eBay announced several changes that it will roll out in the next few weeks to make buying on the site easier and more effective.

Recent changes to postal rates have made it more challenging for eBay buyers and sellers to calculate shipping charges. eBay will implement a new policy it hopes will ease the problem. After an auction closes, eBay will display the buyer's zip code on the listing page. The zip code will only be visible to the high bidder or buyer and the seller.

The U.S. Postal Service recently changed Priority Mail rates for small packages to a distance-based charge instead of a flat fee. Sellers must now send an extra email to U.S. buyers to ask them for the ship-to zip code before they can calculate the shipping rate.

With the forthcoming changes, sellers will be able to determine the buyer's postal zone without having to correspond with the buyer. The buyer's preferred shipping address, on file with eBay, will be displayed on the listing page.

Some sellers expressed concern that when buyers want to ship to a different address, they may send the incorrect amount to the seller. eBay said buyers and sellers should contact each other to verify that the zip code displayed is correct. Buyers should also be sure that their shipping address on file is up to date, so that the correct information is displayed to the seller.

eBay also said it will introduce several changes to Search and Listings results pages. eBay will implement a spell check feature so it can recommend alternate spellings likely to return more items. eBay said it will begin with a limited number of recommendations and will grow the dictionary over time. eBay also said its Completed Search results will now look the same as search results for active items. For Buy It Now items, the quantity sold will be inserted into the bids column, and there will be no active Buy It Now tab.