Maneuvering the Categories

So how does eBay keep track of the millions of items up for sale at any given
moment? The brilliant minds at eBay decided to group items into nice, neat
little storage systems called categories. The home page lists most of the main
categories, but eBay also lists tens of thousands of subcategories, ranging
from Antiques to Weird Stuff. And don’t ask how many sub-subcategories
(categories within categories) eBay has — I can’t count that high.

Well, okay, I could list all the categories and subcategories currently available
on eBay — if you wouldn’t mind squinting at a dozen pages of really
small, eye-burning text. But a category browse is an adventure that’s unique
for each individual, and I wouldn’t think of depriving you of it. Suffice it
to say that if you like to hunt around for that perfect something, you’re in
browsing heaven now.

Here’s how to navigate around the categories:

1. From the drop-down menu, click the category that interests you, such
as Books or DVDs & Movies.
You’re transported to that category’s page. You see categories and subcategories
listed next to each heading. Happy hunting.
If you don’t find a category that interests you among those on the home
page, simply click the Buy button on the navigation bar, and you’re off
to the main Categories page. You get not only a pretty impressive page
of main categories and subcategories, but also a short list of featured
auctions — and links to them all.

If you really and truly want to see a list of all categories and subcategories
(see Figure 2-5), click See All Categories at the bottom of the
category list on the main Buy page. Or, if you want to make it easy on
yourself, go directly to the following:
listings.ebay.com/ /ListingCategoryList

2. After the category page appears, find a subcategory below the main
category title that interests you. Click the subcategory, and keep digging
through the sub-subcategories until you find what you want.
For example, if you’re looking for items honoring your favorite television
show, click the Entertainment Memorabilia category or the DVDs &
Movies category. Note that the Entertainment Memorabilia category has
many links, including the Television Memorabilia subcategory. Below

the Television Memorabilia link, you’ll see links to these subcategories:
Ads, Flyers, Apparel, Clippings, Photos, Pins, Buttons, Posters, Press
Kits, Props, Scripts, Wardrobe, and Other. Click the link that appeals to
you and you’re off on a shopping spree.

3. When you find an item that interests you, click the item and the full
listing page pops up on your screen.

Congratulations — you’ve just navigated through several million items
to find that one TV-collectible item that caught your attention. (Pardon
me while I bid on that Lily Munster — Yvonne DeCarlo — signed picture.)
You can instantly return to the home page by clicking its link at
the top of the page (or return to the listings page by repeatedly clicking
the Back button at the top of your browser).

Near the bottom of every subcategory or search-results page, you can see a
list of numbers. The numbers are page numbers, and you can use them to
fast-forward through all the items in that subcategory. So, if you feel like
browsing around page 8 without going through 8 pages individually, just
click number 8; you’re presented with the items on that page (their listings,
actually). Happy browsing.

If you’re a bargain hunter by habit, you may find some pretty weird stuff while
browsing the categories and subcategories of items at eBay — some of it
super-cheap and some of it just cheap. There’s even a Weird Stuff category —
no kidding! Remember that (as with any marketplace) you’re responsible
for finding out as much as possible about an item before you buy — and
definitely before you bid. So if you’re the type who sometimes can’t resist a
good deal, ask yourself what you plan to do with the pile of stuff you can get
for 15 cents — and ask yourself now, before it arrives on your doorstep.