Search: Will You Be Able to Find the Dolls You Want?
eBay is going from their current keyword-based search (which many doll buyers are very familiar and facile with) to a new “finding’ system that purports to be intelligent. This system does not always show you all of the items for sale…which is particularly bad for doll collectors who generally want to see all options. Also, items are ranked in search by great number of things—the seller’s DSRs, cost of shipping, prior buyer behavior, etc. The search will be more like the Amazon.com search. If you prefer the Amazon.com search, you’ll probably like this search. If you are a collector looking for unique items or a doll collector who is very skilled at the current eBay search, you probably won’t like the new search.
New Listing Format: Not Ideal For Doll Listings
Finally (and briefly) a new listing format for eBay items is also on the way this Fall. This new listing format will use tabs (so that all the pertinent information for an item will no longer be on one page) and also (for sellers using the eBay Picture Services hosting) only show one photo with arrows to show additional photos; the photos will also be re-sized by eBay to a uniform size. This is NOT helpful for doll photos which need to be large AND often need to be vertical to show the whole doll. Further, the new listings “squeeze” the listing which will allow less space for larger doll photos for sellers that self-host photos. The new listing format is not yet set in stone—it is being tested and you can sample it live on eBay right now and give eBay feedback on it.
Finally, as always when I write about eBay, just a note to let you know that I’ve been an active seller and buyer of dolls on eBay since 1996.
