How to get a higher position in search

All items listed through Shops will appear in the main search results, rather than in a separate box at the bottom of the page.

Time ending soonest, which is less relevant to Buy It Now listings, will no longer be the dominant factor in how Buy It Now listings appear in Best Match search results.

In addition to factors such as relevance, price and DSR scores, a listing’s recent sales will help determine how high up your listing appears, as this is a good indicator that you have an item that buyers want. The more items you sell from a single Buy It Now listing, the more likely that listing is to appear higher up in search results. That’s why multiple-item listings are important to your selling success.

To generate the most sales and best placement in search results, make sure your listings feature great products at great prices.

If you’re creating a new listing, you can kick-start sales by using the Featured First listing upgrade,. This can help your listing build up initial sales which will help your listing appear higher up in search results.

Featured First is an upgrade that you can buy for your listing that puts it in the Featured Items area on page 1 of relevant search results. There are two Featured First placements, and the listings appearing in the slots will be picked at random.

The cost of Featured First depends on the duration, format and category of your listing:

You need to have a minimum score of 4.4 across the four 30-day average DSRs to use Featured First for your listings.

• What is happening to Shop Inventory Format?
  • After 25th September, all Buy It Now listings will appear in main search results, even if they are listed through a Shop. That means that Shop Inventory Format will end.
    
    

• Will the Best Match search results formula change for Buy it Now items?
  • Yes. The order of Buy It Now items in search results will be partly based on recent sales from that listing, which is why multiple-item listings are so important if you have lots of one item to sell.
    
    These listings will be mixed with Auction-format listings in search results, where Time Ending Soonest will continue to be an important factor.
    
    Alongside this, we will continue to monitor how search is working in each category to ensure that:
    
    
    1. Buyers can continue to find the items they want and from sellers they can trust.
    2. Sellers get fair visibility, with great sellers enjoying an advantage over sellers who don’t provide the service buyers expect.

• How will recent sales work with Best Match?
  • Recent sales, defined by how well a relevant listing is selling in recent history, is one of several factors we'll take into account when a buyer searches for an item. Recent sales is a factor relevant only to Buy It Now listings.
    
    DSR ratings and other factors, such as relevance, are still important, and the 'Best Match' sort ranking for Buy It Now items is based on all factors, not just recent sales.
    
    

• I list lots of identical Buy It Now items in separate listings at ten minute intervals so that I’m always featured near the top of search results. Will changes to Best Match affect this?
  • Yes. Buy It Now items will now have a strong Best Match element based on recent sales. That is why listing identical items in multi-quantities on one listing will be the best way to get high placement in search results.
    
    Simply – the more items you sell from one listing, the higher that listing is likely to appear in search results.
    
    Time Ending Soonest will continue to be an important factor in how auction-format listings are ordered in search results, but not Buy It Now items.
    
    

• I’ve got a multiple-item listing running, but I need to change it. How will that affect the recent sales element of Best Match after 25th September?
  • Recent sales is relevant to your listing’s position in search results only if it is a Buy It Now listing.
    
    If you are simply relisting an item without changing any details, the listing's recent sales information will be the same, as long as you relist within 7 days of the listing closing.
    
    If you make any of the changes listed below, recent sales from your listing will be reset to zero. As recent sales is one of several factors in how we rank listings in search, your revised listing's appearance in search may be affected.
    
    
    • Increase in starting price
    • Change of listing title
    • Change of item condition
    • Change of category

• Can I pay to have my Buy It Now items show up on eBay.com, eBay.ca and other places?
  • No, from 25th September international visibility upgrade will only be available for auction items, until further notice.

• How many Featured First slots will be available to sellers?
  • Featured First is an upgrade that you can buy for your listing that puts your listing at the top of the first page of relevant search results. There are two Featured First placements at the top of search results, and the listings appearing in the slots will be picked randomly from all those that have bought the upgrade.
    
    The cost of Featured First depends on the format, duration and category of your listing.
    
    For the media category, these fees apply:
    
    7 days (Fixed Price only) - £11.95 (€14.99 on eBay.ie)
    30 days (Fixed Price only) - £35.95 (€44.99 on eBay.ie)
    Up to 10 days (Auction only) - £11.95 (€14.99 on eBay.ie)
    
    For all other categories, these fees apply:
    
    7 days (Fixed Price only) - £44.95 (€56.99 on eBay.ie)
    30 days (Fixed Price only) - £134.95 (€169.99 on eBay.ie)
    Up to 10 days (Auction only) - £44.95 (€56.99 on eBay.ie)
    
    
    You can buy Featured First for any number of listings, and buy it more than once for the same listing. For example, you could buy two seven-day slots in the course of a 30-day listing.
    
    You can add Featured First to a fixed price listing after it's started, if you'd like to promote your listing. If you choose to do this, you'll only be able to choose the 7-day option.
    
    

• How much will Featured First cost?
  • For the media category, these fees apply:
    
    7 days (Fixed Price only) - £11.95 (€14.99 on eBay.ie)
    30 days (Fixed Price only) - £35.95 (€44.99 on eBay.ie)
    Up to 10 days (Auction only) - £11.95 (€14.99 on eBay.ie)
    
    For all other categories, these fees apply:
    
    7 days (Fixed Price only) - £44.95 (€56.99 on eBay.ie)
    30 days (Fixed Price only) - £134.95 (€169.99 on eBay.ie)
    Up to 10 days (Auction only) - £44.95 (€56.99 on eBay.ie)
    
    

• How does Featured First work alongside Featured Plus?
  • Featured First doesn't appear after the first page.
    
    Featured Plus listings will feature on the page where the listing normally would have appeared. For example, if a listing without Featured Plus would have appeared on page 2 of search results, adding Featured Plus would make the listing appear at the top of page 2.
    
    

• Do I have to add Featured First at the start of a listing?
  • You can add Featured First to a Buy It Now listing after it's started, if you'd like to promote your listing. If you choose to do this, you'll only be able to choose the 7-day option.
    
    

• Can I turn off Featured First before the 7 or 30 days is up?
  • To remove Featured First from your listing you will need to end the listing, and remove the feature before you relist.
    
    

• Can anyone use Featured First?
  • No, you need to have a minimum 30-day-average DSR score of 4.4 across the four DSRs.
    
    

• When I relist/revise a listing, which changes will affect the recent sales score for that listing?
  • If you make any of these changes, they’ll will affect the recent sales (popularity) score:
    • increase in start price
    • change title
    • change an item condition
    • change in category

• Where will my items be seen elsewhere in Europe?

  • Across UK and Ireland, both Auction and Buy It Now listings will show up in normal search results.

    Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy will also have the new Buy It Now format in September. On those sites, a UK listing - regardless of format and whether or not the seller has a Shop - will appear in normal search results if:

    • the item is located in that country, and/or
    • the buyer chooses Europe (or worldwide).

    This is in contrast to the current situation on those sites, where buyers would have to search for both Europe (or worldwide) and SIF to see UK Shop Inventory. Hence for UK Shop sellers, visibility becomes less complex.

    On other European sites, Auctions from all UK sellers and Buy It Now listings from UK sellers without Shops follow the same rules as above. Buy It Now listings from UK sellers with Shops will show up in normal searches if the buyer chooses both Europe (or worldwide) and Shop Inventory Format.

• Can you explain how International Site Visibility (ISV) will work for US sellers wanting to list in the UK and UK sellers wanting to list in the US?

  • Auctions:

    • US Auctions (including Auction with Buy It Now) show up on the UK site if the US seller pays the International Site Visibility (ISV) fee.
    • UK Auctions (including Auction with Buy It Now) show up on the US site if the UK seller pays the ISV fee.

    Buy It Now:

    • US Buy It Now listings show up on the UK site if the US seller pays the ISV fee. US Shop listings show up on the UK site if the buyer selects worldwide.
    • UK Buy It Now listings aren’t eligible for the ISV.
    • Listings from UK sellers without Shops show up on the US site if the buyer selects worldwide.
    • Listings from UK sellers with Shops show up on the US site if the buyer selects worldwide and Shop Inventory Format.

    Auction with Buy It Now:

    • Auction with Buy It Now follows the same rules as Auction, so will still be eligible for the international site visibility fee. It will appear in the US and Canada as before if you select those countries.

• What is happening to Auction visibility once the new changes come into effect?
  • Auction-format listings will appear in search results alongside Buy It Now listings, ordered by Best Match. For Auction-format listings, ‘time ending soonest’ will remain the dominant Best Match factor in determining what order items appear in search results. Auction-format and Buy It Now listings from sellers with a Detailed Seller Rating score under 4.4 (based on a 30-day average) will be demoted in the search results, as has been the case since early 2008.

• Will subscribers to Shops on eBay sites other than eBay.co.uk or eBay.ie be able to list new-BIN format listings on eBay.co.uk or eBay.ie, at the new fee rates based on their shop subscription level?
  If yes, will they have to meet the UK’s business registration and minimum DSR requirements per shop level in order to list at the new fee rates?
  If no, will there be reciprocal 'cannot list shop format' arrangements between eBay.co.uk eBay.ie and the other eBay sites, such that eBay.co.uk and eBay.ie shop subscribers will only be able to list shop-associated listings on the UK site?
  • Subscribers to Shops on eBay sites other than eBay.co.uk or eBay.ie will be able to list items in the BIN format in the UK. Their insertion fees will be the same as for non-shop owners, ie 40p (20p in Media) on eBay.co.uk.
    
    If subscribers to Shops on sites other than eBay.co.uk or eBay.ie want to list items in the BIN format in the UK with insertions fees of 20p, 5p or 1p (depending on shop level), they will have to open a shop on the UK site. In order to do so, they will have to meet the UK criteria to open a shop (for instance: business registration and DSR minimum for Featured and Anchor Shops)