eBay Hacks, 2nd Edition

Customize Auction Page Backgrounds

Make your item stand out with a little personalization of the auction page using JavaScript.

Although the description area occupies only a portion of the auction page, it’s possible to include code that affects the entire page.

Why would you want to do this? Well, as the theory goes that a more distinct auction will get more attention from bidders. However, anyone who looks at your auction has already given you her attention, so the effect will not be earth-shattering. Still, a little tweaking may make your auction look nicer, or at least let you express your own personal style and have a little fun with your auctions.

Warning

Never build an auction that will be rendered inoperable if a bidder has disabled JavaScript. For instance, if you place white text on a dark background but the background remains white due to the nonworking JavaScript code, then all you’ll have is white text on a white background and a very frustrated bidder.

This code, when placed anywhere in your auction description, will change your auction’s background color:

    <script language=javascript><!--
      document.bgColor='blue';
    --></script>

Basic colors include aqua, black, blue, fuchsia, green, gray, lime, maroon, navy, olive, purple, red, silver, teal, white, and yellow. For fancier colors, use an HTML color code chart, like the one at www.computerhope.com/htmcolor.htm. Or for more control, you can use RGB (red-green-blue) color coding like this:

    document.bgColor='#C5D0EE';

The six-digit ...