I came of age in the early days of the Web, when Lily and Gopher were the order of the day, and when spamming meant something along the lines of sending a lot of junk e-mails to distribution lists in the hopes that some small percentage of recipients would respond.  In essence, it was the junk-mail of the "Internet."  That was then.  This is now.  Buyers and sellers alike should read this to avoid these pitfalls.

This Is Not Your Grandpa's SPAM ...

On auction sites like this one, mass-mailing isn't the problem.  When we want to buy something, we do a simple keyword search to see what's out there.  We get back a list of the things we specifically asked for, right?  Well, that is the way the system was designed to work.  But spammers have devised a new way to reach you in this venue.  They list what you might be looking for, even if it isn't what they have to offer. They include these words in the title, and sometimes even hide them in the text of their auctions.  The result is clutter in your list.  You see things that you clearly were not searching for - and sometimes that does not stop you from clicking on the links anyway.  That's exactly what they're betting on.  Can you see why that's considered SPAM?

More Than Meets The Eye

Some spammers include a list of frequently searched keywords in the body of their auctions.  The less scrupulous ones will actually hide the text by making it the same color as the background, ostensibly to avoid detection.  Other spammers include brand names in their title that are only superficially related to their item on the basis that even though you were searching for something else, you will purchase their item instead.  Make no mistake -- this is spam as well.  Even auction listings that offer WAY TOO MUCH information may be bordering on spamming.  I have an example from my own experience:

Has The Jury Reached A Verdict?

When I was just getting started with eBay (not too long ago, in fact) I fell victim to spamming.  Actually, I was the spammer!!  After my first few auctions as a buyer, I decided to give selling a whirl by letting fly some of my old gaming/trading cards.  The first auction had a picture of the card and a short description.  Within days, my template had morphed to include all KINDS of things.  A short history lesson about the game and its beginnings.  Even a list of all of the other 300 cards in the set.  I thought that my item would sell better if I appeared to be more informed.  Actually, this was spamming at its finest.  People who were searching for any of the 300 cards I had listed were getting my card in their list as well.  As soon as I realized that, my selling template got a facelift!  I had unwittingly crossed the line!

Don't let this happen to you. Stick to the basics.  Describe your item carefully and completely - but don't go too far.  If you're selling a WIZGING, for example, don't say in your auction that it's smaller than a WADJAGAD and a WIZZAMAGOODJIT, but looks nothing like a SMADJBET.  If you do, you'll attract people that are looking for ALL OF THESE THINGS, even though they are obviously quite unrelated to your item.  That's spamming and you should literelaly cut it out. 

If Woody Had Gone Straight To The Police, ...

Do us all a favor, and if you see spam, report it to eBay at once.  You'll need the listing numbers to complete their short form, which is otherwise quite painless.  Spamming clutters the system, wastes our time, and puts our best sellers at a disadvantage.  Plus, it is against eBay policy.  Don't worry, you won't be identified to the offending party, as that would constitute a privacy violation. Your secret is safe with them! Likewise, you won't be told what the outcome of the investigation is.  Just know that it will be looked into and dealt with. Chances are, if it's an innocent mistake, nobody will get hurt and the World will be a better place to boot. 

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