Locked
Discussions in this board are limited to the original poster and Community Mentors
eBay search limitations & frustrations.
It would be awesome if the following issues could be resolved:
1. Save Search button missing when searching in Categories !
2. It would be so nice to be able to select multiple categories in a filter before it closes.
(Multiple categories can be added later by going to More Filters, but that requires extra clicks/time/...)
3. It would be so nice to show ALL categories in a filter and not only those applicable to the items left in the search at that moment, in order to get a broader search when saving the search (for an eBay bot to send e-mails).
4. Changing the search string removes filters based on items left in the search at that moment.
This likely reduces one's search when saving the search (for an eBay bot to send e-mails).
5. It would be awesome if wildcards and logic operators can (again) be used in searches.
eburtonlab
Mentor6 months ago@the_treasurechest
In order to save a search, you must use keywords to search. To save an entire category either bookmark the category, or else search using the category name as search keywords, and then save the resulting search.
Due to eBay's automatic category navigation, changing the search keywords can change the category being searched, which in turn changes the filter options available. If possible, pick your search keywords first, then search. From the results, narrow the category if necessary. Then choose appropriate filter options. When the search is fully refined, then save the search.
Once eBay moved away from strict character-based regexp searching to keyword- and filter-based searching, wildcards stopped working. It is unlikely eBay will allow wildcards to work again, as doing so would interfere with promotion by keyword which is a significant source of ad revenue for eBay.
Boolean searches are still possible though: the standard search with multiple keywords separated by spaces is an AND search where each keyword must appear in the title or item-specifics. NOT terms can be accomplished by placing a minus sign in front of the keyword to be excluded. OR terms can be enclosed together in parentheses and separated by commas to find results with one or more of a series of terms. Using NOT or OR search techniques will automatically bypass eBay's normal automatic keyword substitutions or corrections; those can also be bypassed by placing any single keyword in quotes to force eBay to provide only exact, literal matches of all search terms.
the_treasurechest
OP6 months agoThanks for your swift reply !
The first three limitations I listed seem easy to fix and a win-win for eBay and its customers:
1. Adding a Save Search button when searching in Categories.
2. The ability to select multiple categories in a filter before it closes.
3. Showing ALL categories in a filter at all times.
Is there a way to provide this feedback to the eBay developers ?
Thanks for explaining the reason behind eliminating regular expressions. Sad but understandable.
eburtonlab
Mentor6 months agoYou are most welcome!
The first three limitations I listed seem easy to fix and a win-win for eBay and its customers
Unfortunately, just because a small change would help some users does not necessarily mean that eBay will implement that change.
Is there a way to provide this feedback to the eBay developers ?
Most eBay pages have either a "Tell us what you think" link or a "?" icon in the lower right. Either of those can be used to report technical issues, policy violations or make suggestions to eBay. Whether eBay will do anything with those suggestions is another question, but it does not hurt to ask.
the_treasurechest
OP6 months agoThanks again for your kind reply !
eburtonlab
Mentor6 months agoIt has been my pleasure. Good luck with your searches!