What the hell is Ebay doing with SEARCH?

[hauset]

Can't search stamps.  If I type "Mobile" and select the "Stamps" category,  it changes to "All Categories" all I get is 62000+ Mobile Phones.  There is more to life than phones, like Mobile, Alabama for instance.  Stop pushing your f##@@# marketing on your customers and make your search engine work.  I've been here since 1996 and seen a lot of dumb things but this takes the cake.  You don't even offer a way for a customer to notify you of these kinds of problems.  How the hell do you expect people to buy and sell here when they can't find what they are looking for with a simple one word search in a defined category?  This isn't the first time this has happened to me but whatever you are doing, stop it and make search work properly.

[nentus0]

These people also messed up advanced search in ebay motors...they made that option disappear completely lol...I'm going to ask for a refund on my listing if this isn't resolved soon.

[iamalwaysright]

Search “Mobile Stamps” in the all categories. Ta-da.

[eburtonlab · Accepted solution]

If a search that has worked well previously suddenly starts behaving badly, often the problem has something to do with a faulty keyword substitution or an inappropriate automatic category navigation issue.

You can bypass many of these sorts of search issues by putting one of your keywords in quotes. This forces eBay to bypass the "smart" features and to search for the literal keywords without any substitution or category switching. You may have to manually specify your category once again.

Try this search as a starting point:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/260/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=%22mobile%22+

Use the "Feedback" icon that appears in the lower right corner of the search results page to let eBay page developers know about your search issues.

[dirk12955]

I make listings using the words "Pre 1930"    Between my 3 accounts I probably have 30 or 40 

listings in stamps that the title contains the words   Pre 1930

Doing a search just now shows 11,000 listings on ebay with those words in the title

on the website.

Under stamps,   It shows 4 listings none of which are mine.

No wonder my customers can't find anything. 

[dirk12955]

I did a search for the word Mobile and got 79,000 hits.

None in the stamp category

When I enter Mobile stamps in search,   I get 1,900 hits in the stamp category

OH!    There they are!!

Nice job ebay

[punkiesplayhousellc]

I sell vintage girls toys from the 80s n newer. I know what you mean ....well I do for the next 3 days at least lol

[hauset]

Ok, Learned something new.  Never saw the "Feedback" icon.  I reported this issue, in a calmer manner, 🤓

Hopefully someone actually reads those and passes them on to the appropriate tech.

Anyway, Thanks for the insightful reply. 

[eburtonlab]

You are very welcome.

The more users report page or feature problems using those "Feedback" links, the more likely eBay is to prioritize fixing the issue.

[stainlessenginecovers]

If you asked 100,000 people to finish this 2 WORD PHRASE:

Mobile blank

99,995 would say 'Phone'.

Put 'Mobile Alabama' in search, then after it shows, click right drop to 'stamps'. 

[hauset]

So, you think it's OK that typing in one word and selecting the specific category you want to search should take you someplace you don't want to go, where you can't find what your looking for?  That if your selling those items, some people wont see them because they keep ending up on some other page, and if your buying those items, you can't rely on the search engine to find them for you unless you take  extra steps to circumvent the faulty search system.  The search for Mobile in the Stamps category has worked for many many years.   Others here have pointed out like situations when searching other single words in specific categories.  Rather than rolling over ignoring the fact that search is not working correctly,  It makes more sense to bring it to Ebay's attention and ask that they fix it.  Fixing it is better for both buyer and sellers, which is better for Ebay.

[anjie234]

Hey there,

While your suggestion does work, in that it is a workaround to this issue, it is NOT

a feasible solution. Most buyers searching here are not going to think of adding

quotes... Or entering an additional search word, etc. 

There are way too many aspects of the search function that have been completely

defective for WAY too long. This needs eBay's urgent attention.

[mksports03]

Just another example of ebay creating new problems without fixing the old ones.  The latest roll out not only makes an extra step(when clicking on an item, a pop up appears, which you have to redirect to actually see the item description), I believe it affects sales and views, or at least I'm convinced of it. Which tied to your post is just the latest example of not fixing the old problems before making new ones.

[anjie234]

@ stainlessenginecovers

Actually, the OP said :

    If I type "Mobile" and select the "Stamps" category,  it changes to "All Categories"...

He IS selecting the stamps category, and it AUTOCORRECTS the category to Cell Phones!

Which, he is right, it shouldn't do that.  I did the search this way, and that is exactly what happens.

eBay search often autocorrects, not only the category selected, but also search words. And it's usually 

wrong! People know what they are looking for! It should just do the dang search!

**** The Search autocorrecting is the problem in this case, which is ONE aspect of the broken-down

search algorithm.

____________

HOWEVER, that being said, your suggestion to search for "Mobile Alabama" is an excellent one!

I tried...

1. "Mobile Alabama" in search box; Leaving the category at "all categories"

Result: 25,000+ results in 25+ categories, with Collectibles, Books, Stamps, & Antiques as the top 4

     Seems to be pretty accurate. 

Then chose "Stamps" from the left, which returned 244 listings.

IN THIS EXAMPLE, THE SEARCH IS FUNCTIONING PERFECTLY!

2. "Mobile Alabama" in search box; Select "Stamp" category at right

Result: 244 listings        (it did NOT autocorrect)

In the 2 above examples, the search function is working exactly as it should!

...which is REALLY SOMETHING since there are SO MANY examples (with proof from screen shots, etc.)

where the search function is NOT working in several different ways. THIS is not one of those examples!

This is unfortunate, because the 'search function' really does need urgent attention.

WHAT WE NEED is more good examples of the fails, so that eBay can address the real problems 

(like the autocorrection issue, found here for example).

[dougiezerts]

I'm having a similar situation.  When I type Organ in music--ie records, CD's--it comes back no listings under that, but many listings in other categories.  Same thing if I type other music instruments--piano, guitar, etc.