Search Results Coming Back with Unwanted/Wrong Category Restrictions
Okay, I am not understanding the Search results I'm seeing at all. eBay is returning only a subset of the items I search for, limiting the results to only a certain branch of categories, and (in the example below) not even the most likely, best fit categories.
I buy (through another account) and sell vintage bicycle parts, primarily Schwinn. I noticed that in certain searches I do daily, such as for "Schwinn speedometer" (without the Double Quotes, just the two words themselves), the Search results would drop down from "All Categories" (what I had showing when clicking the Search button) to "Collectibles > Transportation > Bicycles" instead. If I changed the Category window back to "All Categories" and hit the Search again, it would return a real all-category search on the next attempt, and have at least twice as many (or more) valid matches to show.
For example, doing that search right now gives me 108 listings back under the unwanted subcategory, but if I correct the search to be All Categories instead, it keeps that setting and and returns 456 results instead.
Even worse, a similar search for "Schwinn reflector" (again not using Double Quotes, just the two words alone) returns "Collectibles > Transportation > Bicycles" again, which is completely wrong and misses the actual subcategory for Schwinn reflectors, which is "Sporting Goods > Cycling > Bicycle Accessories > Lights & Reflectors" - a completely different branch of eBay's product hierarchy.
I have my items properly categorized, and yet a search for them completely misses the entire section. The first, wrong search for Schwinn reflectors returns 543 accidental matches in the Bicycles subcategory. The corrected All Categories search returns 977 matches, including the subcategory of Lights & Reflectors that you would expect it to have searched in the first place.
I know complaints about how bad the Search is have been going on for years, so I am not expecting anything to change overnight, but this is just silly. (I have tried the same searches using other accounts and on other machines, with the same results each time.) In particular, I don't see why the Search has to bring in category restrictions that I did not ask for in the first place, forcing me to do each desired search twice.
ittybitnot
·3 years ago@a_c_green
eBay has been doing that "forced" category navigation for years. It was to direct users to the categories that were more likely to produce sales, and supposedly to cut down on the old "buyer confusion" nonsense by showing too many results.
It was demonstrated many many many years ago on a discussion here with the old blues Jeff and Griff and the infamous frying pan thread. Vintage versions of the said pan were not being displayed in search. We were told that since most sales were not in "Vintage", buyers were directed to the category that reflected more contemporary cookware, and thus eBay 'elected not to show' the used/vintage/collectable version.
Though basically it was said to facilitate SALES, it looked an awful like eBay was just plain hiding listings.
I have been here for over 20 years, and know how to select ALL for a search query. Sometime the ALL will stick, sometimes not. If I am looking for ANYTHING antique sterling, for example, when all I see is jewelry instead of thimbles, flatware, I know it is time to go back and select ALL once again.
The question would be if buyers know, like in all of them, some of them, none of them?
The trend seems to be that more and more sub categories are removed in favor of general item specifics and computer based relevancy which is not doing a great job.
eburtonlab
·3 years agoThe question would be if buyers know [about automatic category navigation], like in all of them, some of them, none of them?
A sufficiently savvy seller can list in such a way that an inexperienced buyer can still find the seller's listing.
And a sufficiently savvy buyer can find a listing even when the seller is inexperienced and lists in the "wrong" category, or uses the "wrong" keyword.
If both buyer and seller are inexperienced, though, then the only way they find each other is if eBay is sufficiently clever about designing the default search behavior or default listing options.
It is usually better to be savvy yourself than to rely on others to be savvy on your behalf.
frodobagginskennedy
·3 years agoI searched for Gibson Dinnerware sets. I got back Gibson Guitars.
eburtonlab
·3 years agoI searched for Gibson Dinnerware sets. I got back Gibson Guitars.
What keywords did you use?
I just searched gibson dinnerware and the search was directed to the Dinner Service Sets category. I did not spot any guitars in the results.
There are some very odd keyword/category match-ups, but that does not appear to be one of them.
eburtonlab
·3 years agoeBay will often steer a search into a particular category based on the keywords used.
As you indicate, you can manually change the category and search again if you do not want the limited category selection. If you are using a saved or bookmarked search, you may want to unsave the original search, change the category and then bookmark or save the new search, to avoid the extra step.
There are things you can do to avoid the automatic category navigation, such as putting one of your search keywords in quotes or using an exclusion term, but note that doing so bypasses other "smart" search features such as keyword substitution that you may wish to use.
eBay does things like steering searches into particular categories or using keyword substitution because eBay calculates that on average, such things lead to more sales than not.
I have my items properly categorized, and yet a search for them completely misses the entire section.
As a seller, if you want a listing to appear in a particular search using particular keywords, you should try the search first to see if the search is directed into a specific category automatically, and then list your item in that category, or add that category as a second category to your listing.
a_c_green
OP3 years agoSo I've noticed, and in hindsight I suppose it's adding too much weight to the "Schwinn" keyword and not enough to the "reflector" keyword, but I was trying to keep the search really simple and generic that way (i.e. not piling on more words or search conditions), and yet it could not manage to stop itself from excluding the specific Lights & Reflectors subcategory that was set up for listing such items.
It was using the first term but completely ignoring the second, and going off in a completely wrong direction as a result.
I have no doubt that further messing around with the search terms might lead to a better result, but that's only because I would know the right answer that I expect to see (my listings as a part of the search results, because they're residing in the correct subcategory). A prospective buyer simply looking for a replacement Schwinn reflector would not only miss mine but also miss the entire category where they reside.
eburtonlab
·3 years agoA prospective buyer simply looking for a replacement Schwinn reflector would not only miss mine but also miss the entire category where they reside.
True -- the prospective buyer that searches using those particular keywords will see results in the Bicycle category, but not those in the Collectibles category.
A different search -- for antique schwinn reflector, or vintage schwinn reflector for instance -- will return results in all categories, though.
Other buyers may simply browse one category or the other without using any keywords.
Which buyers are you interested in reaching? Use that information to determine how you list your item.