New ( to me) ebay search scam

[whiteymet]

Hi All:

Wanted to know if any of you have seen this ebay search scam? I search for Ashburn in all catagories, and check the "include description" box.

A ton of some guys tools come up. I assume the guy listing the tools is in Ashburn VA. which I run up against from time to time, but NO. I look all over the listing and see no Ashburn anywhere.

I guess I missed it so I do a Control F, type in Ashburn and still nothing! But Wait! There is a tiny teeny box that comes up I can't even read the word in it. I click on this tiny box and a TON of these tiny boxes show up with other names etc. I can't read.

None of these are visible in the listing until I did my Control F

I tried to report this to ebay but they give you about 35 letters to describe the issue which is impossible in this instance.

Here is one of the listings I am talking about.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/23426505907...hKECR#viTabs_0

See if you get the same results and try my Control F , type in Ashburn and scroll down to find the tiny box, click on it and see the other tiny boxes come up

Does anyone have an ebay phone number to report this?

[whiteymet]

Follow up on the above.

I just discovered if you go to:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/23426505907...hKECR#viTabs_0

and scroll down after the description there is a big blank space. If you right click a few times in this blank space all the lines of words this guy adds to get his item to show up in searches is there. Most are so small they are unreadable.

[isiahfan]

More just annoying as ($&%! Adding search words but in a shady way. Just don't search on tools.

[whiteymet]

Originally Posted by isiahfan

More just annoying as ($&%! Adding search words but in a shady way. Just don't search on tools.

Not all of his listings have the word tools in it so that does no good. All his listings show up in any search for the words he put in the tiny "unseen" hidden boxes

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by whiteymet

A ton of some guys tools come up.

I'd be pissed too if some guys tools came up in my search.

[Snowman]

It's just someone spamming a bunch of keywords in the description field. They're using white text so you don't see it. Just highly the text in the description field with your mouse and you'll see it. Here's what he wrote below:

Note, this is fairly common to see on Craigslist. But you can report this guy for spamming keywords to eBay. They probably won't do anything about it though because they lack competency.

Abbey ABC Aberdonia Abingdon Abingdon Academy Accles-Turrel Ace Achilles Adams Adamson Addison Advance AEM Aero Aeroford Africar AGR Ailsa Ailsa-Craig Airedale AJS Albany Albany Albatros Alberford Albert Albion ALC Alex Allard Allard Alldays Onions Allwyn All-British Alta Alvechurch Alvis Amazon AMC André Anglian Anglo-American Anglo-French Angus-Sanderson Arab Arbee Archer Arden Argon Argyll Ariel Arkley Armadale Armstrong Arno Arnold Arnott Arrol-Aster Arrol-Johnston Arsenal Ascari Ascot Ascot Ashley Ashton-Evans Asquith Aster Astra Astral Atalanta Atalanta Atlantis Athmac Atkinson Philipson Atomette Attila Aurora Ausfod Austin Austin-Healey Autocrat Hampton Autotrix Autovia AV Baby Blake Baker & Dale Bamby Banham Conversions Bantam Barnard Barnes Batten BMA Baughan Bayliss-Thomas Beacon Bean Beardmore Bell Belsize Berkeley Berkeley Bifort Billings-Burns Black Prince Blériot-Whippet BMA Boncar Bond (1948–1974) Bolsover Bound (1920) Bow-V-Car BPD Brabham Bradbury Bradwell Breckland Bremer First British car Bridgwater Britannia British Racing Motors British Salmson Briton Broadway Brooke Brough Superior BSA Buckingham Buckler Butler Burney Bushbury Electric C & H (Corfield & Hurle) (article) Calcott Calthorpe Cambro Campion Carden Carlette Carter Castle Certus CFB CFL Centaur Chambers Charawacky Chater-Lea Chota Christchurch-Campbell Clarendon CLEVER Climax Cluley Clyno Connaught Cook Cooper Corona Coventry (1899) Coventry Premier Coventry-Victor Cripps Crompton Crossley Crowdy Croxted Cubitt Cumbria (article) CWS Daimler Dalgliesh-Gullane Dallison Dayton Deasy Deemster Derek Dellow De Lorean Dennis Dewcar Diva DL Douglas Dunalistair Duo Duplex Dursley-Pedersen Eadie Eaglet Economic Edismith Edmund Edwards E.J.Y.R. (Rutherford) Ekstromer Electric Motive Power Electromobile Elswick Elva Emms Endurance Enfield English Mechanic Esculapeus Eterniti Evante Excelsior EYME Fairthorpe Farboud Farbio Foy Steel Frazer Nash Galloway Garrard & Blumfield GB Gerald Gibbs Gibbons Gilbern Gilbert Gilburt Gill Gillyard Glover GN Gnome Godfrey-Proctor Godsal (1935) Gordano Gordon Gordon Gordon Gordon Gordon-Keeble Gordon Newey Grahame-White Grose Guildford Guy GWK Gwynnes Gwynne-Albert Hampton HCE Healey Hewett Circa Hewinson-Bell Heybourn Hill & Stanier Hillman HMC Horstmann Howard Howett HP HRG Hubbard Humber Hummus Iden Imperia New Imperial Motors (motorcycles) Invacar Invicta Invicta Iris J James and Browne Jappic JBS Jensen Jensen-Healey Jewel Joel-Rosentha Jones Jowett Karminski Keenelet Kendall Kieft Kingsburgh Knight Kyma La Rapide LAD Ladas Lagonda Lambert Lammas-Graham Lanchester Laurence-Jackson Lecoy Lea-Francis Lee Stroyer Lems Lester Solus Leuchters Leyland Leyland Lifu Lington LM Lloyd Lonsdale Lotis LTI Lucar Matchless Madelvic Maiflower Maraude Marcos Marcus Marendaz Marlborough Marshall-Arter Maudslay MCC Mead & Deakin Medinger Menley Meteorite Metro-Tyler MG Morris Motor Carrier Napier Napoleon Neale New British New Carden New Hudson New Speedwell Newey Nomad North Star Nova Ogle OK-Supreme Omega One of the Best Oppermann Orpington Owen Petelectra Pal Palmerston Panther Paragon Paramount Parker Paydell Payze Perry Phoenix Phoenix Pickering, Darley Allday Piper Premier (PMC) Princess Projecta Quadrant Quasar-Unipower Queen Railton Ralph Lucas Rapier Raymond Mays Reliant Renault Rex Richardson Rickett Ridley Riley Robertson Robinson Price Rochdale Rodley Rollo Roper-Corbet Rover Royal Enfield Royal Ruby RTC (Rene Tondeur) Rudge Ruston-Hornsby RW Kit Ryley J. A. Ryley Rytecraft Santler Scootacar Senlac Sharp's Sheffield-Simplex Sherpley Siddeley Simplic Simpson Sinclair Singer Skeoch Skirrow Smith Dowse Speedy Sports Junior Squire Standard Star Sterling Straker-Squire Strathcarron Sunbeam Sunbeam-Talbot Swallow Swallow Doretti Swift Talbot T.B. (Thompson Brothers) Tiny Tornado Tourette Toward Philipson Trident Triumph Trojan Turner-Miesse Turner Turner Tyseley Unipower Unique Utopian VAL Vale Valveless Vanden Plas Vanwall Vapomobile Vee Gee Velox Vulcan Warfield Warne Warren-Lambert Westall Wherwell Warwick Weigel Whitgift Whitlock Wigan-Barlow Wilbrook Williamson Wilson-Pilcher Willis Winson Wooler Winter Wolseley Woodrow Wrigley WSC (Wholesale Suppl article Wyvern X[edit] Xtra YEC Zendik Zenith
A. Barnett see Invicta A and A Autocarrier Abbotsford ABC Aberdale Abingdon ABJ Abrahams ABW (Australia) A.C. Sociable (Auto-Carrier) Ackland Acme Addison Advance AEB AEC AEL Aeolus AER Aero Special AGA Airolite Ajax AJR AJS AJW AKD Akkens Albion Alecto Alert All Speed Gear Syndicate Allard Alldays Allen Allon - see Alldays ALP Alpha Alta Alvis Alwin Ambassador AMC Andrews Anglian Ansel Antelope Antig Aolus Arab Arden Argson Engineering Co Argyle Ariel Armis Armstrong Armstrong 1902 Arno Arrow Ascot Ascot-Pullin Ashburn Ashford ASL ASP Aster Aston Atlanta-Duo Atlas Atomette Aurora IoM Aurora (Coventry) Austen Auto Repairs Co Auto Sidecar Auto Wheel Autoglider Autoped Autosco Auxiliary Wheel Sidecar Avon Avonvale Avro Motorcycles AWJ Ayres-Hayman B B&B B&H BAC Baddeley Baines Baker Bamber Banshee Bantamoto Barber Bard Bard-JAP Bargate Barnes Barnsley Barnson Baron Barr & Stroud Barron Barry Barter Barton Engineering Basil BAT Motor Company BAT-Martinsyde Baughan Bayliss-Thomas Beale Beamish Beardmore Precision Beau-Ideal Beaufort Beaumont Beeston Cycle Company Belvedere Bentinck Bernon-Morelle Bert Houlding and Sons Berwick Bewley Bikotor Bindy Binks Binz Birch Birmingham Motor (Rex Acme) Black Prince Blackborough Blackburne Blackford Blenheim-JAP Blizzard Bluebird Blumfield Bond Bond and Cooper Booth Booth Brothers Bord Borham Bounds-JAP Bowden Bown Boyd Motors BP Scooters Bradbury Brothers see Corydon Bradbury A. E. Bradford Bradshaw Braithwaite Bransom, Kent and Co Bright and Hayles Britax British Anzani Engine Co British Challenge British Cycle Manufacturing Co British Motor Syndicate British Radial Engine Co British Roadless British Salmson Aero Engines British Standard Brixton Motor Works Brockhouse Engineering Broler Motors Brooks, Tasler and Cox Brough W. P. Brough see Marsh Brough Superior Brown Brown and Layfield Brown and Roper Brown-Bicar BSA Buckley Buckman Engineering Bulldog Burford Burney Burney and Blackburne Busmar Sidecars Bushboy see Great Butler Butler 1963-1966 Butterfield Brothers C Caesar Cairn Cairns-Mocyc Calcott Calthorpe Calvert Camber Cambro Campion Cap 'em Carfield Carlton Carter Casswell Castell Casswell Cayenne CC CCM Cedos Motors Celeripede Centaur Century Challenge Cycle Co Chambers Engineering Chandler Chariot Charlton Chase Chater-Lea Chatfield Cheetah Chell Cheney Christie City Clarendon Clark Claxton & Beatty Clement Clement-Garrard Cleveland Clifton and De Guerin Clyde Clyno CMC CMM Colcham Colonial Comerford Comery Motors Comet Comet (Yorkshire) Commander Competition Classics Condor Connaught Consul Contrast-JAP Cope Corah Corgi Corona Corona-Junior Corydon Cotton Coulson Coventry Coventry-B&D Coventry-Challenge Coventry-Eagle Coventry-Star Coventry-Victor Coventry Emblem Coventry Ensign Coventry Mascot Coventry Motette Coventry Motor Co Coventry Premier Coxeter Craig Crastin Motor Quadricycle Craven Crescent Crest Croft Cameron Crownfield Crypto Cycle Co CTS Cub Curry Curtis Cyc-Auto Cycle Components Cykelaid Cyclaid Cyclemaster Cygnet Cygnus Cymota D Daimler Dalesman Dalm Dalton Dane Dart 1901 Dart Davis Davis Brothers Davison DAW Day-Leeds 1912-14 Dayton De Havilland Motorcycles De Luxe Defy-All Delta Dene Dennis Dennell Derby Dispatch Rider Detachable Diamond Dickinson Difazio DKR DMB DMW Donaldson and Kelso Dorman Engineering Co DOT 1903-1973 Douglas Downer-Groves Dreadnought 1902 Dreadnought 1915 Dreng Dreng and Co Dresda Dula Dunedin Dunelt Dunford and Elliott Dunkley Dunstall Dursley Pedersen Dux Duzmo Dyson-Motorette E Eadie Eagle Eagle-Tandem EBO-Leicester Eclipse Economic Eddington Edlin Edmond Edmonton Edmund Eland Elgin Elf Elf-King 1907-09 Elfson Eli Elk Elleman Elmdon Ellison Elliston and Fell Elstar Elswick-Hopper Embro EMC Emerald Empire Empress Endrick Endurance Energette Erskine-JAP ETA Evart-Hall Ever Upright Exactweld Excel Co Excelsior Eyme F Faceler Fagan (Ireland) Fairfield Fairy Farnell FB FB-AJS Featherstone Federal Federation Fee Felix FEW-Paramount F. H. J. Wright and Co FHW Field Firefly Firth Fleet Fleetwing Cycle Co FLM Fly Force Forfield Forward Francis A. Lycett and Co Francis-Barnett Frank Frank Syers Frays Frederick Joseph Hayslep Fruin Fuller G G&W Gaby Gadabout Gainsborough Gamage Ganarew Gaunt GB Genn George Eliot Gerrard Gilbert E. Jones Glanfield Rudge Glencairn Glendale Globe Gloria GMMC Godden Godiva Goodwin Gordon-Simplex Gough 1901 Gough 1920 Governer-Villiers Government Gradior Machine Graham Grandex Graphic Great Graves Green 1903 Green 1909 Green 1919 Greeves Greyhound GRI Griffon Grigg Grindlay-Peerless Grindley Grose-Spur GSC GSD Gus Kuhn Gyroscopic GYS Cyclemotor H H&R Hack Haden Hagon Hagg Tandem Hal Haleson Hamilton Hammond Hampton Hansa Hansan Harper Harris Harwood Haskard Hawker Haythorn Haxel-JAP Hayden Hazel Hazlewood HB HCL HE HEC 1923 (Hewins) HEC 1938 (Hepburn) Healey Heanes HEC Heighton Hejira Heldun Hemmings Henley Hercules Herner Hesketh Hewetson Hillman Hillsdon HJ 1920-2 HJH Hobart Hockley Holden Holloway Holroyd Holt Hooper Hopper Horace Ricketts & Co Horley Hoskison Hossack Houldsworth Howard Howard and Johnson Howarth HRD HSM by Turner, Marr and Co Hubbard Hudlass Hudson and Matthews Hulbert-Bramley Humber Hutfield JAP Hunter Hyde (1921) Hyde (1980 onwards) I Imp Imperial 1901-1903 Imperial 1902 Imperial Metro Imperial Swift Indian Indian Prince Inglesent Invicta Ireland Iris Ivel Ivy Ixion 1902 Ixion 1910 J Jackson 1902 Jackson 1919 Jackson-Rotrax Jaguar James James Roots JAP JD JEHU Jenner-Minerva JES Jesmo Jesmond JH JNU Johnson Jones Joseph Day Joseph H. Thomas Joybike JP Juckes Juno Jupp K K. Millard and Co KD Kelly Kempton Kenilworth Kentish Wheel Kerry Kestrel Kieft King King's Own Kingsland Kingsbury Kingsway Kirk and Merifield Kirmer KRM Kumfurt Kyma Kynoch Kyrle L L&C L&H Ladies' Pacer Lagonda Lake and Elliot Lancer Large Lawson 1900-1901 Lawson Co LDV by Turner Le Vack Lea-Francis Leecham Leonard Lethbridge Levis LGC Lightning Lily Lincoln-Elk Lindsay Little Giant Livingstone Lloyd (L.M.C.) Lloyd 1902-1903 Lloyd Thomas Lombard London London Auto Co Lucas Luckhust Lugton Lyle Precision M M&M Mab Mabon Macbeth Macklum Majestic Maori Manning, William Ernest Manxman Maori March Marloe Marlow Mars 1904 Mars 1922 Marseel Marsh Marshall Martin Martin-Comerford Martin-JAP Martinshaw Martinsyde Marvel-Jap Mason and Brown Massey Motor Co Massey-Arran Matador Matchless Maxim Max May Brothers MCC McEvoy McKechnie Motors McKenzie Mead Melen Mercury Metro Metro-Tyler Metropolitan Miller Millionmobile Mills-Fulford Minerva Motors Mini-Motor MMC Mobil Pup Molnar Mohawk Monard Monarch Monopole Montgomery Moonbeam Mori Morgan Morris Morris-Warne Morrison Morton-Adam Moto Reve Moto-Meriden Motofrip Motorped Mountaineer 1902 Mountaineer 1920 Moveo MPH MRD Munroe Murphy N Nash ND Neal Neal-Dalm Neofold Ner-A-Car Nestor New Bowden 1902-03 New Century New Comet New Coulson New Courier New Crescent New Era 1908 New Era 1920 New Gerrard New Henley New Hudson New Imperial New Knight New Paragon New Progress New Ryder New Scale New Track Newman Newmount Newton Nicholas Nickson NLG Noble Noble-Precision Nomad Norbreck Norcroft Norfolk Norman Northumbrian Norton Norvil Noxal NSU (Great Britain) NUT NVT Nye O Oakleigh OEC Ogston OK OK-Supreme Olivos Olympic OMC Omega 1909 Omega 1914 Onaway Orbit Orlestone Ormonde Ortona Osborn Osborne Oscar Osmond Cycle Co Overdale Overseas P P&R P&S Pacer Packman and Poppe (P&P) Pallion Panther P&M Paragon Paramount-DVO Parkyn Pashley Pax PB PDC PDM-Illston Pearson Pearson-Cox Pearson and Sopwith Pebok Peco Peerless Pell and Parker Pen Nib Pennington Perfect Perks & Birch Perret Peters Phasar Phelon & Moore Phelon & Rayner Phillips Phoenix 1900 Phoenix Scooters Piatti Pick Motor Co Pilot Planet PMC Portland Pouncy Powell Powerful Power Pak Powerwheel P&P Precision Premier Premo Prim Pride & Clarke Priest-JAP Primus Prince George Princeps Pringle Prior Priory Progress 1900 Progress 1957 P&S Pullin Pullin-Groom PV Q Quadrant Quasar QUB R R&H Radco Radmill Raglan Motorcycles Raglan 1909 Rainbow Raleigh Rambler Randall Ray 1920 Rav 1922 Raybeck Raynal Ready Rebro Red Arno Redrup Referee Regal Regent Regina 1906 Regina 1914 Reliance Remus Revere Revolution Rex Rex-Acme Rex-Jap Reynolds 1931 Reynolds 1955 Reynolds-Runabout Reynolds Special Reyre-Newson Ribble Ricardo Richards Rickman Rider Troward and Co Rigo Riley Rip Roadstar Robin Robinson and Price ROC Rockson Rodgers Rolfe Romney Frost Romp and Romper Roper Rothwell Roulette Rover Royal Ajax Royal Boscombe Royal Cavendish Royal Consort Royal Defiance Royal Eagle Royal Enfield Royal George Royal Mail Royal Ruby Royal Roebuck Royal Rydal Royal Scot 1922-24 Royal Sovereign Royal Wellington R&P RTS RTX Rudge Wedge Rudge-Whitworth Ruffells Rulex Runbaken Runwell Rushworth Russell (1911) Russell (1913) RW Scout S Sackville Saltley Samson Samuel E. Prior Sandow Santler Sapphire Saracen Sarco-Reliance Saturn Saxessons Saxelby Saxon Scale Scamp Scarlet Scitsu Scootacar Scorpion Scott Scott-Cyc-Auto Scout Scrivener Seal Seeley Service Sharratt SGM SGS Shacklock Sharratt Shaw Sheffield-Henderson Silk Silva Silver Silver Prince Simms Simplex Simplex 1906 Simplex 1919 Sinclair Singer Sirrah Skootamota SL Slade-JAP Slaney Slinger Small Engines Co Smith Smith Brothers Smith and Milroy Smith and Molesworth Smith-Skaife SMS SOS by Vale-Onslow South Hants Southern Cross Southey SPA-JAP Spagthorpe Spark Sparkbrook Sparton Speedwell Speed King-JAP Spirc Spondon Springfield Springwell Sprite Spur St. George's Motorcycle Co - SGM Stafford Pup Staffordshire Stag Stan Stanger Stanley Star Engineering Co Star c.1919-1921 Starley Steelhouse Stellar Stevens Straker Strettons Strutter and Abrey Stuart Turner and Co Sturmey-Archer Sudbrook Summerfield Sun Sunbeam Super Nero Superb Four Supremoco Swallow 1903 Swallow Sidecars Swan 1912 Swan Electric 1909 Swift Motor Co Swindon Symplex T TAC Tailwind Talbot 1903 Talbot c1950 Tandon Tatam Tavener Taylor Taylor and Hands T. D. Cross and Sons Teagle Templeton Brothers TDC Tee-Bee TEJ Temple Thomas Thomas Silver Thorough Three-Spires Tickle Tilston Tinkler Toboggan Tricar Tonkin Typhoon Tooley's Bi-Car Tooth Toreador Tornado Torpedo Townend Trafalgar Trafford Trebloc Manufacturing Co Trent and Co Tribsa Triple-H Triplette Triton Triumph Trobike Trojan Trump Turner Turner Special Tusroke Tyler Apparatus Co Tyrus Cycle Co U Umberslade Hall Unibus Union Engines V Val Vasco Vauxhall Velocette Venus Verus Viaduct Motor Co Victa Victor Martin Victoria Villiers Villiers-Strand Vin Vincent Vinco Vindec Vindec Special (VS) Viper Motor Co Viscount Vitesse Vivid Voyager VP Sidecars VTS see Joseph Day Vulcan W Wabo Waddington Waddon Wag Wakefield Wall Wallace Batchelor Wallis Wallis and James Walwin Ward Wardill and Sons Warland Warrior Wartnaby and Draper Warwick Warwick 1908 Wasp Motorcycles Wassell Watney Watson Watsonian Watts Waverley 1910 Waverley 1921 WD Wearwell Motor Carriage Co Welbike Weatherell Weaver Wee McGregor Wellan Welland B Weller Wenlock Motors Werner Motors Weslake Westfield Westovian W&G Westlake Wheatcroft Whippet 1903 Whippet 1920 Whirlwind White Heather White and Poppe Whitley Manufacturing Co W. H. Whitehouse and Co Whitwood White Motorcycles (Norman White) Whitmee Engineering (Alecto) Whitworth Wigan-Barlow Wilbee Wilkin Motors Wilkinson-Antoine Wilkinson 1908 Wilkinson 1939 William Beardmore and Co Williams Williamson Willow Wilson and Elford Wilson JC Wilton Win Winco Windrush Winn Winster-JAP Wirral Witall Wizard Wizard Motor Co Wolf Wooler Wray-Precision Wren W. R. Heighton Wright (Motorcycles) Wright and Gasking Wulfram W. Montgomery and Co W. W. Bannister Wynne XYZ XL 1921-1923 XL-All Xtra Velocette Vincent

Yelverton Union Young 1904 Young 1919 Zenith Zephyr British Motorcycles at Bikelinks AJS & Matchless Ariel Brough Superior BSA Calthorpe CCM Cotton Coventry-Victor DMW Motorcycles & Scooters Douglas Dunstall Excelsior Francis-Barnett Greeves Humber Motorcycles James JAP Norton Panther Rickman Royal Enfield Rudge Scott Sunbeam Triumph

[Snowman]

You can report the listing pretty easily. Just above the item description field, to the right, there is a link that reads "Report item". Then it'll take you to a page that looks like the image below. You can select 'Listing Practices', then 'Search and browse manipulation', then 'Keyword spamming'.

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

I'd be pissed too if some guys tools came up in my search.

If you use them they are tools. If not, just junk.

[whiteymet]

Originally Posted by Snowman

You can report the listing pretty easily. Just above the item description field, to the right, there is a link that reads "Report item". Then it'll take you to a page that looks like the image below. You can select 'Listing Practices', then 'Search and browse manipulation', then 'Keyword spamming'.

I started this and as I said in my Original post there are not enough spaces allowed in the description box to properly tell them what s going on as the page is basicallly blank. Most likely one of the ebay people would just look at the page and think it looks OK

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by whiteymet

I started this and as I said in my Original post there are not enough spaces allowed in the description box to properly tell them what s going on as the page is basicallly blank. Most likely one of the ebay people would just look at the page and think it looks OK

I just wrote something along the lines of "This seller is spamming thousands of keywords in hidden white font in the item description section."

[FrankWakefield]

Thank you, guys... I would wonder why odd stuff would show up in what I thought was a good search.

White font... Early computer days, VIC-20 and Commodore 64 days, we'd have the computer, a monitor, and either a cassette tape drive or a floppy disc drive. Eventually I got a printer. In pre printer days, if I looked at the directory of a disk with bought software on it, the directory / list of programs would be blank or near blank, but the screen would show that there was no or little space left on the disk. We couldn't copy files if we couldn't see their names. With the printer, one day I printed the mystery directory, and there it was! A long directory that didn't show on the monitor screen... If a file was named CAT there was immediately after it the 'delete' key image (I think an inverse @) so that the printer printed CAT@@@ but when that was thrown to the monitor the CAT was deleted as soon as it was thrown up there. Old technology clever... kinda like that guy putting that long list of words in his listing.

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by Snowman

It's just someone spamming a bunch of keywords in the description field. They're using white text so you don't see it...

That's quite helpful to know. Thanks for the info.

[Bigdaddy]

I have heard of the same practice being used on resumes that are filtered by automated systems - the computer picks up on the words, but a person would not see them and then they make it through the filter.

[Deertick]

Originally Posted by Snowman

It's just someone spamming a bunch of keywords in the description field. They're using white text so you don't see it. Just highly the text in the description field with your mouse and you'll see it. Here's what he wrote below:

Note, this is fairly common to see on Craigslist. But you can report this guy for spamming keywords to eBay. They probably won't do anything about it though because they lack competency.

Very common practice dating back at least to 1998 when I started on eBay. Not sure how common the magnitude of this guys method is, but ebay would take action back in the day. Not sure about now as there are nearly 1.7 billion more listing than back then.

[bnorth]

The one thing I have noticed when shopping for non baseball stuff is the huge increase of Chinese members doing the drop shipping thing. I recently had to order some motorcycle parts for a friend and all the parts shipped from the US but all the accounts are from China. This was even when I clicked on the US only option. I am guessing they get around that by having all their items shipped from the US.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by FrankWakefield

Thank you, guys... I would wonder why odd stuff would show up in what I thought was a good search.

White font... Early computer days, VIC-20 and Commodore 64 days, we'd have the computer, a monitor, and either a cassette tape drive or a floppy disc drive. Eventually I got a printer. In pre printer days, if I looked at the directory of a disk with bought software on it, the directory / list of programs would be blank or near blank, but the screen would show that there was no or little space left on the disk. We couldn't copy files if we couldn't see their names. With the printer, one day I printed the mystery directory, and there it was! A long directory that didn't show on the monitor screen... If a file was named CAT there was immediately after it the 'delete' key image (I think an inverse @) so that the printer printed CAT@@@ but when that was thrown to the monitor the CAT was deleted as soon as it was thrown up there. Old technology clever... kinda like that guy putting that long list of words in his listing.

I was out when they went from DOS to Windows...
.