Ebay has screwed up searches (AGAIN)

[stonecabin]

When searching, results are switched to "all category" from, for instance, "collectibles".  Or  from "newly listed" to "best match".  I know what I am looking for better than Ebay does and I am not going to look through 10's of thousands of items needlessly.  Ebay needs to get its s**t together otherwise many people will just give up....WHAT GOOD IS DOING A SPECIFIC SEARCH IN A SPECIFIC CATEGORY IF EBAY SWITCHES IT???????????

[ed8108]

IMO Ebay should consider engaging the services of consumer motivation and behavior specialists for guidance & direction.

[timbart824]

Amen...another typical eBay SNAFU!!!

[hburley35]

Agreed!!

It's terrible!!

The second you adjust to all of the unnecessary changes, they change it again!!!!!!!!!!

Maybe they want everyone to switch to using the App!!

[bambopbam · Accepted solution]

They have successfully fubarred all useful search functions and it defies any logic as to why. Doesn't eBay want sellers to sell and buyers to buy? ?!?!?

Clearly the site is managed by idiots and tyro programmers whose thinking is (smh) beyond description. 

Without a good functioning search feature eBay is useless, something they ignorantly refuse to understand.

[bambopbam]

So I complained in my last post which someone "liked" (or something) which generated an email from ebay saying my comment is a successful solution.  My question then:  Solution to WHAT?    Saturday morning three stooges show.

[stonecabin]

Yes, that's indeed the Ebay search engine now....3 Stooges and all forked up.

[kitschy*loot]

I don't know what's going on, but I search for a lot of vintage clothing, and lately it is hard to narrow them down to the actual vintage category because it is missing from the pull-down menu.

In the very recent past I could easily type in blouse, and then then narrow it down to the clothing category, and then further narrow it down to vintage, and lastly narrow it to women's vintage clothing. When the word vintage is missing from the menu, I can't do any of that and am stuck looking at all listings that say vintage blouse even though it is not actually a vintage blouse. 

It's also been a problem getting the size to stick in the women's clothing category. I search for size 12, and I am shown size 4, size 8, and size 20's. I don't get it.  

[galvanic1882]

I keep sending emails telling whomever what I think but it never changes. They have now limited my searches to where they want me to look, There must be idiots running this thing!!

[castlemagicmemories]

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@bambopbam wrote:

So I complained in my last post which someone "liked" (or something) which generated an email from ebay saying my comment is a successful solution.  My question then:  Solution to WHAT?    Saturday morning three stooges show.

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THe OP chose your post as the solution, hence the email.

[refreshing_pipes]

It is happening again - worst web developers on the planet work for ebay.  I bet this is why there are so many "sales are down" posts.  I can't even find items that I know are there using the search function as it keep reverting to "ALL CATEGORIES".

[7198dave]

I have the opposite effect when I search hot wheels or matchbox cars, ebay pulls me out of all categories and sticks me in another category. 

When I search vinyl records, ebay likes to pull me out of vinyl records category and stick me in all categories and I have to constantly click the vinyl records link everytime I search another record. Sorry ebay, I'm searching for vinyl records, not shirts, concert tickets, cassettes, CD's etc...You can thank ebay for making me buy all my vinyl records from a different site.

[eburtonlab]

@7198dave 

Often when a search changes from a specific category to "all categories", there will be a message at the top of the results that says something like "0 results found in the Records category, so we searched in all categories" where "Records" is a link to the (empty) results in that category.

Some searches seem to always default to a particular category, regardless of which category you start out in or how many results there are. This is because eBay has determined that most of the sales resulting from that search come in that particular category, and after that determination is made it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy since all searchers are sent to that category if they use those search terms.

To avoid this category switching, try adding a nonsense exclusion term to your search. So if you are searching for "motorhead", try searching instead for "motorhead -octopus" (without quotes).

[7198dave]

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@eburtonlab wrote:

@7198dave 

Often when a search changes from a specific category to "all categories", there will be a message at the top of the results that says something like "0 results found in the Records category, so we searched in all categories" where "Records" is a link to the (empty) results in that category.

Some searches seem to always default to a particular category, regardless of which category you start out in or how many results there are. This is because eBay has determined that most of the sales resulting from that search come in that particular category, and after that determination is made it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy since all searchers are sent to that category if they use those search terms.

To avoid this category switching, try adding a nonsense exclusion term to your search. So if you are searching for "motorhead", try searching instead for "motorhead -octopus" (without quotes).

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I'm doing my searches the same way I've always done them. I'm not the one with the problem, it's ebay.

[maltzhu]

This sort of things happens so much and so often, Ive scaled back my buying.  Probably a good thing for the Maltzhu exchequer...BUT..I really would like to know why I searched for satin bows the other night, I got headlamps and a lot of hardcore automotive parts.  And I don't have a lot of time for this nonsense anymore.

Seriously, I've been around long enough to know how and what I'm searching for.

I actually went to Google to find the bows...on eBAY.  Fascinating.  Shouldn't be necessary though.

Now imagine you are a person or persons selling those particular items and not only are those items NOT being found quickly, your potential customers are giving up and going elsewhere too.  This is why so many sellers have left or have started listed in tandem on other sites.

The frustration is real.