GetItNext is a search engine pitched as an easier way to find items on eBay. A new feature on the site is targeting PowerSellers looking for inventory on eBay to resell. You don't have to download anything to use GetItNext - it's a bit like Google or Yahoo, but instead of searching the Web, it searches eBay. GetItNext is an eBay compatible application and is part of eBay's developer program.

The company website states that if you search for "ipod nano" using GetItNext, you will only receive listings of iPod Nanos listed on eBay, compared to a search on eBay itself where "you will get listings that include earphones, chargers, skins, cases and only a few iPods."

Of course, better search is what eBay is promising with its new search ("finding") technology, still in testing. And in fact, eBay has already tackled the "iPod" challenge, so to speak, by serving up landing pages to help searchers. If you go to eBay.com and enter a search for iPod Nano, for example, you are brought to a page designed to help you narrow your search. The page has sections called "Best Matching categories for your search"; "Best Matching Items"; "Related Searches"; "Alternative Searches"; a list of some eBay Stores; "Related Neighborhoods"; and "Buying Resources." This way, shoppers can narrow in on what they are looking for without being confronted with thousands of irrelevant hits.

GetItNext designed its search engine with a simple user interface. There are four tabs at the top: Hot Auctions, Buy It Now, Find A Deal, and Bulk Deals. If I'm in a hurry to find a replacement cable for my printer, I can go right to Buy It Now. If I'm looking for interesting collectibles, I can go to Hot Auctions.

For the bargain-hunter, there's a tab called Find A Deal. The only listings included in these search results are those with zero bids and less than 4 hours to go before ending, going on the assumption that no bids means a potentially lower price for shoppers.

The last tab is new and is designed to assist sellers who are product-sourcing on eBay. Bulk Deals appears to bring back items that include the word "lot" in the title. But auctioneers and participants consider a lot to be any listing with more than one item. A search for mittens brought back a listing that was for a "lot" consisting of one hat and one pair of mittens - an "outfit" instead of the bulk lot I was looking for.

I asked Matt Williams, GetItNext Chief Marketing Office, how they determine what listings to bring up with Bulk Deals searches. He said, "We can't reveal the secret sauce, but Bulk Deals identifies attributes common to bulk listings to return many more results than eBay's "lot" search with a lot less effort. All you need to do is enter an item that you are looking to buy in bulk (e.g. webkinz) into the Bulk Deals search box and press search. Bulk Deals does all of the work for you."

GetItNext has three types of sorting: Default, Lowest Price and Time Remaining. The default sort returns the items ordered with the most relevant items being returned first. Williams explained, "We use a combination of eBay data and proprietary techniques to identify what our guests determine to be the most relevant items. Therefore, our guests help determine what are the most popular listings for their search terms."

GetItNext has integrated Web 2.0 features right into the tool. I did a search for mittens, clicked on Facebook (under Bookmarks), and was able to send the search results to my friends on Facebook.

One feature on GetItNext that is very different from eBay's appears when you narrow your search by category. GetItNext brings up an overlay that shows eBay categories in a visual representation.

It's free to conduct searches on GetItNext. Like many tools for eBay shoppers, GetItNext makes money through eBay's affiliate program.

Ron Stewart, the founder, President and CEO of GetItNext, said Colin Angel began working on GetItNext in the Fall of 2005 after he tried searching eBay for a TiVO. The site launched in June of 2007, and Stewart said there are 2 full-time employees and 6 part-time employees at the company.

GetItNext demonstrates that a third-party company can work with eBay's developer program to create different ways of searching eBay listings and opens the door to niche search engines for specialty shopping on eBay. Something sellers should definitely keep an eye on, as it could provide both opportunities and challenges to getting their items found by shoppers.

http://www.getitnext.com