October 31, 2006 | 02:27PM PST/PT

| Evan Liang |
Hi everyone, I'm Evan Liang. Since March, my team has been testing a few improvements to the bidding/buying process to make them easier for buyers to use (read our initial announcement). We've seen very positive results from our tests, so we're now going to make these changes permanent.
In the next few days, you should start seeing the following when you place a bid or use Buy It Now:
- The seller's Gallery photo. If the seller used Gallery, the picture will be displayed when the buyer places and confirms their bid.
- Average Selling Price for Items with Pre-Filled Item Information. We'll display the average selling price for that item when the buyer’s bid is significantly below the average. This will only be included on items where the seller’s listing was created using Pre-Filled Item Information. (Items listed with the same Pre-Filled Item Information are close or identical products and can be compared to determine a reasonably accurate average price.)
- More education about bidding for new buyers. We're putting more education on the "Place Bid" page for new buyers, including a graphic demonstrating how the bidding system works.
- Warnings to prevent accidental Buy It Nows. Buyers sometimes purchase multiple items accidentally by hitting Buy It Now more than once. This warning will prompt them after they've bought the first item to make sure they really want to buy another.
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