As an eBay Certified Provider, the Frooition team get information on upcoming changes [big or small] ahead of almost everybody else in the marketplace. We wanted to take this opportunity to share some information on an eBay release which is scheduled to be rolled out tuesday 26th October 2010.

This year eBay will help drive a more successful holiday selling season for all sellers by ensuring buyers have a quick, inspiring view of the great selection available for their holiday purchases. Effective October 26, the new Duplicate Listing policy will help prevent search results from being dominated by multiple duplicate listings of the same item from the same seller, and improve exposure for great listings from many more sellers.”

eBay have highlighted a couple of key points for this release which rolls out October 26th, once this listing duplication policyis released:

HIGHLIGHTS

  1. For any Fixed Price listing, the item offered must be significantly different from the item offered in any of your other Fixed Price listings. The difference must address a clear buyer benefit or need and must be clearly reflected in the listing title, price, photo or description. See examples to better understand the spirit and intent of the new policy and what qualifies as a significant difference.
  2. In the Fixed Price format, you can have only one listing per item. Multiples of an item must be sold in a multi-quantity Fixed Price listing.
  3. If you have more than one user ID, you are limited to one listing per item across all your selling accounts.
  4. For items that fit specific products, models, or brands—for example a connector cable, phone charger or auto part—you can have up to five Fixed Price listings per item. The specific products or brands the item fits should be specified in the listing title or description or in the compatibility section of compatibility listings in eBay Motors Parts & Accessories. See examples.
  5. The new Duplicate Listing policy does not apply to Auction-style listings. Note that Auction-style format listings are still subject to the Search & Browse Manipulation policy.
  6. New Fixed Price listings will no longer receive an upfront allotment of impressions in Best Match search results to jump start a listing performance score (the ratio of a listings sales to the number of impressions it receives). The clear advantage for all sellers will be to list Fixed Price items in low-cost, multi-quantity listings.
  7. Starting October 26, eBay will automatically end duplicate Fixed Price listings for you and credit your Insertion Fees and any listing upgrade fees on your next invoice.
  8. Use the duplicate listing look-up tool to quickly identify your duplicate listings.

TAKE ACTION

No action is required for compliance with the new policy—starting October 26, eBay will automatically end duplicate Fixed Price listings for you and credit your Insertion Fees and listing upgrade fees. Take these steps if you want to manage the changes yourself before October 26:

  1. Use the duplicate listing look-up tool to identify your duplicate listings and to see how each one ranks in search results.
  2. To consolidate listings, keep your highest performing listing and cancel the duplicates. Revise your best performer to add quantity.
  3. If you have duplicate listings for items that fit specific products such as auto parts and phone chargers, consolidate them in a maximum of 5 listings. Note for eBay Motors Parts & Accessory listings you have to fill all 300 spaces available with different compatible vehicles before creating a separate listing.
  4. If you have duplicate listings for items that are significantly different, revise the listing—for example the title or price—so the listings won’t be ended by eBay. Note that changing your title or price does not automatically reset your listing performance score (the listing’s ratio of sales to impressions) or necessarily impact your position in search. Of course, title can affect relevance and raising the price may make your listing less competitive—both are factors in how well a listing performs in Best Match search. Follow all the usual best practices for maximizing your listing performance.
  5. Note that spaces within units of measure in your title are now ignored when matching to a buyer’s search. For example if the buyer uses 5 MB in the search, your listing title will be recognized as relevant whether your title has 5MB or 5 MB (with a space). Use all 55 characters to help differentiate your listing.
  6. If you create separate listings for identical items in two or more categories, the listings will be seen as duplicates. To list in two categories, list the item once in the primary category and if it’s available, use the second category listing upgrade.

eBay are releasing some Best Practise guides, and a section for FAQ too, which will be made available through their eBay announcements channel (found in “Community” area of the eBay site)

If you have any questions or comments on this topic, we’re always open to debate!

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