Best Match is certainly discriminatory

[nirv_australia]

I have been having a major problem with Best Match for a while now. Our fixed priced listings, some of which used to rank in the top 10 on page 1, are nowhere to be seen in search results. I have contacted Ebay countless times. On the phone they tell me nothing’s wrong with best match. When I email, they don’t reply.

So, today used one of my old ebay accounts to list a PC. I haven’t used this account in years. Low and behold, this item is ranking high on page 1. I then listed the exact same item under this account I’m using now. That item is nowhere to be seen on the first 20 pages. The two listings are identical in every way. So, according to ebay, out of these two listings, the ‘Best Match’ for a customer looking for a PC is the one from a seller who has sold nothing for years, has a feedback rating of only a hundred or so, is not a Powerseller or a TRS. The other listing is all of these things with a solid and consistent sales record for the past 6 years. How completely insane is that??

[thecatspjs]

??? Doesn't best match take into account user preferences???

When I search a couple of your items using one of my buying IDs they come up trumps in best match.

[pc-tech-pros]

..

[nirv_australia]

I think you will find they are auction listings. I have been forced to list auctions seeing as my fixed price listings aren't ranking at all. The auctions don't sell though.

With PC sales, I believe a lot of people filter out the auction listings and look mostly at fixed price ones.

[thecatspjs]

Using INTEL CORE GAMING DESKTOP SYSTEM COMPUTER PC some auctions and buy-it-nows of yours are page one for me out of 93 results - 7 of your listings are in the top ten.

Are there others search terms you would like me give a go?

[nirv_australia]

Yes but that search term is very specific to my listings. A buyer would never actually type that in. The would typically type something like:

Core i7

Gaming PC

Gaming Computer

Those types of things.

[annies_fancy_dress]

Listing a new item is good way to puff up your existing listings, but I agreee it's insane for the experiment you just did.

[maranock]

With the amount of items that would come up for 'Gaming Computer' why do you think that yours should come up in the first pages of best match. 

[thecatspjs]

Have to say with those very sketchy search terms I can only pass on my best wishes for coming up with an ongoing recipe to appear on page one in any ongoing consistent way.

I think a buyer may start a search with that - but would refine by detail. There are too many variables and too many products that come up.

[nirv_australia]

If I use Listing Analytics, using various search terms, I used to have several items in the top 10 results, now I have NONE in the top 1000 results. Nothing has changed on my end. It's Ebay. For example, I just did a search. One of the items close to the top on page 1 is from a seller with a feedback rating of 2. That's right, 2. The item in question has had zero sales. The item description is almost non existent, a few lines of test, no pictures. How on earth could Ebay think this listing is the 'Best Match' for anyone looking to buy a computer. It's so riduculous it's laughable how useless Best Match is.