Search - is anyone else finding it as useless as me?

[ian_w42]

In the past few months I have found the search function to become nearly useless.

I often search for specific computer hardware components, I usually use the exact model number, brand name, memory size etc in the search. An example would be "NVIDIA RTX 3060 12GB " but applies to every search I make.

Nearly all of the results will be irrelevant and not related to the search terms at all. Different brands, different models etc. Most of the results will not contain any of the keywords I searched for.

You can of course refine results using the filter checkboxes but it's annoying and doesn't even cover every thing you might be searching for, the options are quite out of date.

I know ebay is "streamlining" search results but this is beyond that, it also does not seem to listen to quotes to force inclusion of certain keywords.

[date80211]

Of course they do, and do you suggest sponsoring changes whether the search actually works?

[eburtonlab]

@date80211 

"Newly Listed" is a sort order. If you have 10,000 results, sorting by "Newly Listed" will show you all 10,000 results sorted from the most recently listed to the last.

My eBay makes no mention of your 10, 50 or 100 miles.... feel free to say where those choices cam from: specifically, what version of which browser were you using, on which version of what operating system?

I am using a desktop browser on a Windows 10 machine. Firefox 138.0.1, but I get similar results using other browsers.

If I perform a keyword search using a desktop browser, scroll down the left side of the search results page I see an Item Location filter. Using ebay.co.uk and a UK location to search, that is where I see options to search by "Default", or "UK-only" or "Continental Europe" or "Worldwide".

One of the options will say something like "Within 25 mi" with the underlined portion being an active link. Clicking on that will provide additional options for other distances.

Here is what I see. Perhaps your options are different.

If you really want to, you can edit the search URL to try a different search radius using the sadis parameter (Search Area DIStance, presumably).

Here is a search for cars within 13 miles of that postal code using that technique:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_stpos=MK3+6EB&_nkw=cars&_sacat=0&_sop=10&_fspt=1&LH_PrefLoc=99&_f...

[frazer199310]

For me, using Chrome and Windows 10, the 'Within x miles' option has disappeared:

[eburtonlab]

@frazer199310 

For me, using Chrome and Windows 10, the 'Within x miles' option has disappeared

Odd, I still see that option in Chrome, even when not entering a UK postal code to search, and even when not signed in at all.

Does the option appear if you use a private or incognito Chrome browser window? Or another browser?

Does the option appear on the Advanced Search page? There I see km mentioned, but when I search, the distances are actually calculated and displayed in miles, not km.

Does the feature work if you use my previous search link?

Or this search of private sellers only?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_fsrp=1&rt=nc&LH_PrefLoc=99&_ipg=240&_stpos=MK3%206EB&_nkw=cars&_s...

[jah24green]

No need to be condescending. You are totally missing the point. E-bay search facility and the various filtering on search function USED TO WORK BRILLIANTLY but now it is trash. Some fool has paid to change it from excellent to trash - how about that!

[frazer199310]

Okay, I have cleared the cache in Chrome, opened Ebay on a new tab without logging in to my account.

New search by Category 'Cars'.

The filter bar is now horizontal and half way down the page, rather than vertical on the left hand side:

Clicking on 'Filter' opens the vertical selection panel, but there is no 'With x miles' under Location and no possibility to restrict to either Private or Trade seller:

Using Advanced search does show the 'With x miles' option but it doesn't work.

Using Microsoft Edge there isn't even the option to select 'Filter!

Very strange and bloody annoying!

[helva56]

Not wishing to sidetrack the ongoing conversation,, but another thing that is notable when trying to initiate a search is the way things you are trying to eliminate from a search for example;  if you ask for a search on ,,lets say a vauxhall car, you get a volvo, or a ford listed as "not a vauxhall" thus making the search for the original car by elimination of other makes , somewhat pointless.

[date80211]

Me, condescending? And that from you who seems to have diametrically mis-read what I Posted!

I wasn't missing the point… I was supporting what frazer199310 said, and asking that anyone trying to check what wrong, compare the exact parameters given.

If other points were equally unclear, please say so.

[eburtonlab]

if you ask for a search on ,,lets say a vauxhall car, you get a volvo, or a ford listed as "not a vauxhall" thus making the search for the original car by elimination of other makes , somewhat pointless.

Sellers are not supposed to include keywords that do not apply to the item being sold, but of course that does not stop some from doing exactly that. Such listings are reportable under "Search and browse manipulation", but enforcement of such rules is not a particular priority for eBay, apparently.

Buyers wanting to eliminate such listings from search results have some options, though: narrowing to a specific category that excludes non-Vauxhall results, or using specific exclusions to eliminate listings with unrelated keywords or strings.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/9858/i.html?_fsrp=1&_from=R40&_nkw=vauxhall+-volvo&_sacat=9858&LH_PrefLoc...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=vauxhall+-not.a.vauxhall&_sacat=9858&_fsrp=1&_odkw=vauxhall+-...

[helva56]

Ebay  seem quite lax on a considerable number of rules ,eh!

like when you stipulate "UK ONLY" and discover just how many Chinese sellers seem to  live in London, but it still take a fortnight to arrive, and the postage label has Chinese writing on it and has been through customs. 

[eburtonlab]

like when you stipulate "UK ONLY" and discover just how many Chinese sellers seem to live in London, but it still take a fortnight to arrive

eBay's "UK only" filter option refers not to "seller location", but to "item location" -- and that location information is provided by the seller, not by eBay. 

While some overseas sellers may have a warehouse in the UK to ship from, if a seller is registered overseas that raises the likelihood of an item shipping from overseas, particularly for multiple quantity listings of commodity items of the sort that are often manufactured overseas.

But even some UK-registered sellers may be drop-shipping items from overseas without making that clear by providing an accurate ship-from location as they should.

If you are concerned about how far away items are actually shipping from, there are generally many clues to be found on a seller's feedback page if you are willing to look for them.

[helva56]

I'll wager you can see for miles,eh!

[date80211]

Yes, Nigel.

All of that is true.

Will you say in what way any of that was helpful?

[helva56]

"Saved searches" every day is the same, bombarded with emails claiming ,,,"YOU HAVE NEW ITEMS IN YOUR SEARCHES" but it's the same load of items from last time, some from a week ago, some of course are just "relists" that never sold but a considerable number are repeated, added to them are the usual "not a " example, search is for one brand of something, so every listing stating "not" that brand comes up.

[eburtonlab]

added to them are the usual "not a " example, search is for one brand of something, so every listing stating "not" that brand comes up.

Add -not.a to your search keywords to avoid those policy-violating listings.

[lord_otto1974]

I realize this is a very late response, and you have probably already found an answer, but I have only just come across your question. I feel your pain, it is incredibly frustrating looking up things on ebay now. The amount of unrelated stuff that pops up is astonishing.

Anyway, I always use the 'exact words' 'any order', or 'exact words' 'exact order' in the 'advanced ' bit, that usually narrows it down to exactly what you typed in the search bar.

[moonlight-rhapsody]

In reply to the OP:

"An example would be "NVIDIA RTX 3060 12GB " ...  Nearly all of the results will be irrelevant and not related to the search terms at all. Different brands, different models etc. Most of the results will not contain any of the keywords I searched for."

I took a look at 3 of search results for the example you've given.  I noticed that although the *Titles* in the search results didn’t mention Invidia as the brand, the *Item Specifics* all listed Invidia as the chipset manufacturer and the Chipset/GPU Mode.  The reason I think this may be skewing the search results is because something similar has happened on a search that I’ve been following.  Bear with me…

My search was for an original watercolour painting of a seascape.  The top results when sorted by Price were of the Grand Canyon, calligraphy, forests and other absurd results.  It turned out that the Subject line in the Item Specifics for all these nonsensical results wrongly contained the word “seascape”. 

The conclusion I draw is the ebay’s algorithms are placing far too much weight on the Item Specifics, and too little weight (if any) on the information given in the Title.  

Before I knew about the Subject line being wrong in the cases I’ve mentioned, I raised the issue of ridiculous search results twice in the Community Chat.  I got the usual reply that it would be referred to the team responsible, but that I wouldn’t get to know the findings.  The team have obviously done nothing about it, because having just done the search again, nothing has changed.  Unfortunately I’m not often around on a Wednesday afternoon to raise the matter again in the light of finding out about the Subject line possibly skewing the results.

IT’S IN EBAY’S OWN INTERESTS to return accurate search results and it’s incomprehensible to me why they don’t get this sorted 😠

[eburtonlab]

The conclusion I draw is the ebay’s algorithms are placing far too much weight on the Item Specifics, and too little weight (if any) on the information given in the Title.

They are given the same weight; that is, any listing that contains all your keywords in the title or in the item-specifics is considered a potential match to your search.

There are techniques that you can use to still get good (or better) results despite this, though. 

Using additional keywords, grouping keywords together with dashes, using quotes around individual keywords or phrases, excluding keywords or phrases, narrowing to a specific category, and choosing category-specific filter options can help.

One possible starting point for a search for an original watercolour seascape painting:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/551/i.html?_nkw=original+watercolour+seascape&Subject=Seascape&_dcat=551&...

[moonlight-rhapsody]

Thanks for your reply.  Using your link and sorted by Newly Listed, the 4th listing down was a "Philippine Village at Night Landscape Painting".  But because the Subject Line (wrongly) said "Seascape", it was included in the results.  Sixth down was a portrait of a "Fisherman's Wife", which also said "Seascape" in the Subject Line.  If the algorithm had ignored the Subject Line and just gone by the Title, the results would have been more accurate.

[eburtonlab]

If the algorithm had ignored the Subject Line and just gone by the Title, the results would have been more accurate.

True, eBay's search can only be as good as the data supplied by sellers. If sellers wrongly include the seascape item-specific, those listings will turn up in seascape searches.

Unfortunately, eBay does not allow a search to be made exclusively on the title while ignoring the item-specifics, though others have requested such an option before. If the option were available, you might be able to avoid those wrongly listed items, but you might also miss other listings that were of interest but that did not have the word seascape in the title, such as all these:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=original+watercolour+-seascape&_sacat=551&_sop=10&rt=nc&Subje...