Search results not complete

[c-yag]

I know there are a lot more items available in my search interest than I am being shown. I usually get 24 pages per day of 200 items each page to browse through. Now I get 1 1/2 pages of things ending in the next 24 hours. I know there are other items that don't get shown to me as I find them in sellers other items. How do I get the search results to show me everything that I requested?. I have my search criteria and my exclusions just the same as they have always been yet the yield is now so small and so inaccurate that it is useless. I have tried other browsers and logging in in different countries but still get the same items in the same results and still inaccurate. What has changed recently to give such poor results?

[eburtonlab]

@c-yag 

If I do a search of all the different categories, books, calendars, puzzles, cards, postcards, greeting cards, paper toys, china, paper dolls, etc. that might work but I don't think ebay has all the categories I need and I can't pick and choose categories. It seems to be all or none. Is there a category for greeting cards?

You can indeed choose your categories when searching, and so bypass all the car covers and many of the items listed in categories you are not interested in.

If you start with a general search for tuck, on the search results page you should see a list of all the categories represented on the left side of the page (click to enlarge):

You can click on those categories to see the results in each, or change the category shown to the right of the search bar and search again to see others.

I would suggest searches of the following high level categories:

Collectibles:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/1/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=tuck

Antiques:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/20081/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=tuck

Toys & Hobbies:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/220/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=tuck

There may be other categories worth searching as well, such as Entertainment Memorabilia or Art. You may want to use some of the category-specific filters to eliminate new items, or use exclusions to eliminate reproductions or items unrelated to the original items you are interested in, but at least you will not have to wade through all the industrial and medical items.

There is a category for Collectible Greeting Postcards:

https://www.ebay.com/b/Collectible-Greeting-Postcards/919/bn_2311971

https://www.ebay.com/sch/919/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=tuck

[c-yag]

I don't get the option to change to worldwide once I am on that page. That is my pooint. It is very rare that i get to do that because I don't get the menu on the left hand side with that setting

[c-yag]

See you get different search results depending on variables. I am saying that I don't have the options to do the worldwide setting changes that you do once I select to see the sellers other items. IT goes to the default setting you ran into above-yielding 75 items- and I can't get any further than that. Also do I do the setting changes for every seller and every listing to get a complete search? 

If I select categories and do individual category searches can I search everything available worldwide? 

[c-yag]

Yes I tried some of the links and agree with you to try searching in the specific categories. I might have to have 15 windows open with my daily searches instead of trying to find them all in one listing. Each for a different category with specific exclusions. But will it still be a worldwide search or do I have to do one for every country? You got the best results using a US address on Ebay.UK not ebay.com?

[eburtonlab]

If you do not see the option to select "worldwide" under Item Location, you should be able to use the "Advanced" link to the right of the Search Button to get to the Advanced Search page and make the selection there. Then hit the search button at the bottom of that page to re-run the original search as a worldwide search.

You may be able to add the following to your search URL:

&LH_PrefLoc=2

If that variable appears in your URL with a different number, change the number to 2 for "worldwide".

[eburtonlab]

For a UK seller you may see more results searching on ebay.co.uk (or whichever site the seller listed those items on), particularly if the seller does not offer international shipping on all items. But you may have to contact the seller to see if shipping is available to your location.

In theory, if the seller has a shipping method specified to your location, it should not matter which site you use to search, but in practice there does seem to be a visibility difference in some cases.

[c-yag]

Okay I will try. Another eBay helper suggested adding that to the URL that during the summer but it never worked that I could do it. I will try again. Here is the URL of a page that will give me 0 search results when I ask for sellers other items--

where in this do I add the above suggestion

 https://www.ebay.com/sch/elrima121/m.html?item=154170677434&nordt=true&nma=true&hash=item23e549d8ba%...

[eburtonlab]

I get zero results as well for a "default" item location, but if I change to "worldwide" I get 17 results:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/elrima121/m.html?item=154170677434&nordt=true&nma=true&hash=item23e549d8ba%...

[c-yag]

Thanks for the code thing to add . I have made that work the odd time. Sometimes I can't get it into the URL. Does it have to go at the end or anywhere in the code?

[eburtonlab]

Usually unless that switch is already present in the URL with a different number after the equal sign, you can put that code at the end of the URL, or else insert it right before another ampersand (&).

If your page URL ends in a question mark, drop the ampersand entirely and just paste the LH_PrefLoc=2 part on the end.

[c-yag]

HI-Okay I can try that. I am having trouble adding in the code. I am still having a lot of trouble not getting complete search results. I still get 1 -2 pages instead of 26 per day to view. Different categories I am trying but the basic search is not useful still. Any news on that? This is a recent thing within the last month or so. 

Thanks for all your help by the way. 

[eburtonlab]

@c-yag 

Any news on that?

My only knowledge about searching is from doing searches myself and reading the discussion boards. I can only suggest trying different searches on different sites to see which searches provide the best results for you, since I am not in Canada and I am not seeing the same results you are seeing.