Magento default sort order

In order to specify the default sort order of the product listing open up your 'catalog.xml' (this is tested in magento 1.4): desc To order products by a specific order, e.g. to order products by the order specified under category listing: set in your admin: yoursite.com/admin/system_config/edit/section/catalog/

Product listing sort by: Best Value

And for those wondering where 'category products' is... it's located here: /admin/admin/catalog_category/ (under "Category Products" tab, when you click on any category)