Best Match has been around for a while now. There are a number of ways to stand out and boost your rankings to appear higher in eBay search results – raising the bar for more successful sales.

From eBay:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/searchstanding.html

Best Match is the standard sort order for search results. It evaluates items and sellers based on a number of factors that are important to buyers, including how well the item matches what the buyer’s looking for, its price and shipping cost, and the seller’s track record. If you’re a seller, there are important things you can do to bring your listings closer to the top of the search results.

You’ve probably mastered a few of the key steps that eBay suggests, such as:

? Write an effective item title
? Select relevant categories
? Add as many item specifics as possible

This last step may be something we’ve all skipped. Ultimately –  it really shouldn’t be left out:

? Use product details from eBay’s Catalog: http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/prefilled-information.html?

If the item you’re listing is associated with a product in our catalog, you’ll be prompted to search for the product using a unique identifier-such as an ISBN for a book, a manufacturer’s part number for an MP3 player, or a keyword such as a brand or product name. If your item matches a product in our catalog, you’ll be offered product details and a stock photo for your listing. Be sure to select the product that accurately describes your item.

While this is only one piece of standing out in eBay’s search results, it’s crucial to nail down these beginning steps in each and every listing. Be sure to read up on how to improve your search standing. This will in turn boost your Detailed Seller Rating to ensure that you stay on top of the results!

My co-author Jenn recently advised eBay sellers to diversify in order to recession proof their eBay businesses.

I’m not an eBay expert, but I imagine that with the built in audience at eBay, diversifiying is sound advice.

But will this work for a small ecommerce business? Probably not.

Unless you’re a Fortune 500 company, there’s a good chance that you can afford to diversify effectively and compete on quality (as opposed to lowest cost).

My advise to small business owners is to focus in on the one (or two related) things that you’re great at.

If you sell an amazing baby sling, don’t try your hand at cloth diapers and baby clothes as well. Focus your efforts on branding and marketing your sling.

When the economy is better and people are spending more money, then you can look at selling complementary items.

What have you done that has helped your small business in this economy?

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Most of the changes will not take place until September 22 with others coming in October

Last year eBay announced that they would give sellers more time to adjust their business to changes on the platform. This is the second planned announcment of 2009.  Normally I list the new changes with my comments, but this one caught me on vacation, so I am just going to list the changes and I will save my analysis for my newsletter that will be out later this week. If you don’t get the newsletter, you can subscribe for free here.

Here is the text of eBay’s announcement:

• PowerSeller program update: rewarding quality over quantity
  • Starting in October, a new eBay top-rated seller status will be added to the PowerSeller program to recognize and reward sellers providing great buyer experiences based on the new way to look at DSRs (very few 1s and 2s). eBay Top-rated sellers will receive the highest PowerSeller Final Value Fee discounts (20%), increased visibility in search results for Fixed Price listings, exclusive access to purchase Featured First and a prominent Top-rated seller badge on item pages. The Top-rated seller badge will be tested in search results pages this summer. The current PowerSeller icon will no longer be displayed on buyer-facing pages including item pages.
  • All sellers with 100 or more annual transactions and at least $3,000 annual sales who meet the requirements for Top-rated seller status will be invited into the PowerSeller program and can start receiving Top-rated seller benefits in October.
  • Next April, the PowerSeller program will also include a requirement for sellers based on the new way to look at DSRs (very few 1s and 2s). PowerSellers that don’t have Top-rated seller status will get 5% Final Value Fee discounts.
  • Meanwhile, the current PowerSeller discount structure will continue until April 1, 2010 to give sellers 8 full months to keep their current discounts while they adjust business practices to qualify for the new Top-rated seller status.
• New minimum standards for all sellers:
  • Starting in October, there will be a new minimum standard for all eBay sellers based on the number of low DSRs (1s and 2s) received. The minimum standard will be stricter in April, 2010.
  • A new Selling Practices policy will define guidelines for professionalism and accuracy in all aspects of listings and transactions.
  • Optional buyer charges for shipping insurance will no longer be allowed. Sellers can still buy shipping insurance and add the cost to the item or shipping price.
• Updates to the Seller Dashboard: You can now see a snapshot of your low DSRs (1s and 2s) and standing toward the new Top-rated seller requirements updated monthly through a link at the top of your Seller Dashboard. In September, you will be able to see daily updates.

  1. Enhanced search presents more relevant listings
  2. Best Match, eBay’s default sort order, will look at listing’s recent sales in relation to the number of recent impressions it received as a key factor for Fixed Price listings. An "impression" is any time a buyer sees a search results page that includes the listing.

See Also

• Learn How To Make Money with an Online Consignment Business Selling on eBay, Craigslist and Other Online Shopping sites
  Complete business manual with contracts, forms and pre-written advertisements to grow your business