What can I say? I got carried away.
A couple years ago I wrote a little script that runs daily to notify me of
new Triumph-related auctions appearing on eBay. The messages have two
sections: New Auctions and Completed Auctions. The stuff in the new
auctions looks like
1956 Triumph TR3 2-Ounce Avon Bottle - Full
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1098231835
1961 TRIUMPH TR3A WHITE LIGHTNING BRITISH INV
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1726978472
Hubley Triumph TR3 friction model.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1726996158
New Triumph TR3 TR3A Rock Gaurds
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1825337010
The stuff in the completed auctions looks like
Description Last bid # bids URL
----------- -------- ------ ----------
NOS Rear Tail Lamp Housings...Triumph TR US $58.50 12
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1822727998
New Front Muffler...1952-65 Triumph TR2, US $24.99 1
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1822739056
TRIUMPH - Repair/Tune-Up Guide TR-6 TR-3 US $8.50 3
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1823498094
I managed the list manually for a handful of people. I faded in and out
myself, as activity on my own car waxed and waned.
This spring I got busy with my car again (it's finally registered in
Illinois) and began paying closer attention to the daily mailings. I found
I was overwhelmed by stuff that I was, quite frankly, not interested in.
Stuff for other types of Triumphs. Stuff for the occasional Triumph
motorcycle. Little itty bitty Triumphs into which I could never fit my big
toe into. And ads. Ads and more ads. Did I mention there were a lot of
ads?
I put on my thinking cap and came up with, not one, not two, but seven (yes,
seven!) separate mailing lists to hopefully appeal to the whims of this
discerning and august crowd and reduce the size of the daily mailing to
something that could be easily skimmed. I couldn't hope to manage all these
lists manually, so I went one step farther and set up individual lists
managed using the most excellent Mailman mailing list manager software.
If you've followed this rambling post so far, you might be interested in
what the various lists are and how to subscribe to them. They are
ebay-tr@manatee.mojam.com
The original list - untouched except to try and filter out
extraneous stuff a bit better
ebay-tr-noads@manatee.mojam.com
As above, but without most of the auctions for ads, brochures,
magazine articles, and models
ebay-tr-234@manatee.mojam.com
Same as the -noads list, but restricted to auctions that mention
TR-2, TR-3, or TR-4 models (and variations, e.g., TR4a, "TR 3B",
etc)
ebay-tr-56@manatee.mojam.com
Same as the -noads list, but restricted to auctions that mention
TR-5, TR-250, or TR-6 models (and variations)
ebay-tr-78@manatee.mojam.com
Same as the -noads list, but restricted to auctions that mention
TR-7 or TR-8 models (and variations)
ebay-tr-spit-gt6@manatee.mojam.com
Same as the -noads list, but restricted to auctions that mention
Spitfire or GT-6 models (and variations)
ebay-tr-misc@manatee.mojam.com
Same as the -noads list, but restricted to auctions that mention
Herald, Vitesse, Stag, or Dolomite models, *or* that mention
"Triumph" and at least one of "MG", "Jaguar", "Morris" or "Lucas".
You can subscribe to any of these lists in one of two ways. The simplest is
to visit
http://manatee.mojam.com/mailman/listinfo/<listname>
and fill out the subscription request form. Replace "<listname>" with the
name of the list (the email address without the "@manatee..." part), e.g.:
http://manatee.mojam.com/mailman/listinfo/ebay-tr-spit-gt6
You can also subscribe by sending an email message to
<listname>-request@manatee.mojam.com
with "subscribe" in the message body (the subject is ignored). Again,
replace "<listname>" by the name of the list to which you wish to subscribe,
e.g.:
ebay-tr-56-request@manatee.mojam.com
A few intrepid adventurers have been testing out the new lists for a week or
so with no apparent adverse effects, so I am opening these lists up to the
larger community. If you have any questions or try out one or more of the
lists and have trouble, please drop me a note.
--
Skip Montanaro (skip@pobox.com - http://www.mojam.com/)
P.S. The script is general-purpose. I use it to monitor not only Triumph
auctions, but concert tickets and Campy and Suntour bike parts. I even set
up a notifier once to search for a particular style of running shoe for my
wife...
If you would like me to set something up for you, drop me a note. I won't
do any for free, but will consider creating other specialized lists if you
are willing to make a small PayPal donation to Mojam.com, the company I
sometimes still get a small wage from and that provides the hardware that
runs these lists.
Skip
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