eBay (Nasdaq:EBAY) is planting the seeds of fresh ideas in its new “Garden by eBay,” an area on eBay.com that will allow eBay Community members to test new features and offer input on suggested improvements and changes. Announced today, the new eBay Garden will encourage eBay users to contribute to the growth of initial concepts (seeds) to fully “grown,” ready-to-launch products and features.

Key facts:

• Garden by eBay is a new experimental space where users can test, interact with, and offer input on existing or new ideas for products and features for eBay.com.
• Garden members’ input will be provided directly to the teams that manage new, proposed or existing features, bringing sellers and buyers directly into the innovation process, and allowing eBay to introduce, test and roll out new features much faster than before.
• The first seed in the Garden is a new “streamlined search” experience intended to make it simpler to browse and view search results. Streamlined search presents a cleaner view of eBay inventory, and more efficient 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. As Garden participants provide feedback on streamlined search, the feature will grow into an improved experience – before it goes live to eBay.com.
• eBay’s previously launched Diamond Ring Designer is also growing in the Garden. As an existing experience, eBay is asking users to continue to test and provide input on making it better for the next iteration.
• The Garden can be accessed either by typing “the Garden by eBay” into eBay’s search box, or directly at http://pages.ebay.com/garden. Users may then try out all of the ideas growing in the Garden.

Supporting quotes:

Christopher Payne, eBay vice president of search: “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. 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.”

Dane Glasgow, eBay vice president of engineering: “We’re asking the eBay community for as much feedback as possible on the test features in the new Garden by eBay so we can design and build better site improvements. Our streamlined search started with a blank canvas and the chance to put forward a simpler, more efficient search experience. With the community’s help, we’ll make great strides along the path to improve search on eBay.”

Supporting resources:

• eBay Garden: http://pages.ebay.com/garden
• The Garden by eBay developer team tells eBay Ink blog’s Richard Brewer Hay why the Garden is important for users and how they helped the idea “grow”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7Sul8DkJzw

About eBay

Founded in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) connects millions of buyers and sellers globally on a daily basis through eBay, the world's largest online marketplace, and PayPal, which enables individuals and businesses to securely, easily and quickly send and receive online payments. We also reach millions through specialized marketplaces such as StubHub, the world's largest ticket marketplace, and eBay Classifieds sites, which together have a presence in more than 1,000 cities around the world. For more information about the company and our global portfolio of online brands, visit www.ebayinc.com.

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