how is the search function so terrible?

[totronman]

im looking for an item called a netgear orbi rbs10.   not an orbi rbr10. 

if i search for rbs10, it includes rbr10.   doesnt matter if you put things in quotes or "exact words any order", which should be the default behavior.

if i search for rbs10 -rbr10 , it removes half of the results that say rbs10, but dont say rbr10. example... it doesnt include this listing.  maybe because it says rbr10 in the description?  even though i have "in description" turned off.

I am at a loss.  its basically impossible to search ebay for items anymore.  adding quotes changes nothing.  how has it gotten so terribly bad?  its almost useless trying to find a good deal, and at this point, i feel like it is on purpose.  ebay has essentially given a big middle finger to their roots...  people looking to buy or sell used goods, in favor of becoming a half baked alibaba/aliexpress/bangood.  

[chris13]

Glad you gave several examples.

The 2nd search for 'rbs10 -rbr10' in all categories shows me the item you say isnt listed...it is item #8 of 126 results for me. I dont see "rbr10" in that listing but do see "rbs10" in the title. Not sure about why you see different.

When I search for your first string 'Orbi rbs10' I get (27) results that LOOK like many are rbr10s but in fact every one I checked has both the word 'rbs10' and 'rbr10' in the title. This is up to the seller and the words they choose not the search engine. If I list an old shoe and put "rbs10 rbr10" in the title it would appear here.

When I search for the string 'orbi rbs10 -rbr10' I get (13) results that seem to be listings without the word rbr10 in the title.

Just a note, I did not use quotes in any searches and all searches used 'All Categories'

I would drop the 'Netgear' from your search since many of these listings do not include it.

Is there a way I can help further? I am not finding anything wrong but I dont know what your expected results would be and it is possible that we are using slightly different steps.

Best wishes. 

[monster-deals]

Simply put Cassini is not for buyers to find what they want.

Cassini is for ebay to show you what they want you to buy.

It was broken the day they rolled it out and it gets worse every day. Search for your item on google to get better results.

[thunder1900]

Use google search to only search ebay.  The new search is 100% useless.

ie:

site:ebay.com item you want

[totronman]

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@chris13 wrote:

Glad you gave several examples.

The 2nd search for 'rbs10 -rbr10' in all categories shows me the item you say isnt listed...it is item #8 of 126 results for me.

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Not sure what is going on here, but i checked again and it does not show.  tried numerous browsers, logged in, not logged in, etc.  

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@chris13 wrote:

When I search for your first string 'Orbi rbs10' I get (27) results that LOOK like many are rbr10s but in fact every one I checked has both the word 'rbs10' and 'rbr10' in the title. This is up to the seller and the words they choose not the search engine.

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im not a fool.  i get that.  this has nothing to do with what the sellers are putting the titles as.  i have tried numerous combinations of numerous searches, and it is impossible to search for what i want without it including everything i dont want.  i search for an rbs10, and items that say rbr10 that DO NOT include rbs10 anywhere in the title still come up.  if i search for rbs10 -rbr10, it eliminates items that dont say rbr10 anywhere in the title...  presumably because it says rbr10 in the description.

thanks for attempting to help, but this only confirms that it is completely broken.  ebay is killing itself.  this has been apparent as a seller for some time, and now its becoming apparent as a buyer as well.

[chris13]

@totronman 

Debugging search results can be tricky even if you use APIs and pure XML results. 

It's impossible for either of us to know what level of experience we each have with searches, no offense was intended.

Your target item listing doesnt include the term 'Netgear' in the title or description BUT it is found in the BRAND attribute value that I see.

Orbi RBS10 Satellite Wireless Mesh Wifi Unit With Power Supply | eBay

As for searches for 'rbs10' that dont have 'rbs10' in the title...

I get how this is frustrating, but I think I see what is happening.

eBay has made a perhaps incorrect decision to 'promote the MPN attribute'  to be included as it it were title text. Here is an example that fits your frustration.

NETGEAR RBR10 Orbi Dual-Band Mesh WiFi Satellite Add-On Unit Single- 606449147568 | eBay

Notice...no RBS10 anywhere in title...anywhere in listing text. 

HOWEVER...a careful review shows the seller used RBS10 erroneously as the Manufacturers Part Number.

"MPN RBS10"

In the case of 'Brand NETGEAR' they seem to not be promoting the Brand Attribute.

A very inconsistent choice IMHO. It gets messy when sellers use an incorrect MPN that is then promoted as a keyword match.

Let me know if I can be of more help.

With your helpful exchange of exact examples I was able to see behavior that may help others.

Thank you!

[chris13]

@sailinship  This may be what you were seeing when you were finding results that seemed to have no relation to your search terms. 

[sailinship]

"This may be what you were seeing when you were finding results that seemed to have no relation to your search terms. "

What may be? I don't understand. 

[pacificbreeze1]

The search function is COMPLETELY useless these days. I started to notice a difference a few weeks ago. If I typed in a brand name, a model number, and what it was (i.e. Moen, model rb0123, kitchen faucet), I get 100's of listings of all sorts of brands, models, faucets for different areas of the house, etc. NONE of which I'm looking for.  

And now, all of a sudden, every single search that I get notified by email that something new is out there - it is tons upon tons of stuff that ISN'T the item I've got in 'notify me of new items search.' In the last three days, I've had probably 45 emails of stuff that is supposedly what I have on my list to be notified, and it is all different makes, models, and sometimes, completely different than what I'm looking for. 

As a seller, when I go to a second hand store and find something I think is worth selling, I TRY to look up similar items on eBay that are selling or have sold and get so much unrelated crap, that it is no longer worth my time to try and look it up that way.

I am seriously looking to hang up the business. I'm sooooooo tired of eBay making changes that make no sense, all along the lines of a small time seller (almost 20 years).

[otakukid]

I noticed this week it's gotten really bad. I'm getting flooded with emails from my saved searches and the emails are including items that don't even match what I'm looking for. (looking for specific "comic book" issue #2 and the email has #5, #7, etc) I'm to the point of just deleting the emails since I don't have the time to go through them all to see if anything is relevant.