Senior Architect at eBay Discovers Fast-Shipping Hack

Senior Architect at eBay David Van Couvering discovered a way to get items delivered faster – by filtering search results by distance.

On Thursday, he posted on Twitter, “A common reason people say they choose Amazon over @eBay is shipping speed. But I discovered on eBay you can filter for matches within say 25-100 miles. Reduces shipping time and shipping carbon. I ordered a used book from a local bookseller and got it next day.”

Van Couvering, who joined eBay in 2020, makes the point that delivery speed can be a major factor in purchasing decisions – though there are other important considerations, including price, ease-of-use, and buyer protection. 

Readers are savvy at buying and selling on eBay, and we’re curious what they think of filtering search results by distance. 

In fact, eBay has numerous ways to filter search results. Do you filter search results when shopping eBay? Which filters do you find useful? And how does that compare to other shopping sites and marketplaces?

We also wondered if distance between buyer and seller is a factor in Best Match search, which uses various criteria to determine the order in which results will be displayed to shoppers. eBay’s help page on optimizing for Best Match makes no mention of buyer and seller location, though keep in mind it doesn’t disclose every factor or what weight it gives each one.

Is it your experience that distance is a factor in Best Match sort? What are the pros and cons of such a practice?

Finally, please share your helpful hacks for finding items on eBay, and what do you wish shoppers would know that would help give your listings better exposure?