Ebay 2.0

Under pressure from analysts and investors to jump-start growth in its core auctions business, eBay is making a series of upgrades intended to make the site more friendly to buyers. eBay hasn’t changed much since its founding in 1995. You could go to the site looking for Star Wars items and get a thousand results all sorted by what auction is closing first, even if you are you looking for a Star Wars pendant, poster, or a DVD; it doesn’t matter. You’ll see everything. The company is testing simplified layouts that are less likely to confuse shoppers than the old version, which analysts said was among the most cluttered in the e-commerce industry. eBay is also testing new ways to deliver search results. Instead of heading each list of results with items whose auctions are about to expire, the company will, in the coming months give users the option of seeing search results headed by items the company predicts will be most appealing to buyers. Read more.