Before I started blogging on eBay, I really thought that blogging was for kids and people who suffered from a need to open their world to others they had never met, but who they thought would be interested in their lives.  This was somewhat realistic  for celebrity types, but made little sense to me for the average adult.

eBay changes my view

Blogging on eBay offers the buyers and sellers, and the "window shoppers" a relatively unstructured venue in which to share ideas, get quick help, share a laugh, and, yes, to make "friends" with others in their virtual community.  eBay has been engaged in a promotion of their Blogs and this has afforded me the opportunity to read great thoughts, wonderful stories and, yes "soap opera" type drama.

How it works

eBay blogging rules are rather simple and straight forward.  Use the link below to review these guidelines.

eBay Blog Guidelines

What can I use it for?

eBay offers the Blog community to be used in various ways, specifically, eBay defines the use of Blogs as follows:

"An eBay Blog (Web log) gives you an online publishing tool to share your opinions with the rest of the eBay Community. Blogs can be used for a variety of purposes: to enhance an eBay store, share personal experiences or talk about collectibles you like to win on eBay. What you write on your eBay Blog is up to you because it's all about you."

Lessons I have learned

Through reading the various blogs throughout the day, I have learned the following:

1. Nobody likes a BLOG HOG -- the Blog Hog is the guy who constantly submits new entries to his Blog.  Why is this objectionable? Well, the way the blogs and posts are displayed is in a two-column format.  Most recent entries are listed in the left column, while most recent Blogs are listed in the right column.  The Blog Hog's repetitive entries cause all the other recently posted entries to scroll so quickly off the screen that they don't get to be seen by many bloggers.  This means that great entries scroll right off the screen, never having had the opportunity to be read or commented on by others.
2. Take the time to put some thought into your entries and your posts to other Bloggers' Blogs. -- A well thought out entry or response to another's entry will typically get meaningful return response.  Since this is generally the purpose of blogging, it simply makes sense to ensure your communication is the very best it can be.
3. Don't get involved in arguments, or other competitions with other Bloggers -- this again tends to defeat the purpose of the successful Blog, which is either to help promote your store, or get to know sellers of items you might be interested in purchasing.  I have read so many blogs in which the blogger has stated that he is "blocking" another Blogger from either buying or selling.  This just seems counterproductive to me.
4. Have fun, but not at another's expense -- this is just good old "Golden Rule" stuff.  You wouldn't like someone dragging your blogs, stores or anything else through the mud, so don't do this to others.
5. Bog with your real identity.  Buyers and sellers sometimes decide to use an alternate eBay screen name for Blogging, believing this will protect them from negative transactions in either their eBay selling or buying.  I am of the opinion that if you use your real screen name, you will take better care to protect your reputation, by being a more responsible blogger.
6. Take the time to read and comment on others' posts  --  they write for your viewing, as you write for theirs.  Keep the community strong by participating in both activities.
7. Commit to abiding by the eBay rules -- promoting your store is considered a viable Blog purpose. Using the Blogs to constantly promote items within your store becomes monotonous, and positions you well to become a Blog Hog.
8. Determine when to post and when not to post -- it is self defeating to help perpetuate an objectionable entry by responding to it.  This activity is the breeding ground for the eBay "soap opera" drama blogs that result in hurt feelings and, sometimes, eBay action.

Buy, Sell, Enjoy

Take time to look at the seller's stores, or items for sale, if they take the time to respond to your posts in a meaningful fashion.  Don't buy from a seller just because he posted something meaningful in one of your entries, but do take a look.  It seems good neighborhood business practice to see what others in your community are selling and help them should they have the item you are looking for.  That's the difference between the "community" and the nameless, faceless sellers in the Internet sales arena.

Make it personal, but don't forget safety

As with any operation in which you open a portion of your life to others, most of whom you do not know, practice good safety.  Do not divulge information that could be used by another blogger to harm you or your family or your business in any way.  Using the Blog banners and Me page to help buyers and sellers see the "real you" behind the eBay screen name can be a nice way to personalize the shopper's experience.  Just recognize that this information is for public consumption and, as such, should be presented in such fashion as to reduce the risk of anyone from showing up on your doorstep to disrupt your life.

Brightening up the mundane blog banners is a lot of fun and we even have sellers offer their services to design your Blog banner for you.  Here is an example of a Blog Banner:

http://blogs.ebay.com/jcarolek

Including photos in your Blog can also be fun:

Now let's have some fun

I hope to see you in the eBay blogging community very soon!  The more, the merrier, and, if we all remember to practice the good manners we were taught as children, we can make this Blogging community the best around!