 million active users — a bigger population than some countries — but it can still have that small-town feel through groups and discussion boards. Start on the main page by clicking Community on bottom of eBay pages. Now you can access dozens of category-specific groups and discussion boards.

But there’s a whole lot more to the eBay community. Take a little time to explore it for yourself.

News and chat, this and that

The Community Overview page is not quite like The New York Times (“All the News That’s Fit to Print”), but it is the place to go to find all the news. This image shows you what the Community home page looks like.

Hear ye, hear ye! eBay’s announcements

If you were living in the 1700s, you’d see a strangely dressed guy in a funny hat ringing a bell and yelling, “Hear ye, hear ye!” every time you opened eBay’s announcements. (Then again, if you were living in the 1700s, you’d have no electricity, no computer, no fast food, or anything else you probably consider fun — like eBay!) In any case, eBay’s Announcements are the most important place to find out what’s going on (directly from headquarters) on the website. And no one even needs to ring a bell.

The Announcements page is where eBay lists new features and policy changes. You find out about upcoming changes in categories, new promotions, and eBay goings-on. Reach this page by clicking the Announcements link at the bottom on most eBay pages or by going to the following page:

Check out eBay’s Announcements, complete with information that could affect your listings.

When you look at some of eBay’s older URL addresses, you may notice a subfolder named /aw/. The aw harkens back to the day when eBay wasn’t eBay — but was Auctionweb instead.

Help! I need somebody

If you ever have specific eBay questions, click the Help & Contact link at the top of all eBay pages and get the policy information right from eBay. If you want to get involved in a discussion, go to the community and ask a question.

To get an answer on a discussion board, you can search the community for your topic, or start a thread by clicking Start a discussion further down the Community home page. Title your thread with your question, and you’ll no doubt get an answer to your query posted swiftly.

Keep in mind that the Community area is social and is full of opinions. You can take the advice here — or not. Use your good judgment. People may have their own agendas. Note, also, that one has to know about this area to participate. Many may come here just to chat; they may not really be active in your area of expertise.

The one cardinal rule for eBay chat boards and message boards is: No doing business on the board. No advertising items for sale! Not now. Not ever. eBay bans any repeat offenders who break this rule from participating on these boards.

Going deeper into the community

To find discussions you might like to join as a participant, click the downward-facing arrows at the top of the eBay Community page. The image below shows you some current options in the Discussions area.