eBay Eliminates Featured First from UK Marketplace

eBay is eliminating the "Featured First" ad program for UK sellers, but it will continue to charge sellers who purchase it for the next 2 weeks. eBay eliminated the feature in the U.S. 2 years ago.

As eBay had previously announced in the autumn Business Seller News, Featured First will no longer be visible in search results on eBay.co.uk as of Thursday evening. "Unfortunately," eBay informed sellers, "it may still be possible to purchase Featured First when listing an item until the week commencing 10 October. However, as Featured First won't be visible in search results, we would advise you not to choose this option."

The good news - "If you inadvertently purchase Featured First during this time, you'll receive a full fee credit. We apologise for this inconvenience and thank you for selling on eBay."

Sellers used Featured First to increase their chances of getting a boost in search visibility - eBay described the feature as follows: "Each time a user enters search criteria that may result in your listing appearing in the search results, there is a chance that your listing will appear on the first page of search results in the Featured Items section if you purchase Featured First."

eBay said it was eliminating Featured First because "eBay Top-rated sellers already enjoy a boost in Best Match search. This makes Featured First less relevant to our sellers," and advised sellers, "To get the best position for your items in search results, follow our guide to good listing practice."