Item Search Errors

[justforfun.2010]

When performing a search- ebay does not show all items for sale and at times lists search items that has nothing to do with the original search item. For example I am performing a search for a electronic 6BM8 vacuum tube and a Chinese hand bag shows up. It does not have even one letter or number of 6BM8. Other times I may use just the 6BM8 tube. Then, when I add a certain manufacture with the 6BM8 it shows up, but original 6BM8 search did not show the item. What is going on?.

[eburtonlab]

@justforfun.2010 

It appears that eBay has recently changed their search algorithm to allow more keyword substitutions -- I know that folks searching automotive part numbers are suddenly noticing an order of magnitude more search results that are only loosely related to the search terms.

In the case of the messenger bag, apparently it has a manufacturer part number of 2BT1PT0YN2PZ6BM8 which contains your search string at the end. 

If you want to try to ensure that your search returns exact matches of your part number, you can try using quotes around your search term, but that might not be effective if your part number is a mix of numbers and letters and is very short. It appears that any item title that contains the number 6, the consecutive letters "BM" and the number 8 will match your search even if you use quotes.

In your case, your best bet may be to limit your search to the Vintage Electronics category (though you may want to check Business and Industrial and one or two other categories periodically as well).

[eburtonlab]

@justforfun.2010 

Other times I may use just the 6BM8 tube. Then, when I add a certain manufacture with the 6BM8 it shows up, but original 6BM8 search did not show the item. What is going on?.

If you search "6BM8 tube" (without quotes) the search will default to the Vintage Tubes and Tube Sockets category. By adding a manufacturer's name, you might be bypassing that narrow category restriction, and finding a result that is in another category altogether.

It may be the case that more than one search is necessary to find all the items you are searching for, unless you are willing to wade through a lot of false positives (or else you may need to add some exclusion terms to eliminate messenger bags and automotive parts that also match your search term).