Some of the topics are quite ... interesting:

Hand Dyed and/or Painted Yarn
How To Collect Hasbro Toys
Mazzer Coffee Grinders
Native American Bracelets
Displaying a Quilt as Artwork
An Introduction to American Crochet Patterns
How to Buy & Sell Roman Catholic Nun Items & Artifacts
Vintage and Antique Kitchen Collectibles
A Guide To The Game of Bingo
Casio Atomic Wave Ceptor Watches (Radio Controlled)
Tips for Collecting Two-Colored Ping Eye Golf Balls
What to consider when buying a rubber duckie?

A rubber duckie???

eBay has been seriously encouraging members to write reviews and guides, which is a good thing. I'm always more eager to buy based on the reviews of ordinary people - meaning those who have nothing to gain by writing glowing reviews - or not - of a product.

What is the difference between a review and a guide? As defined by eBay:

* Reviews enable eBay members to rate and share their opinions about products.
* Guides enable eBay members to share their expertise on any topic or category.

http://pages.ebay.com/learn_more.html

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How to write a guide
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According to eBay, here are the important parts of a Guide:

1. Title.
Obviously, you don't want to be cutesy here. Flatly state the topic of your guide.

1. Text.
Guides have a 20,000 character limit.

3. Add links to eBay searches and other eBay pages (optional).
For example, if you have written about vintage toys, you can add a link to an eBay search for vintage toys:

4. Add pictures (optional).

5. Enter "tags".
If you're wondering what tags are, (like I did), it seems to be eBayese for 'keywords'. What keywords would someone use to find a subject you choose to write about?

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Contest rules
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Contest time: 12:00:00 AM Pacific Time (PT) on April 1, 2006 and ends 11:59:59 PM PT on June 9, 2006 .

Who can enter: "legal residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia, 18 years of age or older, who are confirmed registered members of www.ebay.com". Sorry to all you folks who don't live in the US.

The winners will be chosen:

#1 4/01 - 4/07
#2 4/08 - 4/14
#3 4/15 - 4/21
#4 4/22 - 4/28
#5 4/29 - 5/05
#6 5/06 - 5/12
#7 5/13 - 5/19
#8 5/20 - 5/26
#9 5/27 - 6/02
#10 6/03 - 6/09

I don't know this, but I'm guessing that the earlier you enter, the better chance you have to win since most folks will put it off or take more time with their entries, in the hope of winning. So the competition might be a little less early on.

Check out guides that have already been written. In that way you:

* Don't submit repeat subject matter that has already been done

* Can see other guides and see how they're done, giving you a sort of template to go by

At this moment, there are 10,130 eBay guides. With this contest, that number is likely to increase substantially.

http://search.reviews.ebay.com/_W0QQuqtZg