Search Results Anomaly?

[gumballwizard]

My item: https://www.ebay.com/itm/174256324723

Title: Custom Gumball Helmets - 2000 Arena Football League

Search: gumball football

Result: listed

Search: gumball football helmets

Result: listed

Search: custom gumball

Result: listed

Search: gumball arena

Result: listed

Search: gumball helmets

Result: NOT LISTED

This is the third item I have listed with a very similar title and this happens every time. I can't figure out why most combinations of two or three words in the title result in a "hit", but some few (including what I fear is the most important one) do not.

Does anybody know if there's any rhyme or reason to this that I'm not seeing?

[nobody*s_perfect · Accepted solution]

The search for gumball helmets goes selectively to a subcategory that is not the same as the one where your item is listed.  

eBay calls this "implicit category navigation" and you can see an explanation in the final post on this thread:

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Archive-Weekly-Chat-with-eBay/Weekly-Chat-with-the-eBay-Mobile-Team-Oc...

[eburtonlab]

@gumballwizard 

Depending on the keywords used, eBay will often steer the search into a particular category.

A search for gumball helmets is steered into the following category:

Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Fan Apparel & Souvenirs > Football-NFL

Your item is listed in:

Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Fan Apparel & Souvenirs > Football-Other

The category you have chosen may work for other searches, and may even be the most logical choice for listing your item, but if you want your item to appear in a search using those keywords, you should list it in the former category rather than the latter.

In some cases you may be able to list in more than one category at a price.

When deciding which category to use to list your item in, it often pays to try searching like a potential buyer and see if your search winds up in a particular category.