eBay made a post to its Announcement Board that contains a large number of significant changes to policies. It also said it is rolling out an expanded version of the Seller Dashboard this week, and announced changes to Best Match, eBay's name for the default sort order of search results.
One change members should pay particular attention to is a change in eBay's links policy beginning in July. Previously eBay gave members leeway in linking to off-eBay sites in their About Me pages, and limited linking in other places. Now, eBay is tightening up the links policy, further restricting the types of links allowed in a seller's listings or in other content on eBay, including eBay Store pages, About Me pages, eBay Blogs, Reviews and Guides, and forums (http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/listing-links.html).
eBay also announced it is lifting two seller restrictions - the Choice Policy (which required sellers to list similar items in different sizes and colors in separate listings) and the Multiple Listings Limit Policy (which limited sellers to 15 identical listings at one time). eBay said the changes would create more choice and selection for buyers and make it easier for them to find what they're looking for, and would add flexibility, convenience and cost-savings for sellers.
Sellers seemed confused about the seeming contradiction that eBay would allow sellers to list an unlimited number of identical listings, but would limit the display of duplicates from the same seller:
When buyers search and browse, only one of identical listings from the same seller will be displayed per result set-unless the only available listings are identical listings from the same seller. In addition to displaying only non-identical listings from one seller, a maximum of ten listings from one seller will be shown per results set-again, unless the only available listings are from the same seller.
eBay is also replacing its Keyword spam policy with a new Search & Browse Manipulation Policy that "simplifies the guidelines for sellers, prohibiting any unfair methods of diverting members to their listings." The new policy gives eBay more latitude in what it considers violations, stating that it prohibits "any type of activity that harms the shopping experience."
The new policy seems to be a reaction to efforts by sellers to have their listings appear higher in search results under eBay's new Best Match search; in a FAQs section, eBay specifically says, "Listing activities intended to thwart eBay policies or "game" Finding to gain unfair exposure in search and browse results are prohibited."
eBay will begin reducing visibility of listings from sellers whose 30-day shipping cost DSR is 4.5 and below and whose buyer satisfaction rate (shown on the Seller Dashboard) appears as "needs improvement," "poor" or "unacceptable." In addition, sellers with 4.7 and above on all 4 DSRs over the last 30 days may start to see an additional boost in their search standing in Best Match.
eBay will also ban Mystery Auctions starting early June.
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eBay made a post to its Announcement Board that contains a large number of significant changes to policies. It also said it is rolling out an expanded version of the Seller Dashboard this week, and announced changes to Best Match, eBay's name for the default sort order of search results. 