eBay has revised the Best match algorithm for specific categories, such as antiques and collectibles. Is this new algorithm ONLY triggered if the searcher has actually selected one of the specific categories in which to conduct his search?

Or are there circumstances by which it can be triggered in an "all categories" search as well?

Ive had fixed price listings showing up very high in the search results for months and months. Now, my fixed price listings are no where to be found and I am a top seller and offering free shipping.

Sorry for the length here guys (both you eBay Sellers and Staff) but I pre-prepared this and it'll be my only post so don't worry! ...I had to, and so this also for everybody else who didn't know about this forum or didn't have the chance:


What have you guys found out so far from doing your analyses of this BM 2 release now that the dust has settled a bit that you could provide a many desperate seller, especially the ones whom were at the top in their categories prior to this update and have now become litterly plummeted in search placement rankings, and hence of course, more importantly, sales?

What important technical suggestions or tips can you provide to all of us at least at this point to get back our rightfully-earned placement? (and I'm not talking about throwing money at the problem here by simply purchasing featured enhancements, well all know this - which of course as we all know too doesn't even guarantee you 100% visibility as well, even WITH it's ridiculous price - oh yeah, and while I'm at it here you guys on that note should honestly consider re-configuring the price structure for some of these 'enhancements', particularly 'Featured First' for both FP and Auctions now that also your visibilities are in fact limited (only two featured slots now for example), even more so, it just doesn't make sense.....if you change one thing and put a cap on it you should also change another!

We all can see that this so called 'Search Visibility Tool' does not provide enough adequate information as far as listing formulations/suggestions are concerned, and yep, even on top of that as MANY sellers reading this right now know, doesn't even show the correct statistical analysis ANYWAy! hahaha (like for instance sales histories, or officially registered sales amounts that is - on MANY of'em it's not even correct, some not even close, and some actually not even showing an amount at all, thereby of course giving incorrect sales ratios etc. screwing up your overall listing performance score ..chshhh.....I mean I understand the huge project here guys I know, but geez...and before the Holidays too man (shakes head).....HOEwluh-shmoewluh........

...hhUhh but anyway.......so yes, long story short PLEASE give us dying, hard-working, top-performing sellers here some organic tips, for healthy, *orGANIc* search results!! I've been literally trying all kinds of stuff since the night of Sept. 30 (will go down in infamy for me) when the code entered the system and drastically affected my listings....oh yeah and btw I AM actually a TRS as well with a nearly perfect 5 star rating (just a 4.9 away!!), I thought we were supposed to get a boost in search what happened?! garrrh...........arrgh matey........even in BM 1.0 every single time I listed a new listing even THAt item was up on at LEAST the third page, every time if not higher with my seller performance, keywords in my title, etc. ......but now..chshh..it's not even close! mpfhh....sucks...


***QuickQuestions/Tidbits:***

1.) Even though it utilizes older collected data circa what? like mid-2008? *Is* the 'Bay Estimator' keyword tool still relevant today with Best Match 2.0 for title creation as it was for 1.0? (thanks again Raghav, hope you're happy out there somewhere, eBay'ers still owe you my friend!)


2.) I actually have made some of my own analysis using the newly implemented 'Search Visibility Tool' as a handy, MASSIVEly time-saving guide in the dashboard there n' yehp, I've even actually shot a NEW listing, from scratch, to the very first page targeting a massive popular keyword. And NOHPE, this exact keywording structure (sequences didn't seem to matter) ONLY works within specific categories too, and I'm actually talking about drilling ALL THE WAY down *withIN* that specific master category, as it didn't work with another sub-category selected, it's weird, and it aHlso even had a price threshold as I found out as well (I could lower the item price to even as low as I could go @ .99 cents, but NOPE, no affect on placement but when I raised it to a certain amount yEHp..definitely had an effect, shot the item beyond 'Page 20' (I could be the ultimate beta tester hahaah....but yeah......even so, the two items that I did actually get up there eventually shot back down, even past 'Page 20' only like a day and a half later


3.) Now for a theoretical question. What if a smaller seller such as myself lists an item, the EXACT same item, EXACT same title as lets say a huge seller that has huge feedback and the sort, and we both do it from scratch, both offer free shipping and at the same exact price and are BOTH located at the same zip code for the whole 'distance' thing, AND we are both TRS's? Does the new search system give advantage hence higher placement automatically to the larger seller? If not, is this just randomly generated by the system then or do other factors affect this, lets say such as 'item specifics' - even ones that you manually create that don't exist for your particular item and category yet)?


4.) Using that exact same scenario as we see from #3 above, *but this time in addition both seller's have the SAME exact FEEDACK amount too*, would there be a difference in ranking for the item if these two TRS's actually have a slight difference in the actual scores of their *DSR's*, regardless of having identical feedback amounts? Would THAT actually play a role at that point? (you know, like if one seller has lets say all 5.0's across the board and the other has less, something like 4.8, 4.9, 4.7, 4.8)?

(and btw, no matter your guys' answer for #3 or 4 I guess, I kind of dispelled that anyway from Number 2.) up there right? - I'm serious guys it was literally like page 8, page 5, 4, 3, and then finally I added two more simple letters in the title and then 'BAHM', on page 1. I tracked the progress and noted it from the tool as I revised the listing, all that just from simply using different keywords alone, didn't even think that was possible!)


5.) How heavily-weighted is the 'Sales/unique click-throughs' ratio? Can you give us a rough estimated percentage?....I feel that this ratio should be weighted just as HIGH if not actually HIGHER if it's not (I'm assuming it's not because it put in the 'Other Factors' section in the Visibility Tool, like it's some secondary factor or something) than the in my opinion, more BASIC 'Sales/impressions' ratio. This ratio should actually play a lARGe role if it's not guys, I think that THAT actually tells a more important story....

.....(cause think about it, I mean, 'Impressions?'...c'mon guys, people can just scroll, hit the freakin' 'next' page button, scroll half way down and then go back, or do whatever, not even seeing the rest of the listing below but those sellers' item still take a hit because they are simply 'on that page'...- that doesn't mean the buyers actually truly 'SEE' it...you knOWh?.....don't be lazy with the code here, it definitely should be more detailed than that, if you're trying to actually implement something like this and supposedly 'surface' relevant, quality listings. (again, this is speculation here but if it's *NOT* at least a 40% overall determinant for the 'listing performance' scrore, then IMO something is wrong)


and lastly 6.)

....So is this it? besides any other minor tweeks/mods/maintenance procedures I'm sure that's constantly occuring, have all the foundational 'final changes' offically been rolled out?


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***An Inquiry Into the Observations That I Found After the Release of Best Match 2, Ridiculous***:

In the Mouse Pad category for example the infamous 'Buy.com' was NEVER up there, not EHVER! I've always dominated and have been up there so I should know..(ahem - grabs drink)...so tell me how is it now that not only are they up there with a healthy amount of elevated items (<--at the time of this writing that is - and its actually been that way ever since the night of Sept. 30 when everything changed) with absolutely no credible sales histories etc. (you know, like Recent Sales numbers for that matter), but seemingly the whole structure of the usual listings changed?

Why did my organically-ranked top items there too after this release all of a sudden drop? (one of my pads are up there NOW yeAH because I've PAID of course, *IN-ORganically* that is, the freakin' overly-expensive 'Featured First' just to try and get it back up there and KEEP it up (and you know, I wouldn't even had to have blown that extra money if the SR2 release wouldn't have seemingly screwed up everybody's top listings in the first place -..and to think, I was actually looking FORWARD to this release...but now I want BM 1.0 back ......**KEEP EVERYTHING WHAT YOU GUYS DID WITH SR2 BUT KEEP THE OLD 1.0 ENGINE INTACT...AT LEAST UNTIL YOU GUYS FIX THESE QUIRKY BUGS THAT SEEM TO NOT MAKE CATEGORICAL SENSE WITH THE LISTING PERFORMANCE SCORES** I've analyzed MANY a listing, trying my best to compare ratios....that would be the PERFECT combination!!..)

....because if you guys actually tell me it was because of the new 'listing perfomance score' that kicked in, I won't really believe you because those puppies definitely had high conversion rates and sold all the time..........actually, you know what? or better yet, just tell me how Buy.com is even up there for this particular category in the first place when after looking at their listings for those items I see they have little to no recent sales histories, and the ones that actually did (not many) were all chopped-up and non-consecutive, with lots of page views etc.? (and no, they weren't just 'recently listed' either, and we're talking about 'Fixed Priced' items here of course btw, just so you guys know, AND my items in question of course are lower in price too, Free Shipping, TRS etc. all the goodies - check my feedback and scores guys ..........not HUGE but commendable!

.....sOOoo-uHh.. continuing on this Inquiry in my conclusion then does this mean that the 'Listing Perfomance' score actually outweighs the 'Recency of Sales' score? for Fixed Price?...because this could really be the only rational explanation I can come up with as to WHY my listings, ALONG WITH OTHERS, from OTHER sellers too of course, were freakin completely decimated overnight......

We all already know there are multiple factors that supposedly 'influence' Best Match, well all know the spiels and mumbo-jumbo talk on paper (and I don't really believe those either because like I said, the proof is in the pudding with my #2 question in the previously-discussed sections above..right? (and it works every single tooH!)

...does it matter the category for what factor weighs more heavily for Fixed Price with Best Match?........tell me how Buy.com is predominately/mysteriously there after this update.....

.........4th-Quarter Favoritism?........I'm just a little skeptical here I'm sorry....until somebody with credible intel and insight can thoroughly dispel/dispute these inquiries, oh I'm definitely on the fence.....

........just to let you know my sales have tanked, I mean this is no radical mystery here guys, it's right in front of my face, at least 60% if not more, along with thousands of other sellers - literally overnight (Sept. 30 - the day my eBay entrepreneurial aspirations became in question)...barely sales in days....ever since...lucky I have a secondary job...some people don't have that luxury....sales use to be always consistent.....just want Dinesh and the Best Match/Finding Team to know that

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Thank you HUGELY in advance, I'm just simply trying to survive here!



side note: ....eBay's by FAR the best platform for the individual when things actually go right. I want to see your guys' freakin' STOCK prices rise to the level of A-zon's for once, they don't derserve it trust me! (private brands now, ultra-controlling and over-the-top over-branding and manipulation/competition of third-party sellers etc. , and you CAN make a living here, I mean I've tried them all!...this is why you guys might get so many complaints and whatever else when things go bad or change, and I even question some of these changes myself (for the love of Gaius Julius Caesar please call it 'Top Rated Powersellers' - and you know what to do with the rest) but yet largely people still remain.

We put up with it (so long as our bUSINesses can actually succeed though! ..that's the problem...that's why we're asking for your guys' critical technical help here, ANYTHING..(no offense but, calling your Reps for any advice for pretty much about anything is horrible, and I know it's not really their fault cause there's alot of things with a giant eBay structure and I'm sure some are good but geez, some of these people I swear are reading straight from a manual with their responses to my actual detailed questions! hahaha...and thank you for opening this forum btw, it was much needed, as I'm sure other sellers are dying to ask their very important questions/concerns too, and I'm trying to cover as many as I can for the ones that never had the shot or even know about this ....


This is the best place for the individual seller and aspiring entrepreneur, and I believe you guys could do the right things, furshure. (nods head)



And all the while Jack Sheng and the Buy.com gang might be doing alright, even through these times holiday seasons-a-spare, I want you guys to know that after reading many a blog and taking in the scope of this seemingly polished-over, buggy 4-Quarter-rushed package that is the SR2, it's not only hurting small businesses, it's literally hurting families.



If eBay succeeds America succeeds, PERIOD no If's And's or But's....this company is wholly American, American 's freakin Apple Pie so don't screw 't up gurrh mpfhh...(McCain had it right n' touched on it a lil n' the campaign trail but still, wasn't the man fur the job ..........huhhhh..n' fur chryslers sake here guys..somebody tell Mr. 'Donahoe' for me to put down his little video recorders and playthingy's, before he actually upsets me, n' get back to work! hahahaha........cause yehp, if I succeed here on eBay his job is threatened ......cause I actually know what it's like...


Oh yeah n' before I leave on hiatus unfortanately, and not to stray off topic TOO much here, please talk to somebody who actually has power to influence global desicion making within eBay Inc. in the meantime - it's not that hard - about tougher restrictions on the Chinese sellers....I have nothing against them personally of course, but eBay itself MUST enforce stricter guidelines here too..this is a sickly system (I mean you guys wanna talk about feedback, TSR's, negatives, shipping times, items not received, unhappy customers - that you're actually losing and going elsewhere - these *ARE NOT* all American sellers you know, c'mon...let them have their 'Taobao's' n' what not)....you guys can be a major player and source if not EXAMPLE of helping to finally heal some the stagnating wage problems in this country, for freakin *AMERICAN* workers....c'mon people....you can't actually see what's going on here?....if the politicians don't have the collective will to do it, the heads of corporations definitely could......we'll see overtime where the loyalty lies guys, ....it's just too bad we're in debt ......huhhhhh.....gurrr.....ANYway...nuff blabbin' now...I hope you guys can help us......


Thanks again in advance for the help guys, unquestionably I know you're working hard, as are we all

Your New President and CEO,

-Ivica W.

Clearly the search algorithm for Best Match has recently changed...things that advantaged listings in the past now seem to disadvantage them.
I have seen my previously sucessful (relisted) listings move from the front page to the back of the pack. Disheartening & atrociously bad for business, despite the fact that I am the same good seller that I was last week.

Since the goal posts have changed, can you please outline what we can do NOW to increase our visibility in the Best Match sort?

Thank you

Are store listings included as Fixed Price listings in the new search algorithm?

Kathryn

With the advent of the overwhelming TRS sort, 80-90% of all listings in a selected Search Result, will disappear. Is the BM2 toggled off for the very few results that can still be viewed in that same set of Search Results?

I've sold over $6000 and have over 100 transactions in the past year, exceed DSR requirements, but haven't been evaluated for power seller yet according to my dashboard report, so search by HPS (purple balloon selection) excludes my listings. I also cannot purchase Feature First for added exposure. Why are these restrictions to search being imposed on people who meet the requirements of High-Power seller but have not yet been invited in?