I do not like the "new search experience".

I've got to agree that Best Match is really bad news for the collectibles buyer AND seller. It may be a good idea for iPod sellers or some area where there are thousands of the same thing for sale, but not for collectibles at all. If a seller has THE thing I've been searching for for years, it really doesn't matter to me if he offers free shipping or not. And it doesn't help that the new search experience threw in a bunch of 'kinda like' stuff in my search return. So I get a bunch of stuff that did not fit my search criteria, arranged in some as-yet-incomprehensible order, and the gem I'm hunting is buried somewhere on the second page. Too bad I got disgusted and quit reading after the first page!

I'm afraid that the collectors are no longer an important part of the eBay business plan. It's really too bad for us that as eBay continues to establish itself as a mega-corp retail site, rivaled only by Amazon, individuals buying and selling unique items are getting elbowed out of the way.
I think it's unfortunate for eBay too. They may be on the rise now, but it won't be long before somebody comes up with a business plan for a market that is newer, faster, shinier and cheaper.
eBay is the best possible platform for buying and selling selling unique collectibles. Its size gives us an amazing international community.
I actually remember way back when I could search demi* cup (title and description) and get only 400 items. I also remember when my search routine for miniature teacups would return over a thousand, rather than the several hundred now.
Collectors built eBay, and are leaving it behind, and eBay doesn't seem to mind. Unfortunately, when the thrifty new-goods shoppers inevitably turn to some other marketplace, eBay will have lost the foundation customers with whom it grew.
Mylrea

Hmmmmm, the market took note of the last "sellers revolt" in March! eBay took on in the stocks then....and listened! They held off on any further changes until finally implementing them fully last month....

They forget sooooo sooon. Perhaps a buyer/seller "reminder" week is needed.....

Just thinking with my fingers....

ebay's "Best match" plan worked on me.

I no longer buy or sell on ebaand have joined the Global Ebay Boycott.

See the last several pages of ebay Discussions, "Seller Central" for even MORE reactions and actions due to ebay's new policies.

Hi All,

I'd like to post some information again about Best Match and collectibles. To be clear, Collectibles is still, and will continue to be a huge part of eBay. Nothing we're doing in Finding would be considered a success if we saw negative growth in collectibles. We measure product releases very carefully and this is a big reason we've been doing so much testing over the last year.

Best match was designed to 'kick in' only when it makes sense. That is, only when the buyers have provided enough information about their collective preferences to change the sort order or where there are clear differences in seller performance. On 'long tail' queries (texas postcard, italian art glass) there generally won't be enough information for the system to change the sort order. On popular queries (wii, ipod, canon) there is lots of information. Buyers have 'voted' enough on these queries for the system to change the order. So, yes, Best Match does work better for popular, new in-season items but by the same token it 'leaves alone' long tail queries.

Try a search for 'texas postcard' or 'italian art glass' and you'll see NO IMPACT to the sort order from best match. The Best Match sort is identical to Time ending soonest. In general Best Match influences the sort more heavily in two major ways: When many sellers are selling the same products, Best Match gives preference to sellers that provide the best buyer experiences. Second, when a popular query has a mismatch between supply and demand, Best Match gives preference to the items in demand. (iPod accessories, vs. iPod players)

I hope this helps,

Jeff

Try a search for 'texas postcard' or 'italian art glass' and you'll see NO IMPACT to the sort order from best match.

Jeff you are dead WRONG!!!

I took you up on your challenge and searched for "texas postcard"...

Best Match results as follows:

2h 25m
1h 09m
25m
2h 34m
2h 49m
23m
2h 23m
24m
39m
1h 44m
57m
14m
45m
19m
Got tired at this point so decided to jump over to page 2
Half way down the page we find...
3d 45m
18h 44m (bet these people are really happy with best match)

You can say "long tails" aren't affected, but we the users know that all categories are being affected. This is our job, our occupation, we know our business. And to try to tell us things that are just not true is really demeaning to us. WE ARE NOT STUPID!!

Our pay checks depend on our knowledge of how eBay works. You get paid if the system works or not. You get paid if buyers are unhappy or not. You get paid if no one finds our merchandise. WE DON'T.

I took your challenge, you lost.