Search results issue, when will ebay listern and make improvement???

[auctiongabble]

Raised this in the weekly chats and it's been mentioned by many other members.  Searching for products such as 'blue topaz solitaire ring' brings up endless results from United States and India.  UK buyers are going to want to see items from UK sellers, Why is this so difficult for ebay to understand and sort out the platform so that it shows relevant results for the country you are in?

Reason why I raise this again as clearly nothing comes from the weekly chats!

I know results can be manually filtered to show only UK sellers but why are UK sellers not prioritised over worldwide sellers on the UK site?

[eburtonlab]

I know results can be manually filtered to show only UK sellers but why are UK sellers not prioritised over worldwide sellers on the UK site?

Users searching can choose a sort order; the sort order chosen determines how listings are prioritized: by time, by price, or by location.

[auctiongabble]

I know that, the issue is that ebay will show and prioritise items from overseas sellers on UK site by default.   

Most users would probably just search by typing what they are looking for rather than start or know about filtering results 

[eburtonlab]

ebay will show and prioritise items from overseas sellers

Other than sponsored listings, the prioritization is chosen by the user doing the searching and sorting.

Tell me what sort order you are using to search and I will tell you what you are prioritizing.

[auctiongabble]

It's selected on best match, surely a UK site should by default to priotise UK sellers first.

Many have complained about this on forum and weekly chat yet nothing is done about it.  

I was testing searching to see how best my items would show in results. 

I know by changing the sort by would change the results.

I know how ebay works, many have raised this on business forum and weekly chats yet nothing is done or improved 

[eburtonlab]

It's selected on best match, surely a UK site should by default to priotise UK sellers first.

That is not how it works.

There are ten times as many items listed outside of the UK that ship to the UK using your search terms as there are listed in the UK. Therefore there will be ten times as many results shipping from outside the UK as inside the UK, unless you do something to specifically limit the results in some way.

If you actually want UK items prioritized, then you need to search that way yourself. Try sorting by distance, or limit your results to the UK only. Otherwise you get the results that match your keywords, regardless of location.

[auctiongabble]

Yes i know there are 10x more items from overseas available to UK site however that is a problem for UK sellers as the ebay uk site is flooded with their listing's taking priority!!!

Just search yourself on the forums about the decline in sales on this platform and the search result issues.

[eburtonlab]

Yes i know there are 10x more items from overseas available to UK site however that is a problem for UK sellers as the ebay uk site is flooded with their listing's taking priority!!!

Anyone that wants to see only items listed as being in the UK can arrange to do so, as you yourself have pointed out in the original post. There are search features that can make this easy, and even tools that can override eBay's "default" item location once and for all for anyone that wants to use them.

If UK buyers do not want to voluntarily limit their own search results to UK item locations or to otherwise prioritize items listed nearby, why should eBay make that the default option for them?

The fact that some some UK sellers view increased competition from overseas as a problem does not create an obligation for eBay or UK buyers to do anything specific about that, though.

[mjhill1974]

Hi There

This new search system must be costing Ebay business as I used to like browsing a category then add a filter from the left of the screen.  I.e  distance from my postcode etc.  Thats all gone as we know. The only way I find tolerable is to go to a category then use the Advance button at the top righthand side of the screen.  Not the best but it works. Ebay have got to have noticed a drop in browsing by members in it's statistics.  Its like now you have to shop for a specific item then do a detailed search.  

[johnwash1]

I believe there are plenty of visitors that have no idea they can refine their search by using options on the left of the screen.  Or even by selecting something other than "best match".  I've even seen people making youtube videos ignorant of this.

[philipdavidson]

This is incredibly annoying, every time I search for something I need to select Uk only!  Surely there should be function to make this your default if you prefer!

[a45heaven]

@johnwash1 

I struggle with the search function too. ebay drags in items just to bulk the results which i dont have any idea why they are included - zero keywords or connections, not even the correct type of item. 

Once you waste too much time on searching , you simply stop looking and buy else where.

I believe there are plenty of visitors that have no idea they can refine their search by using options on the left of the screen.

You can not surely be meaning that ebay have not communicated this function to the buyers?

[eburtonlab]

@philipdavidson 

This is incredibly annoying, every time I search for something I need to select Uk only! Surely there should be function to make this your default if you prefer!

If you are using the eBay app, this might be of interest to you:

https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Technical-Issues/Setting-default-search-settings/m-p/7265834#M13153

Otherwise, if you use a desktop browser, there is a third party add-on called "eBay item location -- my country only" that overrides eBay's default item location.

[deanailicec]

Why do you not get the same number of listings when you sort by lowest price + p&p, or highest price + p&p? The lowest price + p&p gives significantly less results.

[eburtonlab]

I struggle with the search function too. ebay drags in items just to bulk the results which i dont have any idea why they are included - zero keywords or connections, not even the correct type of item.

What are you searching for, and how are you searching?

Chances are good that a slight modification of how you are searching can improve your results a great deal. Avoiding the "Best Match" sort order is a good place to start; that sort order often turns up additional results of marginal relevance.

eBay considers keywords in the title and item-specifics when deciding if something is a match to your search. In some cases, eBay may substitute keywords or even correct spelling if a minor change provides more results -- rightly or wrongly. If you do not want any substitutions or corrections, try putting one of your search keywords in quotes to force eBay to return only exact, literal matches. Or put dashes between words to ensure that they appear in order with no intervening keywords. Or put phrases in quotes. Or use exclusion terms to exclude certain results with certain keywords.

Once you have chosen the proper keywords, you can limit your results to a specific category to eliminate unwanted results in other categories, and to allow the use of category-specific filters to narrow your results further.

If you find yourself spending a lot of time poring over search results that are not related to what you are searching for, that is often a sign that your time is better spent crafting a more targeted search to begin with.

[eburtonlab]

@deanailicec 

Why do you not get the same number of listings when you sort by lowest price + p&p, or highest price + p&p? The lowest price + p&p gives significantly less results.

That is because the "Lowest price" sort order frequently provides filtered results. At the top of the results where it says "We’ve streamlined your search results to show you the best listings. See more results" you must use the See more results link to see the full results. Or else choose a different sort order. If  you are using a saved search or a bookmark, use the "See more results" link, then save or bookmark the resulting search to save yourself a step next time.

[a45heaven]

Search used to work years back - ebay dimprove the process, then you have to play around with words a lot more and waste more time.

The item specific process was ill managed, with vast amounts of irrelevance to what entries were requested by the designers. So ebay use that base for their Search function.

How much better would the platform be without meddlings?

[eburtonlab]

Search used to work years back - ebay dimprove the process, then you have to play around with words a lot more and waste more time.

With a couple of exceptions, most of the searches that could be done years ago can still be done now, just with a little more effort.

Other than the loss of wildcard searches, and the inability to search title-only, what search technique are you having trouble with these days? What search can't you do now?

[a45heaven]

Other than the loss of wildcard searches, and the inability to search title-only, what search technique are you having trouble with these days? What search can't you do now?

I still have the same saved search which i use, as i search for the same still. I allocate two 30 spells each day to searching, regardless of the volume i find. Shortfalls in quantity i make up on other locations away from ebay.

Into that same search i enter in a specific artist or title which i guess could be classed as 'homing in' on an item. Its more on the refined search that ebay include items which i can not see as pertinent to what im looking for.

One reason could be what folks have added to item specifics erroneously, but i can not confirm that obviously.

I have no expectations on ebay changing anything positively for the benefit of its users - those days have long gone.

[davrman]

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@eburtonlab wrote:

Or put dashes between words to ensure that they appear in order with no intervening keywords.

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That's a great tip... I didn't know about that one. Thanks.