Cumos -- I've read your posts in the link you noted here - a very interesting discussion of the topic. I thought one statement you made was a particularly good description of what we can soon expect to see everywhere on eBay:
"With Cassini it is like a buyer stepping up to a counter and asking Cassini… What do you have for me….
Several searches later, a list of possibilities is presented.."
This is an apt comparison, and it is the way many online sites are now "targeting" users -- and not just sites that involve selling. It's a complete shift in approach. In fact, I would add that not only is it like a buyer stepping up to just any counter, but a counter with his name plaque on it! There is a psychological appeal about this sort of thing that is almost irresistible.
Rather than leaving it to the user to search for what he/she wants, an array of items is summoned up based on an individual's recent history of browsing, searching and buying on the site. The more one browses, searches and purchases, presumably the more and more perfectly aligned the items will be to the user's personal tastes and interests.
As I've theorized on other threads, my strong belief is that this new search paradigm, in combination with the "Feeds" that we now see on the main eBay landing page (which I'm sure must be linked with Cassini), will lead to a state where buyers may not bother doing searches once they've been using the site for a few months. Those "Feeds" can be mezmerizing and extremely appealing for the very reason that they seem to have been created only for you, by some genie in a bottle. Think about that -- there is a reason they've chosen the word "Feed".
This, in my opinion, is going to be one of the most drastic changes sellers will see on eBay. It may mean that searches will be more or less a thing of the past, and saleability will no longer depend upon capturing buyers' attention who are deliberately seeking your products, but rather getting into the grab-bag that matches their interests. The fewer people on eBay who search for, and/or buy in a particular sub-category, the less frequently that sub-category of items will be displayed. Sellers will have to change the way they list and describe their goods.
I'd bet dollars to donuts that, if it doesn't already do so, Cassini will also be able to prioritize the items presented, based on a buyer's purchasing history and watching predilections...and my guess is that ultimately those "Feeds" will become the way many people buy on eBay. How will that impact an individual seller's visibility is anybody's guess at the moment.
