Something every ebay buyer needs to know

[best-buys-com-au]

Hello Everyone,

I am a seller on ebay, but I am also a frequent ebay buyer and I have found that when I type a product detail I am looking for into the ebay search line "Search for anything", the ebay system automatically goes to the "Best Match" sort setting. 

I find the "Best Match" results to be misleading and appear to be driven by an advertising premium that a seller is prepared to pay ebay, rather than the ebay computer system finding the best deal for ME.

For example, if one types Spirax 550 into the ebay search line "Search for anything", my listing of that product at a price of $4.95 + Postage of $5.00 = $9.95 comes up automatically as the 14th listing in ebay's Best Match. 

When I change the sort box to "Price + Postage : lowest first" my listing rockets up to first place on the list.

Every Spirax 550 is identical, so why does ebay's Best Match not automatically list my listing at the top of the selection?

This is just one example. I have just checked 50 on my listings and 47 of the 50 had the same result, moving from as low as 30th to 1st place when changing the sort option to "Price + Postage : lowest first".

As a buyer, when you type a product detail you are looking for into the ebay search line "Search for anything", I would suggest that you always immediately reset or change the sort box to "Price + Postage : lowest first", so that YOU get the best deal.

As an ebay seller, I thank you for supporting us (ebay sellers).

Cheers

Noel

[springyzone]

I'm a buyer these days & just thought I'd let you know, Best Match is not what my searches default to.

Mine always show time ending soonest, or whatever the wording is.

Sometimes I use the drop down menu to look at 'newly listed'. Best match is down the bottom of the options & I never use it.

I don't know how typical I am of all buyers but I wouldn't imagine most buyers have it set to best match.

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

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@springyzone wrote:

I'm a buyer these days & just thought I'd let you know, Best Match is not what my searches default to.

Mine always show time ending soonest, or whatever the wording is.

Sometimes I use the drop down menu to look at 'newly listed'. Best match is down the bottom of the options & I never use it.

I don't know how typical I am of all buyers but I wouldn't imagine most buyers have it set to best match.

---

me too

[best-buys-com-au]

Thank you all for your input. 

I am sure that seasoned ebayers would have found a way to reset their search sort to default to something other than Best Match, and a buyer could change it every time they engage in a shopping session.

My issue, I suppose, is that ebay purports to know the buyers circumstances and needs and provides Best Match advice and direction to buyers, but it is not advice but rather commercially influenced by how much a seller pays ebay for marketing - Best Match is not true buying advice, in the manner it is being presented, but an ebay advertising facility that sellers can pay ebay to access. Ebay needs to totally remove Best Match, and leave the remaining search options - all of which are absent purported advice and just sort data.  

[brerrabbit585]

Ah, but if they removed best match they'd have no way to coerce sellers to offer free postage, change of mind returns, guaranteed delivery, etc etc etc. So it ain't gunna happen!

[best-buys-com-au]

Hello Everyone,

Just checked my Spirax 550 again and the Best Match has IMPROVED from 14th to 13th on the Best Match List.

Now, if one types Spirax 550 into the ebay search line "Search for anything", my listing of that product at a price of $4.95 + Postage of $5.00 = Total of $9.95 comes up automatically as the 13th listing in ebay's Best Match. 

When I change the sort box to "Price + Postage : lowest first" my listing again rockets up to first place on the list.

The highest price on ebay for 1 x Spirax 550 is $ 15.50 including postage, so it is 55% more expensive than mine! ($15.50 vs $9.95).

"Best Match" must be dumped by ebay, as it cannot be characterised as "Best Match" in the interests of the buyer who is being so advised by ebay.

Cheers

Noel

[brerrabbit585]

Can you show us where ebay is telling the buyers that best match is in the best interests of the buyer? All I've ever seen is the two words 'best match' with no explanation of what they mean.

You can keep repeating yourself until you're hoarse but ebay isn't going to take a scrap of notice. If the dearer sellers get more sales then ebay get more fees, so they won't care if you're not at the top.

Lower prices often make people suspicious so perhaps you need to try higher prices.

[digital*ghost]

Be careful what you wish for, IMO...

It won't be long before Best Match is all but obsolete - why? Because eBay are slowly, but surely, changing the way items are listed and displayed on the site.

Rather than showing a bunch of individual listings from different sellers, eBay will group listings for the same item into one listing. One seller will likely be on the "landing" page, with the option to view other listings from other sellers displayed but people will need to click through to view those and add them to the cart. If it sounds familiar, that's because it is (on another site, this is called the "buy box" and sellers compete to win it, meaning they all want to be the one that's shown when a buyer clicks on an item they want to buy - the vast majority of the time, lowest price wins, but not always). 

Might sound great, but this results in sellers continually undercutting each other until they're all selling at a loss, and the only ones that make it are the ones that can sustain the losses for the longest time. There is software available that will check a competitor's listing for a seller, and simply undercut their price by 1c. Two or more sellers using that kind of program, and that's why sometimes you can find items on this site listed at -1c 

What is ideal for one seller, doesn't mean it's ideal for the rest, or for buyers, for that matter. 

[lane-ends]

Best match is driven more by popularity. That is listings that have had more views/watchers/sales histories (for multiple quantities). Of course once at the top you get more of these so sell through increases and it keeps you there.

Whether you use cheapest or not depends on what you are searching for. It can produce a whole lot of cheap items (eg chinese listings) that are not all that relevent or of interest. Especially if it is not such a targeted search eg a particular part. But if you are generally browsing for something that catches your eye, eg. a new dress, you are not looking for the cheapest one.

It is human nature that people will go to the default setting first

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

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@best-buys-com-au wrote:

"Best Match" must be dumped by ebay, as it cannot be characterised as "Best Match" in the interests of the buyer who is being so advised by ebay.

Cheers

Noel

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Noel, maybe I am getting this wrong, but you seem to still be hung up on the terminology eBay use for their default search.

Let me pitch this idea to you . . . . . . if eBay had labelled their default search “Cassini search”, back when it was first introduced, you might be here advocating that eBay should introduce another search that provides the best value for members i.e. one that provides a “best match” for the buyer.

I say say this because you keep saying that “best match” does not provide the “best match” for members, and this has started to look more like the root cause of your outrage is eBay’s choice of search name as being deceptive.

Start calling it “Cassini search” and maybe your misconception that eBay thinks it provides the best match for members will dissipate, and you will start to see it as just another search engine that throws up search results that very few members understand.

As mentioned by many here on this and other threads, eBay’s default search using the Cassini search engine uses multiple criteria in its algorithm and these are not centred around finding the lowest priced items for members.

Please stop mentioning your Spirax 550 item as I, and others, may start thinking that you keep mentioning it as a form of advertising the item here on the boards (which is against board posting policy).

[*tippy*toes*]

I had to go and have a look what a Spirax 550 was. 

As for the default Best Match search, when you use a computer, you can change the search method to whatever you like (e.g ending soonest, price + postage lowest) and it will save that search while you are logged in (it defaults back to Best Match if you search while logged out). However, if you are searching via the app, it always defaults to Best Match EVERY SINGLE TIME you search. If I search for screw drivers, it will show as Best Match and I'll change it to lowest price. If I then decide to search for a dress, it will have defaulted to Best Match and I have to change it again.