Survey Results Part 3 - Changes to eBay Search

[eBayNews]

In Part 3 of AuctionBytes survey series, we look at how sellers reacted to news of forthcoming changes to eBay's Best Match search results and the introduction of a new analytics tool for sellers. Part 1 of the survey results series, published on Tuesday, dealt with changes to the PowerSeller program. Part 2 of the survey results series, published on Wednesday, dealt with forthcoming policy changes.

Many of the survey respondents rated forthcoming changes to Best Match search as bad, and a majority rated eBay's new Search Visibility tool as good. Most rated the discontinuation of some listing features as good or neutral, but rated the forthcoming limitation of "Featured First" to eBay Top Top-rated sellers only as bad or neutral.

The comments in the last section reveal a lack of awareness by many sellers of eBay's Product Catalog - a major search feature in certain categories - and questions about eBay's planned use of sellers' photos.

Changes to Best Match - Questions and Responses
1) eBay is making changes to Best Match search. A new listing performance score for Fixed Price will replace recent sales: Fixed Price listings will have a performance score based on the listing's recent sales in relation to the number of recent impressions it received. (An "impression" is any time a buyer sees a search results page that includes the listing.) For example, in the new Best Match, a listing with 100 recent impressions and 10 recent sales will score higher than a similar listing with 1,000 recent impressions and 10 recent sales.
Good: 13.9% Neutral: 34.6% Bad: 51.5%

2) New multi-quantity and single-quantity Fixed Price listings will be given exposure in Best Match even though they have no sales history. New multi-quantity and single-quantity Fixed Price listings will be given a certain number of initial impressions based on the relevance of similar listings.
Good: 22.1% Neutral: 35.5% Bad: 42.4%

3) Top-rated sellers will get promoted in Best Match for Fixed Price listings. Sellers not meeting the new minimum standard will be demoted for both Auction Auction-style and Fixed Price listings.
Good: 20.8% Neutral: 18.5% Bad: 60.7%

Changes to Best Match - Comments
The most interesting part of the survey dealing with eBay's Best Match search algorithm was the comments section. While the questions asked sellers to rate changes to Best Match coming in the fall, respondents used the comments section to complain about the very concept of Best Match. It appears that many survey respondents do not like or trust Best Match, think it's complicated and do not understand how it works, and express skepticism that it advantages large volume sellers of new items to the detriment of small sellers of unique items. A few of the comments follow below:

• Best Match has never worked right and now it seems the top-rated sellers will even have more advantage.
• All this is very complicated and hard to understand. Ebay is making it very difficult for sellers to understand all the rules.
• Too confusing to make a judgment on Best Match changes. I can only hope it's an improvement but not holding my breath.
• If you remove the seller's ability to promote their item (with URL rotators, or using Facebook ads, for ex.) this would actually DEMOTE the listing?? Because I have high impressions without sales. Boy is this one stupid!
• Please restate this in English!!!
• I'm still a little on the fence over this set of changes. I think that these changes are the type of changes most likely to hurt the smaller sellers (like myself) that are selling items that are one of kind and unique - almost as though I'll be punished for listing one of a kind, quality vintage and collectible items.
• No item should be demoted.
• You know someone is so going to find a way to rig that impressions part.
• The entire Best Match thing is flawed, confusing, and infuriating to use.
• No issue with these changes.
• Best match should measure the relevance of the item and it's attributes only - and maybe the total cost. As a buyer I could care less how many times a seller's item has been viewed and/or purchased. What matters to me is getting the closest to what I'm looking for, for the most economical cost. That's "best match" to a buyer. If eBay insists on a performance score for their use - it should NOT be called "Best Match". That's confusing to buyers and is why I always sort be first ending anyway. It's a shame that the default is "Best Match" and many buyers don't know they can change it and actually miss out on items more relevant to what they are looking for because eBay doesn't seem to count that.
• Best Match is a bust. When I read the spiel about "impressions" I thought I somehow has been whisked back into the 60s and was listening to some bohemian poetry from a guy with a beret and a goatee in front of the brick wall of a basement night club.
• As a seller of antiques and collectibles (which are rarely available in multiple quantities), I want to be sure this policy doesn't adversely affect me by "burying" my listings. Also, how will it affect store listings (if at all)?
• This discourages growth with new or small sellers. It is a poor way to grow business.
• Best Match hasn't worked yet so how is this going to improve anything. Best match brings up many totally irrelevant items
• Nobody believes any seller except diamond sellers will receive increased placement in "Best Match" regardless of ebays claims!
• Best match SUCKS! I don't care how many other people have purchased or looked at what I am searching for. I am only interested in finding what I am interested in. I prefer to either view items by newly listed or ending first.
• Again, who is going to be able to keep this all straight? I'd rather be audited by the IRS than try to keep all these changes straight.

New Search Visibility Tool - Questions and Responses
1) eBay is introducing a new Search Visibility tool that will allow sellers to analyze the search visibility for their listings and provide insight into the factors that affect visibility.
Good: 59.3% Neutral: 28.2% Bad: 12.5%

New Search Visibility Tool - Comments

• This can be good, but as in the surprise that I have two 2's in shipping that are unfair, I'm sure after reviewing mine, I will be very disappointed for all the hard work that I have put into my sales and my reward will be no exposure.
• Anything that helps the seller maximize their visibility in this Best Match search wilderness can't be bad....can it????
• I don't understand exactly what this tool will give me. If it's anything like the stupid "dashboard" then I guess.. not much.
• Are they going to make DSR's transparent so a seller could possibly see the factors that effect their search standing? I have never found ebay's "tools" to be very effective or helpful.
• "Outstanding!"
• I have no idea what that means.
• We'll have to wait and see.
• Good ONLY if it actually shows some useful information unlike the first iteration of the Seller Dashboard that was useless for almost the first year it was available to sellers and still is missing vitally important data for sellers.
• I am underwhelmed by eBay's ability to code anything correctly based on recent history, and have a low level of confidence that they will be able to produce a tool like this that is actually valid and useful.
• OK - but frankly visibility criteria should be obvious - eb's policies / implementation of BM now convoluted
• Sellers need more transparency.
• Its just too bad everything has to be so complicated.
• But will it work?
• A little more transparency is good. I just hope this will not allow people to game the system.
• Maybe it will help. Despite having 5s in all categories my visibility is not good because my volume is about 300 items a year. I used to have huge bidding wars on these one of kind items, as soon as best match was introduced my business is mostly to repeat customers who already know how to find me due to 10 years on Ebay before best match. If you a new customer finds me, they become a repeat customer. So it is not the product, it is Ebay search that is at fault.

Discontinuation of Some Listing Features - Questions and Responses
1) eBay is discontinuing some listing features, including Gift services, Border, Highlight, Featured Plus, Home Page Featured and Pro Pack.
Good: 43.8% Neutral: 42.2% Bad: 14.0%

2) For listings where the International Site Visibility feature and any other optional features are purchased, the optional features will be displayed only on the site of purchase.
Good: 14.4% Neutral: 58.6% Bad: 27.1%

3) Featured First will be available only to eBay Top Top-rated sellers and only displayed for Best Match sort.
Good: 12.9% Neutral: 38.1% Bad: 49.0%

Discontinuation of Some Listing Features - Comments

• The listing features are a waste of money in my opinion, so getting rid of them makes sense.
• These features (border, highlight, etc) were VERY OVERPRICED... something that was of little value to me. I never used them anyway, so it doesn't matter to me whether they go or stay.
• Any time they take less money is good. Only being allowed out of the US by spending more on the listing "options" is garbage.
• Another change that will hurt small and medium sellers who use these things to help get their listings noticed.
• International visibility should be automatic for all sellers wanting to sell internationally without additional fees or features.
• eBay has told me for years that these listing enhancements improve sell through rate and sale price. They even give hard percentages. Why discontinue something that makes eBay money?
• To keep fees at a minimum, we've almost never used these services anyway, so removing them shouldn't be much of a factor. Good keywords in the title remains the best, no-charge findability tool.
• International visibility is ass backwards - typical ebay. Should be free. Seller should have option to show listing only on home site or pick sites which will show it when the buyer chooses to see items from their home site and whatever others they want.
• They were a waste and it helps even the playing field for smaller sellers with lower margins and budgets.
• I never bothered with the bells and whistles of those listing features and I suspect so few sellers do, that it's not financially worthwhile to keep them available. But the Featured First for only eBay Top Rated sellers is a slap in the face to the rest of the sellers who may have a more likely match. It seems to me best match could be even a 4% probability of being close if it's a TPPS vs a smaller seller who has an 80% closer match to the search. Bad for sellers, sends a strong message to smaller sellers "Go somewhere else".
• The main reason that Bargainland Liquidation move away from eBay was due to the fact that they sold a large degree of "seconds" and product returns. Invariably, if a seller is selling liquidation product, there are going to be issues both disclosed and latent with the items. Perhaps eBay should segregate their platform into New items and pre-owned. To mix the items on the same platform and have buyers critique them together is a disservice to the pre-owned and customer returned items.
• Would have rather seen the Featured First option gone altogether. As a buyer, I want my results based on relevance, not who could afford to pay extra to be at the top.
• Having to pay for international visibility is pathetic.
• Unfair to small sellers

Exposure for Product Photos in Product Catalog - Questions and Responses
1) Starting September 1, 2009, eBay will begin selecting photos for the eBay product catalog from the listings of sellers who do not opt out by August 31. If eBay chooses sellers' photos to represent a product in the eBay product catalog, the seller will receive attribution including their user ID and a link to profile page whenever their photo is used on a product details page.
Good: 32.5% Neutral: 36.5% Bad: 31.0%

Exposure for Product Photos in Product Catalog - Comments

• I didn't know about this change till reading it here in the survey. At first glance it looks good.
• My guess is that only photos from Diamond Sellers will be used.
• I copyright all my ebay photos and this would be a breach of my copyright. So if ebay does this I will bring a law suit. I should not have to opt out. Ebay should know better. Just as their material is copyrighted so are other sellers.
• Product catalog? Ebay's products? Shop the eBay product catalog? WTF?
• This may have an advertising benefit for sellers.
• Should be OPT IN only.
• Where is my compensation for hard work developing good photos????????????
• Cool free publicity
• I think this is a great way to get exposure for sellers. However, I also think that ebay should get the persons permission to use thier photo's especially when some people like myself has copyright on many of them! But at least the seller gets attribution.
• This is nice. It will encourage people to take better photos. I use pro-quality photos, so this may help me.
• Can you see the fraud now??? All of the scammers are happy now that they will have pics already provided to them for their nonexistent item.
• How can eBay do this for unique one of a kind items? Stupid stupid stupid!
• How will eBay prevent a "stolen" photo from being used? SEVERAL times, other sellers have "borrowed" my photos; I'd be quite upset if someone else gor credit for my photo(s)!
• Do not understand what this means. Ebay is assuming a level of understanding that sellers do not have!!!
• So then can I use their photos in MY listing?? Would save me time and aggravation of being a perfectionist amateur photographer. Actually would have to see if the "link" to my product helped my sales any and helped the traffic.
• Free exposure is good!
• I am not sure what this means?
• Since ebay doesn't sell anything except listing and advertising space, they have no business having a product catalog.
• Opt Out is backwards, and disingenuous. eBay charges for every jot and title, it should pay the photographers for using any photos like any other service, and be OPT IN.
• If ebay wants to have a product catalogue, let it buy the bloody merchandise and be a seller. Ebay does not have any goods to sell - they are trying to become Amazon without the goods. They will unfairly promote their "golden children" and small time businesses will get messed over again. Buyers may only click on those items and not realize they should still search to find the best buy for themselves.
• This might be helpful.
• What product catalog?

Part 4 of this series will appear in Friday's AuctionBytes Newsflash and covers changes to buyer-seller relations, including the unpaid item claims process, dispute resolution, and email communications.

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