Thanks for replying -- I appreciate you taking the time and your replies do make me think!
OK, GS is memory based, does that explain these points?
When I first started checking regularly if I could see any of my ebid ads. on GS, I could always find a few and it could be that GS's memory of my searches prompted it to add "Ebid - theElench" to the side-bar and as I've continued to check regularly, it has stayed there for over a year.
But how does GS's memory explain that when I searched for Stoneware Pottery, GS showed "Ebid - Becky's Brocante"? Again, when I searched for Hard Rock Cafe Pins, GS had "Ebid - Golden Wonders" on those searches side-bars. That can't be the memory of my searches because I hadn't searched for either -- before or since.
Others confirmed that they could see ebid on the side-bar when searching for Art Deco Glass. If others had searched for Stoneware and Pins, I could also see Ebid - Username. Getting "Ebid - Username" on more search results must surely be giving the site and seller more exposure to anyone making that (or closely related) searches?
There are likely to be many more examples of ebid + username scattered across GS -- there could be many more IF more ebid sellers regularly search GS and began viewing ebid ads.??
That having the largest number of listings on ebid in any given search is the reason for getting the "Ebid - username" onto the side-bar is, I think, backed up by this.
After one of your previous replies, I started searching for "soap bars - uk", found some of yours and clicked on several for some time and got another surprise. After some time "Ebid - username" did appear on the side-bar, but not your Username. It was one of your competitors with more soap bar listings than you have.
To your point that I'm the only ebid seller on the side-bar and only my ads. are shown on the GS main page, I'd say this. GS only seems to allow any site one entry on the side-bar. Obay and esty appear on many searches I've done, but only once (sometimes with a username - sometimes not. But as I've said before, if I click on the ebid name on the side-bar, other ebid sellers are included after my ads.. I also found the same with the "Pins" search. Golden Wonders was the seller of all the ebid ads. in the search results, except one, and that ad. was included at the bottom of the GS results.
And I'm still no nearer to explaining how or why independent websites with only a few glass listings make it onto the side-bar at all. I don't think that can have much to do with GS's memory unless the web-site owners are doing something similar to what I'm doing to get their names shown??