eBay is changing the way British listings appear on the US eBay.com website. Previously, items listed on eBay.co.uk also appeared in the default search results on eBay.com, but are no longer guaranteed to appear there.

eBay UK said it is testing different options because, "As eBay.co.uk has grown over time, the volume of items listed on eBay.co.uk that appear on eBay.com can make it difficult for US-based buyers to find and buy the items they want." eBay executives have stated that they would be focusing on "finability" and the buyer experience in 2007.

The news appeared on the eBay UK announcement board last week. eBay said sellers who want to ensure that their listings appear in the default search results on eBay.com must list them directly on the eBay.com site. There are separate fees for doing so, and eBay said such listings would not be eligible for any pricing promotions run on eBay.co.uk.

A blogger who noticed the change before the announcement wrote, "There is nothing to stop UK sellers who want to sell to the US market listing directly on eBay.com, and in fact that's the strategy we'd recommend, given the well-known problems with American buyers not understanding what "GBP" means." (GBP is the British currency.) (http://www.tamebay.com/2007/02/uk-listings-not-showing-on-ebaycom.html)

The TameBay.com blogger also pointed out that US sellers who were threatening to move their inventory to the UK to take advantage of lower listing fees on media items "might want to think again."

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/uk/200702.shtml#2007-02-16181558