eBay is running a test of how it displays search results to shoppers. For about six weeks, a small percentage of buyers - about 1 percent - will "see a different search experience." To help give buyers the best chance of finding what they want without having to guess at the terms sellers might have used in their item title, eBay will use other elements of a listing, such as item specifics and category, to bring back relevant results. The project is similar to the "New Way to Shop" it first tested back in 2005, according to the company.

eBay's announcement explained the new search test using an example:

As a simple example, if a buyer in the test searches for "red size 12 shoes," instead of looking just for listings with the words "red," "size," "12," and "shoes," the search engine will find all of the items in the shoe category that are size 12 in the color red. In the end, the buyer should see more relevant items. Plus they'll see a new way to narrow their listings results according to important details such as size, color, type, etc.

Meanwhile, eBay said it is running into delays with the rollout of its new Feedback 2.0 rating system. The system appeared briefly and was then rolled back, and an announcement was made on the eBay Announcement Board (http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200705021923321.html). The new system seemed to be back on Thursday evening, at least temporarily.

A seller also wrote in on Thursday to report that a glitch with My eBay is appearing again. He expressed concern over whether the site would remain stable on Monday May 7, when sellers are slated to begin updating shipping rates based on significant USPS postal rate changes going into effect on May 14.

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200705031513002.html