Awful changes to filter for searches
Summary: bigdn expressed frustration with recent changes to a search filter, particularly affecting coin searches, making items difficult to find. eburtonlab and mudshark61369 sought examples to better understand the issue. nigel_paul_wright7557 and sm00thcriminal83 echoed sentiments about non-relevant and sponsored results, with sm00thcriminal83 detailing how missing filters complicate searches for specific coins, impacting their purchasing habits. gosimus offered a tip about using quotation marks to improve search results.
As someone who nevers posts anything to social media or forums, the fact that I am posting how bad the changes are to the seach filter for categories should say something.
I now find it near impossible to do the sorts of granular searches that were my main way of sorting though all the items.
Coins in particular are not almost unsearchable from my perspective. I can't see the results I want and I can't find the product I am looking for more or less at all.
Ugh.
gosimus
·2 days ago · Edited@bigdn
< I now find it near impossible to do the sorts of granular searches >
I didn't know what that means, so I had to look it up.
Even though "granular" is technically data science jargon,
in everyday language it serves as a metaphor for looking at
individual "grains of sand" rather than the whole beach.
The best simple advice I can give to a novice, is to enclose one single keyword inside quotation marks. In the past, using one or more operators disabled the Automatic Search Expansion feature. I don't know if it still does . . . for some inexplicable reason, eBay has removed that topic from the Help pages.
sm00thcriminal83
·4 days agoAgreed 100%. I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one frustrated and dumbfounded by these changes. Searching for coins on eBay is now mission impossible. For example, if one wanted to search for all of the available graded Morgan Dollars from the years 1878, 1879, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1885, 1886, 1887, 1888, & 1889, that are graded MS64 or higher, and certified by PCGS, NGC, or CAC, one would have to do about 120 separate searches to filter for all of these separate search criteria. Whereas in the recent past, one could do just a single search and filter their search using all of the available subsections such as graded versus ungraded, certification company (PCGS, NGC, CAC, etc.), and grading score (VG 8, VF 20, VF 25, VF30, XF40, XF45, AU 50, AU 53, AU 55, AU 58, MS/PF 60-68, etc.). But now eBay has removed many of these search filters like grading score and certification company. These changes won’t mean much to the layperson but they mean everything to a serious coin collector. eBay used to be a solid platform for coin collectors but now I don’t buy nearly as much on there as I used to. It’s just to difficult to find what you are looking for.
bigdn
OP4 days agoI just want to find a PCGS CAC SLQ in MS64 as an example. Making that so onerous is just a bad idea!
mudshark61369
·6 days ago@bigdn ,
We might better be able to help you, if you post an example of a search Title, then the filters you have applied, and from the upper right above the first listing on a search result page Your Sort: option. the screen shot below is from my search page
Hint: Best Match and Price: Lowest... often return skewed results.
nigel_paul_wright7557
·6 days ago · EditedEbays search has never been very good but it seems to be getting worse.
Lots of none relevant results.
Complicated by sponsored none relevant results on top.
I have given up a few times now and just bought elsewhere.
It doesnt matter how much something is sponsored if its not what I am looking for then I wont buy it.
eburtonlab
·6 days ago@bigdn
Can you give an example of a search that is no longer working for you and describe what has changed, exactly?