Auctionbytes-NewsFlash, Number 1774 - April 22, 2008 - ISSN 1539-5065
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eBay Flip Flops on BayEstimator Tool for Optimizing Best Match
By Ina Steiner AuctionBytes.com April 22, 2008
The experimental tool created by eBay Research Labs to optimize listing titles is back online. eBay had pulled the tool after a report surfaced that sellers were using BayEstimator to game the Best Match algorithm in order to appear higher in eBay search results (http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y08/m04/i15/s02).
The flip-flop in policy is reminiscent of the listing extender tool which eBay first banned because it was "bad for the buyer experience." It almost immediately reversed itself and allowed the tool. In 2007 it again banned the extender tools, which sellers are still prohibited from using.