eBay changes - making Best Match the search default
eBay has just made some changes to the way your search results are displayed, based on what they call ‘Relevance’. This works partly based on ‘past sucessful buyer behavior for similar items’ . I understand this to mean that if a similar item to the one being searched for was previously successfully purchased on eBay, results for those sellers will display higher in your Best Match results
Best Match also gives higher ranking to sellers providing better buying experience and penalises sellers that don’t, based on their feedback scores. This is to reward professional sellers and give buyers a better eBay experience. In addition, sellers who have low Detailed Seller Ratings for shipping and handling charges (ie they charge too much) will also appear lower in search results
Generally these changes will benefit buyers generally, and the more professional sellers. I especially think the inclusion of penalties for sellers charging excessive shipping costs is a good thing, as being charged 3 or 4 times the actual shipping cost is a pet hate of mine.
Personally I’m not too concerned about Relevance in search results, as I like to hunt for bargains from new and inexperienced sellers. Also, if I’m looking for something specific on eBay I generally want it asap. You can still display search results using the traditional ‘Ending Soonest’ option if required, which is what I will be doing
You can read the full Press Release here