i know that using the cookie cutter templates won't really help with SEO due to google and others "recognizing" the templates. what do you recommend that needs to be changed? is it the layout? the way it's coded? i've seen some great layouts of BANS on this forum so I thought i'd give it a try on some domains collecting dust. but want to do it right. thanks in advanced!
There's nothing wrong with the templates and Google doesn't "recognize" templates and penalize you. If your site has no original content on it and if your site has no links, quantity nor quality wise, then it won't raise up in the SERPs. Think of it this way: The only time when a template is the same as another person's template is when there is nothing on it.
Personally, I make sure to turn off the "Powered by BANS". I also at least change the Site Navigation, Store Navigation, and the Featured Links (or whatever it says on the ads sections) to something else. Oh yeah, I change the "View more" eBay link at the bottom to something else also. You can change that one within the index.php file and the FrontControl.php file (in the cont folder). Make sure to make a backup first, if you do change it, just in case. I don't know if this helps with Google or not, but it makes them look a little less like everybody else's site. Moving the "Site Navigation" section to below the store or to the right-hand column is another little thing I do just to switch things up.