Search Argument & Invalid Items Shown

Question

eBay needs to fix the search procedure. I have it set to only look at titles. Say I'm looking for 1963 Chevrolet car parts. If someone selling (toothpicks or ax handles or buggy whips) enters into the "Item specifics" a reference to a year or car then I get to see toothpicks or whatever else I'm not interested in. I only want to search on what is in the title. I must see 10,00 items that have nothing to do with what I am looking for.

How do we get eBay to fix this?

eburtonlab · Answer

There is no "title only" search -- by default, eBay will provide results with your keywords in the title or item-specifics. There is also an option to search the entire description if you check a box.

To avoid toothpicks or buggy whips when searching car parts, limit your search to the automotive Parts & Accessories category, or the specific category for the type of parts you are interested in. The more specific your search, the less irrelevant stuff you have to deal with.

Some automotive parts sellers take advantage of eBay's search of item specifics to load up their listings with spam keywords that have nothing to do with what is being sold, so you may have to take additional steps to limit your results. Since Chevrolet is an obvious keyword, searching for every listing that contains 1963 Chevrolet in the Parts category returns hundreds of thousands of results -- many more results than you can possibly look at, since eBay will only actually display the first 10,000 results in any sort.

Try including some additional information, such as model of the vehicle you are trying to find parts for. Try excluding an entirely unrelated make, model or year that has nothing to do with what you are looking for to remove listings that have a laundry list of those things included in the item-specifics.

Even excluding a single unrelated year can drastically limit your search results:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=1963+chevrolet+-1953&_sacat=6030&_sop=10

From that point, consider narrowing the category further: Interior/Exterior or Engine Parts. Consider adding filters: New/Used, OEM brand vs. aftermarket or unbranded.