eBay's Top-Rated Sellers Badge Starts to Show in Search Listings: The Impact?

eBay's new "Top-rated seller" designation, a little gold badge and ribbon, is starting to show up under the listings in search results on the site, like so many little cherries waiting to be picked.

But will the designation really have that big an impact, such that sellers who do not have it will feel a significant detrimental effect on their business?

Of course it remains to be seen. But I am not convinced it will be that huge a deal. See the below results for a search for a red Chanel bag:

In the pic (click on it to see whole thing), the 3rd and 5th bags have the Top-rated seller icon. But notice the first two do not, nor does the fourth one. Also, these bags are all sufficiently different, such that a person who is looking for a specific type of Chanel bag in red most likely would not choose a different style just based on the icon.

Of course, this is going to depend on the types of items being searched for. If there are hundreds of black nano ipods available, and only ten have the Top-rated seller designation, I think those ten sellers are more likely to have a boost over the competition.

But for more rare and unique types of items, I am not convinced the impact will be that big. Not that the badge is not a positive thing for sellers; it is no doubt something just about all sellers would like to have.

What are your thoughts on it?