topic Re: Search - is anyone else finding it as useless as me? in Buying

topic Re: Search - is anyone else finding it as useless as me? in Buying https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Buying/Search-is-anyone-else-finding-it-as-useless-as-me/m-p/7957875#M80170 <BLOCKQUOTE><HR /><a href="https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/7593048">@eburtonlab</a> wrote: I see you put screwdriver in quotes to get all results, but I guess most buyers won’t do that. Most buyers probably don't want to see every listing with screwdriver in the title or item-specifics in every category; but that is what you specifically asked for, so I was showing you how to get it. Thanks but I only did it as a test when I was trying to find my own listings (I was selling loads of old tools from clearing my father in law’s garage). Appreciate most wouldn’t want to see all but searching Vintage Stanley Screwdriver should have thinned the search to reflect what a typical buyer was looking for (It didn’t). I was selling a 1950s vintage Stanley, wooden handled screwdriver. No matter what combination of key words I put in (without quotes though) I couldn’t find the listing…! And unsurprisingly it had no views or interest, even though other similar ones were selling and mine was cheaper!I literally had to mirror my description to find the listing. You may have listed in the wrong category for your keywords. Hard to say now, as I do not see that listing among current or active listings in your account, or in your feedback. It was on my private account, not this one. It’s worrying you say something can be listed in a wrong category relative to key words? That suggests an exclusion of results possibly in the wrong category. With respect I have been selling on eBay for 20 years so I don’t think I’ve put items in the wrong category, especially on this account. On this account, sometimes I get loads of views and an item sells within hours of uploading, but then I might sell similar using the exact same template but get no views/interest and the item hangs about for weeks…! That may have had more to do with the actual demand for such items than it had to do with search, though. Perhaps there was one very interested buyer who bought your first item, then the next buyers in line were not quite as interested as the first. Or perhaps those buyers found substitutes for your item. Sometimes yes of course demand dictates or pricing elsewhere, but doesn’t explain why an item with 20+ watchers can sell out in a couple of days then relisting it yields absolutely nothing, no interest at all even with no competition. Hard to say without a specific example to search for. If a seller is clever, the seller can find a way to make it easy for buyers to find the seller's item, even if the buyers are not very clever.  Majority of buyers just want a quick purchase and don’t have time or inclination to be clever enough to beat the search, especially for everyday items. If it doesn’t come up with 1 or 2 quick searches they’ll go elsewhere or resort to a google search. As a seller, I would suggest searching for your own items the way you think a potential buyer might search -- using general keywords rather than copying your entire title into the search field. See how many results turn up in that general search, and where (or if) your item turns up in the sort when sorting various ways. See how your listing stacks up against other listings when viewed in the search results. Then look at sold results for the last ninety days and figure out how long it should take for your item to be sold if all the items priced less than yours sell first at the same selling rate as the sold items, and if no new items are listed. That’s exactly how we check listings. In the screws example buyers search either TurboGold if they want that premium brand followed by wood screws and size.My listings (only a few on here now) are usually on page one, often ahead of promoted items and whilst not high turnaround sales do ok and usually go within 30-60 days.Obviously a more generic wood screw search, even by size brings up thousands of options but as others have said it also throws stuff in that has nothing to do with the search. These items must be the heavily promoted items that eBay has to put somewhere. The only reason for copying in my whole title btw was to find my particular item in the test that was otherwise hidden. This has happened with listings before, they go invisible for a few days then views/watchers suddenly pick up.<HR /></BLOCKQUOTE>  Sat, 15 Nov 2025 10:12:44 GMT 555njp 2025-11-15T10:12:44Z