The answer is "yes." People have been stating that this is true, and I have felt that it is likely true based on the examples people have given. I decided to check the veracity of their statements today.
I ran two searches for Nancy Drew in the Books category in different windows within seconds of each other (I did not want the extra clutter of all of the Her Interactive games.). I chose Nancy Drew because it is a search that returns thousands of items. The first search was "Best Match" and the second search was "ending soonest."
This was the very first item returned in the "ending soonest" search:
Mylar Covers Nancy Drew Hardy Boys Dana Judy Bolton
It was set to close six minutes after I ran the search, so it was the next item to close.
"Best Match" returned this item as the top result:
4 Nancy Drew SC Books #9 #145 #168 + Chapter Book #51
Notice that the seller of this second item is a top-rated seller. That item was set to close 27 minutes after I ran my search.
I had my search results set at 200 items per page. I checked the first 200 items in the "Best Match" search and did not find the listing for the mylar covers, in spite of the fact that it was just a few minutes before closing. I did not take the time to try to figure out how far down the mylar cover listing was in "Best Match," but I feel that a drop of more than 200 in rank is lethal to an item that is moments before closing. Historically, eBay has given a boost to items right before they close and still is for some items. Other items are never making it anywhere near the top. By the time a prospective buyer finishes looking at the first 200 items in the search, that listing would be closed.
I reloaded my results and noticed other discrepancies in which some items moments before closing were nowhere to be seen in "Best Match." This is why I can no longer sell all of my stuff on eBay. This game of eBay is distasteful.
I have noticed some very low auction results in the last week for some items. For instance, some larger lots of blue and tweed Nancy Drew books are selling at a total cost of $1.00 to $2.00 per book, which is quite low. At the same time, other sellers are getting results of $10.00 to $12.00 per blue or tweed book for comparable lots. In both cases, I refer to books that do not have dust jackets.
I think the low results are due to items that were buried in "Best Match" search. It would be nice if all buyers would use "ending soonest," but that is not the default, so many buyers use "Best Match" and fail to notice many good items.
Something really odd that has happened to me in the last month is that I have had multiple sellers put extra books in the packages when they pack the lots I have won. I think it has happened three times in the last month, and it usually happens no more than around once per year.
I had several lots arrive within days of each other, and I did not take the time to go through all of them. I did notice the extra books when I unpacked the books. I went through the books yesterday, and was able to figure out from where most of the books came. I was left with two very nice condition Dana Girls picture covers and an early Nancy Drew picture cover, and I cannot figure out who sent me those books. I went through my purchases for the last two months, looked at all of the pictures and read all of the descriptions. I cannot figure out where I got those three books. They are "mystery" books.
What I am wondering is whether it is getting so hard for some people to sell on eBay that they send extras along just to get rid of them. It is very strange.
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