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Automatically check eBay for favorite auction items Internet
Ok this isn't a hardcore geek hint but ... I like to troll for bargains on eBay. I re-run the same search query every so often to see if what I'm looking for is available. Here's how I automated the process:
  1. Surf to eBay and run your search query.
  2. Once the query has run, copy the contents of the URL field of your browser (Safari) into the clipboard (select all the text then hit Command-C)
  3. In the AppleScript Script Editor (in /Applications -> AppleScript), enter this script:
    tell application "Safari"
      activate
      get location "[paste clipboard contents here]"
    end tell
    
    Obviously, replace [paste clipboard contents here] with the actual clipboard contents, by hitting Command-V.
  4. Save the script as an AppleScript application.
  5. Use Cronnix to set a cron job to fire off the script at the interval you want. Use this syntax in Cron:
    open /path/to/script/myscript.app
At the interval you choose, your script will run, Safari will launch, and the query will be executed.
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Automatically check eBay for favorite auction items | 14 comments | Create New Account
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Automatically check eBay for favorite auction items
Authored by: truhe on May 22, '03 10:28:19AM

you can do a search on ebay and then theres somewhere a link like "save this search". this adds the search to your favorites in "my ebay". from there you can select, that you want to get a mail whenever an article which matches you search is put into ebay.



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Automatically check eBay for favorite auction items
Authored by: macubergeek on May 23, '03 10:55:32AM

I've seen that. Good idea. I just tend to forget to look ;-)



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Automatically check eBay for favorite auction items
Authored by: bleachbypass5279 on May 22, '03 11:21:32AM

You can leave out the apple script and make a cron job with the command "open http://[search url]"



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Automatically check eBay for favorite auction items
Authored by: bingbongx on May 22, '03 06:31:00PM

Here's a good eBay javascrip bookmark that you click, then enter your search term in the pop-up, and voila!

javascript:q=prompt('Word:%20','');location.href='http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2F&krd=1&from=R8&MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&ht=1&SortProperty=MetaEndSort&query='+q';



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Automatically check eBay for favorite auction items
Authored by: macubergeek on May 23, '03 10:57:03AM

I tried this but ended up borking up my crontab's formatting. I have a cron job launch the applescript and its all good ;-)



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Automatically check eBay for favorite auction items
Authored by: bingbongx on May 22, '03 06:32:15PM

Here's a good eBay javascrip bookmark that you click, then enter your search term in the pop-up, and voila!

javascript:q=prompt('Word:%20','');location.href='http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2F&krd=1&from=R8&MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&ht=1&SortProperty=MetaEndSort&query='+q';



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Automatically check eBay for favorite auction items
Authored by: alajuela on May 22, '03 07:30:07PM

Thanks for the javascript. Excellent tool.



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Automatically check eBay for favorite auction items
Authored by: astrowill on May 22, '03 06:34:02PM

In Safari I have a tab on my bookmarks bar called "ebay queries" where I save all my searches. It's much easier to use that than scripts.



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Automatically check eBay for favorite auction items
Authored by: DavidRavenMoon on May 23, '03 09:38:53AM
eBay will already do all this for you! Just save your search and have eBay send an email every time a new item is added that matches your search. I do this all the time with a couple of items.

So what's the point of these scripts?

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Token Unix Condescention
Authored by: readparse on May 22, '03 07:56:43PM

I never get over how doggone CUTE these non-unix folks are when they see something like cron. They're simply adorable.



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Automatically check eBay for favorite auction items
Authored by: pkcyll on May 22, '03 09:00:34PM

As an old eBay employee who was in the Performance group, please.... do not run these automated scripts very often. Search on eBay is slow and one of the many reasons is scripts like this. Furthermore, eBay runs daily jobs on all the web logs looking for robots and blocks the IP address of the more obnoxious ones. Use Search wisely. :-)



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Automatically check eBay for favorite auction items
Authored by: macubergeek on May 23, '03 10:54:01AM

I absolutely agree with you. I only run my applescript every couple of days for a total of maybe 3-4 times.



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Automatically check eBay for favorite auction items
Authored by: Fofer on May 23, '03 09:58:32AM

Um, couldn't you just BOOKMARK your search results page?

Seems like a lot less hassle. Just because it CAN be made more complicated doesn't mean it should be.



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Automatically check eBay for favorite auction items
Authored by: gespensen on May 26, '03 02:07:11AM

There are so many ways to skin this subject. One simple way is Watson. Watson has an ebay plugin that will search and keep sctive updates on items you pick.



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