eBay Testing New Search Features

eBay said this week it is launching a new offering called "Garden by eBay," an area on the site that will allow members to test new features and provide feedback for improvements and changes.

Garden by eBay is an opt-in initiative with a concept that is similar to Google Labs where users can test and experiment with different features before they are officially released.

eBay says that Garden members' feedback will be provided directly to the teams that manage new, proposed or existing features. The goal is to bring buyers and sellers into the process and help the company introduce, test and roll out features faster.

The first major feature to be introduced is a new "streamlined search" aimed at making it easier to browse and view search results. Streamlined search offers a cleaner view of inventory, and better ways for buyers to browse items. Users can compare auction and Buy It Now listings side-by-side, refine their searches with fewer clicks, get an at-a-glance view of an item's name, price and format and view same-screen pop-up windows for item detail.

"The new Garden by eBay represents a new collaborative conversation with the eBay community-a chance to listen to their thoughts on upcoming features, and to bring them closer to our own innovation process," said Christopher Payne, eBay vice president of search.

"And by seeding the Garden with streamlined search, we're asking for the community's input on improving one of the most important areas of eBay.com."
 

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eBay Launches Series of Seller Events

eBay is starting a new series of events to help small businesses and part-time eBay sellers "accelerate their businesses" on eBay, which has 90 million active users. The series is called eBay: On Location, and has dates set for Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago, and San Jose.

"eBay sellers are creative entrepreneurs who understand that eBay’s global reach and dynamic marketplace offer the ideal setting to start and build a business online," says eBay Marketplaces President Lorrie Norrington. "We invite our sellers to eBay: On Location to connect with each other and to take the next step in making their eBay businesses even more successful."

The goal of the series of events appears to be to let sellers network with one another and share ideas for maintaining a successful eBay business. There are also courses on "top seller secrets", productivity to boost sales and reduce costs, and utilizing social media to drive sales.

"eBay sellers have become savvier about how to use eBay in ingenious ways," says Jim Griffith, eBay senior manager, Seller Strategy and Dean of Education. "eBay: On Location is a great way for the seller community to come together and share those strategies—and learn something new from experts."

They are only letting in 500 people per event, and registration is offered on a first-come, first-served basis. It costs $45 to get in.


Have You Read This?

> eBay to Make Changes to Seller Fees

> eBay Fined $2.6 Million Over LVMH Sales

> eBay Previews Possible Geotargeting Feature For Sellers

Google Introduces Multi-Touch To Nexus One

When the Nexus One was released, comparisons to the iPhone were unavoidable, and a respect in which the Android device came up short was multi-touch.  Now, though, an over-the-air software update should allow Nexus One users to pinch and zoom to their hearts' content.

Pinch-to-zoom functionality's will work when people are fiddling with the phone's browser, its gallery, or the Google Maps application.  That's bound to come as a pretty huge bonus to folks who thought they would be permanently without the feature.  It's possible this update will spur a few additional purchases, too.

And the pinch-to-zoom addition doesn't represent the end of the update, either.  "[W]e will provide a general fix to help improve 3G connectivity on some Nexus One phones," promised an official blog post.  Which is important.

What's more, Google Goggles "will now be available directly on your device by launching it from your All Apps menu.  Just use your Nexus One camera to start searching the web."

This should all act to make the Nexus One quite a bit more competitive.  It'll be interesting to see if sales enjoy a boost in the weeks ahead.

Have You Read This?

> Google Gets Letter From FCC Over Controversial Fee

> Google Tries To Carve Out Its Place In Mobile

> Nexus One Sales Of 5-6 Million Units Forecast

Brin, Page To Sell 10 Million Shares Of Google Stock

Sergey Brin and Larry Page are going to become much closer to their financial advisors over the next five years.  Google disclosed in a regulatory filing late last week that the cofounders each intend to sell about 5 million shares of the company's stock during that period of time.

To address one possible concern: This is no way signals that Brin and Page are abandoning Google.  Even after the 10 million shares are sold, the pair will still own 47.7 million shares between them, so it's not like they're cutting all ties and going home.

Also, even though their voting stake will be reduced from 59 percent to 48 percent due to this move, Eric Schmidt controls another 10 percent, so there's no danger of the three Google execs getting overthrown.

Still, the development is a big deal.  Miguel Helft calculated, "The sales, if completed, would provide each of the founders $2.75 billion based on Friday's closing price of $550.01."

Google's stock is down 1.15 percent so far this morning.  The Dow and Nasdaq are up 0.71 percent and 0.58 percent, respectively.

Have You Read This?

> Wall Street Turns Nose Up At Google Earnings Report

> Analysts Give Google Thumbs Up For Diversifying

> Nexus One Sales Of 5-6 Million Units Forecast

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