Overstock will integrate some of its auction listings into the main Overstock.com search results sometime this Spring, company representatives said at a recent gathering of top eBay sellers. Overstock Auctions was a sponsor of the PESA Summit held in Atlanta last weekend where it held a workshop and hosted an area called the "Overstock Lounge."

Overstock Auctions is working with BuySafe to develop a new "Trusted Merchant" program expected to launch this Spring. BuySafe currently enables eBay sellers to guarantee their transactions up to $25,000 with a surety bond from Liberty Mutual.

Once the program is in place, Overstock will display auction listings from their Trusted Merchant participants in the Overstock.com search results.

Holly MacDonald-Korth, Vice President of Overstock Auctions, said the site is balancing supply and demand, and said the Trusted Merchant program will help them boost exposure for listings from Overstock's auction sellers.

Sellers at the PESA summit urged Overstock to allow them to have free listings while the site is in its early growth stages. MacDonald-Korth said she fears sellers would not invest in marketing their listings if they have not invested in them. Rather than give free listings to sellers, she would prefer to help market sellers' listings. She said they are already working with some sellers on marketing deals.

MacDonald-Korth said new category taxonomy should be available around April 1, and they continue to work on completed-item search functionality, two areas of key concern to sellers. She said the company will be relying heavily on feedback from sellers in the forums to develop the site's category structure.

MacDonald-Korth said accessories, digital cameras, coins and stamps and jewelry are some of the hot categories on Overstock Auctions.

http://auctions.overstock.com