Question about searching updated book categories

[projectcloverfield]

Hello,

It would appear that eBay modified the way searching within the Books category worked, date of update being May 11th 2021. I used to be able to browse books listed under Books > Fiction> Paperback > Horror, as an example, but now I am unable to do so. The closest I can get it a page with zero results. At most, I need to have some search term entered to filter by format/genre but this seems like a ridiculous change. It doesn't affect those who know exactly what they're looking for but for people like me, who like looking at all books listed in a specific genre, seems like a very counter-intuitive change. Any workarounds that anyone has found or suggestions? Sorry if this is the wrong section but this is closest as I could find.

[eburtonlab]

eBay is in the process of reorganizing some of the categories. It make take a few days for the dust to settle -- in the mean time some old searches may no longer work as they did previously, and some categories may no longer be browsable.

When all is said and done you should still be able to find what you are looking for, though you may need to change the way you go about it.

Instead of browsing Books > Fiction> Paperback > Horror, try instead searching using general terms from the old category name, such as a search for horror books. Change the category if necessary (you may not need to) -- then you should see some Filter options on the left side of the page; from there, select "paperback" under Format:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/261186/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=horror+books&Format=Paperback&_dcat=267

That should provide a good starting point. Bookmark or save relevant searches to speed things up next time.

There are many other ways to accomplish the same thing, but that seems to work for me.

[projectcloverfield]

Sure, but that would require the seller to list in the title "horror book." I'm looking for a way similar to how I was able to aggregate results that didn't have horror in the title, but were entered into the category. This new method would require me knowing exactly what I'm looking for, instead of being able to view any book submitted as horror, that may not have horror as a searchable term e.g. The Omen by David Seltzer as opposed to The Omen by David Seltzer horror book. 

[projectcloverfield]

Here's another example. Pretend this isn't a ridiculously famous author, but none of these listings have "horror" in the title, therefore, would not be searchable anymore unless I knew what I was looking for, which defeats the purpose.

 

[filkyy]

Hi, I have same problem with searching. I have saved sellers from who I buy a hockey cards. Also, they have  other sports cards but I only want to see hockey cards. Before this changes I only choose Sports, trading cards, then I select Hockey cards and I was able to see hundreed offers. Now, when I choose Ice Hockey, I see only a few. Also there is mix some offers from basseball cards, NFL and so. I´m so angry from this selects...

[eburtonlab]

Sure, but that would require the seller to list in the title "horror book."

By default, searches will match any term in the title or item specifics -- so as long as the seller has included item specifics for Genre or Topic that includes that term, the listing should appear in that search.

[eburtonlab]

Before this changes I only choose Sports, trading cards, then I select Hockey cards and I was able to see hundreed offers. Now, when I choose Ice Hockey, I see only a few.

If I search for cards and change the category to Sports Trading Cards, and then select the Ice Hockey filter, currently I see about 500,000 results that ship to my location:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=cards&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_osacat=0&_odkw=trading...

[Anonymous]

Thank you for reaching out to us about the recent changes in the Books categories. We understand the changes might affect the way you used to search books. eBay is moving to a product-based category structure that will support a better experience for both buyers and sellers. In addition, we are implementing new item specifics to help find your listings.

You’ll be pleased to know that you can still narrow down your search by the genre of book you are searching for but instead of navigating through the category structure, you just need to filter with the equivalent item specific, for example: Genre = Horror or Genre = Antiquarian & Collectible.

Meanwhile, we will continue to look into improving the search experience further. I do hope this helps to resolve your concern.

As the category changes roll out, there will be some fluctuation in the item specifics and left-hand navigation filters. This should settle down in the next few days. We apologize for the inconvenience in the meantime.

Thank you again for taking the time to share this valuable feedback, and for choosing eBay!

Kind regards,
Arthur