You don't have to wait to see some of these new eBay tools and features, though. If you're an adventurous and somewhat experienced eBay user, you can begin testing them now by visiting the eBay Playground. The eBay Playground is a new area of eBay where members can try out new eBay features that are under development or scheduled for launch in the future.
The most interesting thing about eBay Playground is that you can use it to search for, buy, and sell real eBay items, today. If you're looking for that extra edge in buying or selling, you might find that there are features available to you in eBay Playground help you to get a leg up on the competition.
Caveats for eBay Playground
Of course, there's always a downside to any new opportunity or set of opportunities, and eBay Playground is no different. There are several drawbacks to eBay Playground that you should be careful to keep in mind while you explore the new, improved eBay.- Some features may not make it. While many of the new features you encounter in eBay Playground will eventually make it into the “real” eBay site, others may not, for whatever reason—whether because users didn't like them or because they just turned out not to work so well. This means that you shouldn't come to depend too much on anything you encounter in eBay Playground, since it may be gone tomorrow, and for good!
- Some features may not work quite right. Because eBay Playground is first and foremost a testing platform where a limited number of users can put new features to the test, eBay Playground hasn't seen as much real-world use as the “real” eBay. For this reason, at times some of the features in eBay Playground may not behave in predictable or even helpful ways.
- Some features may be obscure or hard to use. The new features on eBay Playground haven't been seen by too many people and haven't been around for too long, so you may find at times that there isn't much help around on how to use them. Since the new features in eBay Playground are in flux, even eBay may not be able to offer you much help in using them.
Leaving eBay Playground
Of course, it's good to have some indication of when you're actually using the new, improved eBay and when you're not. With this in mind, eBay has made it easy for you to know that you're currently using eBay inside eBay Playground, rather than using the “real” eBay. When you're inside eBay Playground, you'll see a link near the top left of every page that reads:You're on the playground To exit eBay Playground and return to the “real” eBay site for any reason at all, click on the link to the right of it that reads:
Go to the regular eBay site This will return you to the “real” eBay where you'll see none of the new features that are under development or scheduled for introduction.
Giving Feedback to eBay
Of course, one of the major reasons for the existence of eBay Playground is the opportunity for eBay to hear from its members about new features—how well they work, whether they're useful, and/or what needs to be improved. To facilitate this kind of communication, eBay places another link at the top of every page on eBay Playground, which reads:Give us your opinion If you experience a bug or problem with any of the new features seen in eBay Playground, or just want to express your delight (and/or disgust) at how things look in this “futuristic” version of eBay, click on this link and complete the brief questionnaire. eBay will be happy to have your help as a member of the community, and you'll be able to help shape eBay to work better for you.
In the end, that's what eBay Playground is all about!
