h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Thankyou all! Especially thanks to those who helped get it up to standard!

some scout appears to have jumped the gun a bit here.

the author mentioned that he had added a bit about the downsides of using ebay, but for the life of me, I can't see any mention of the specific problems I brought up.

given that such problems got a mention, and the author acknowledged that they should get a mention, would the sub-ed please delay the editing so as to allow the changes to be made by the author to reflect this situation.

by the way, congratulations on getting it picked. I don't dispute it's worthyness, only it's readyness, and that should be easily fixed.

SHE! she she she she she! not he!

Why do people think I'm a he?

I added something about the downsides, but not those particular ones cos it'd make it too long to add every instance of something bad happening. I pointed out that you have to be cautious, and I think that's enough.

oops, but as we don't generally have gender free pronouns in daily use, I occasionally revert to using the generic "he".

I do think that even if you don't mention those specific problems you need to at least change the tone of the feedback section to point out that this is at least as open to abuse as the main system, and that ebay don't appear to give a hoot if you complain about this section being abused.

at the moment it comes across as if you are safe from problems as long as you are carefull, which is definately not true.

Congrats on the entry going to the edit stage.

Can I add, it would be an opportunity missed not to include the most recent bizarre sale in the entry - the Ghost in the Bottle. This evil entity ended up going for millions - and probably didn't sell at all. The winner was facing the opportunity of being haunted by a Black Thing that would visit in the night. It spawned dozens of other hoax sales - like Ghost in a Wine Bottle, Toast in a Jam Jar and (Pak Man) Ghost in a Ford Fiesta.

The Apprentice

I've added a bit more about feedback, hope it's not too late!

In terms of being too late, a new version has been created to be subbed to go into the EG, so it sort of is... but I happen to know that your sub-ed for this one is U196357, and you could always pop over to his personal space, all apologetic like, and tell him what the bit you want to add is.

why would you do something like that? you've got me here already.

i've just stopped by becuase it seemed to me there were a few things missing, coincidentally. i'm a frequent eBayer, even though i'm not technically *over 18*. ah, parents...

anyway, i read the entry through, and i don't know if you guys have got this down yet, but you seem to have ommitted the concept of sniping. for those of you who don't know, sniping is a service provided by third party companies which automatically bids for you a few seconds before the auction ends. it's not fun to get sniped, but it is fun to win brand new DJ equipment for $100 less than retail thanks to a short internet search.

also, you forgot to mention that selling on ebay costs a small fee usually around 5 to 6 dollars.

sorry, i've got other entries to edit and my connections slow, can you sum up the other additions in one post, or, better yet, e-mail me the new version when your done at [email protected]. remember, if this takes a while, it may put me over the *deadline*

thanks
andu

Sniping is something that is becoming easier to do yourself with the advent of the super-fast broadband/cable connection. Never something you want to suffer yourself, it is - sometimes - necessary for those hard to get items.

Is the 'Friday Update' mentioned in the entry? Another great time for a steal - bid just before the update on auctions that will end during it and you're guaranteed a bargain item!

The Apprentice

Why don't you add those things, seeing as how you're editing it. I can have a look to see if I approve once you've finished if you like!

hullo all....

the part i added is done. to save you all search time it's at A1093484.

No Ghost in a Bottle...?

The Apprentice

what now?

there appears to be no mention in the recommended entry that the feedback system is just as open to abuse as the system it was introduced to improve.

It also still appears to suggest that you can avoid problems just by being carefull.

erm.... ok

The Ghost in a Bottle was one of the most recent weird items for drew a huge amount of attention on eBay. The auction probably drew more than a million hits - certainly more than 700,000 when I saw it a few days before the end of the auction, as I recall...

The Apprentice

ah i see.


erm.... i would kind of feel a little uncomfortable contributing more than i already have.... so if it's possible for you all to instead write what needs to be added and.... sort of.... post it i guess.

erm... ahem...


hello?