| eBayNews | 10-15-2009 10:40 PM |
eBay Tests Store Listings in Core Search Results
http://www.aspkin.com/forums/../../b...OCT15_2009.JPGSome sellers reported seeing Store listings brought back in search results ( link), and 24 hours later, eBay confirmed it was testing Store in Core. Here's the announcement from eBay: We are currently conducting tests that may result in the inclusion of Store inventory format items in the main search results for a small percentage of traffic. Due to the limited duration of the test, sellers are not advised to change listing formats or change their listing practices in any way. eBay regularly conducts tests to help inform future changes to improve the buying and selling experience. We will not make any permanent or significant changes in the way search results handle various listing formats without notifying sellers well in advance.
The issue of whether eBay includes Stores in core search results is a sore point with many sellers who remember the SIS fiasco of 2006. eBay had rolled out Stores in Search in February '06 - giving Store items exposure in core search results. eBay rolled it back in March '06, telling sellers that the volume of Store items had hurt the core marketplace. (Who can forget then-CEO Meg Whitman's words that the eBay marketplace had been "overwhelmed with identical, often poorly-priced items that have diluted the magic of the eBay experience.")
eBay has since eliminated the Stores format in some countries while keeping Stores ( Italy and UK, for example), and it's possible eBay is readying such a move in the U.S.
Sellers are already dealing with enormous change this month, and finding out that some shoppers are seeing different results unbeknownst to sellers is likely to grate on already-frayed nerves. | 
