What happened to the search feature? It's horrible now!

[emmarose1999]

I used to praise eBay's search feature compared to that of Amazon's which was seriously lacking.  EBay's search used to be fantastic, but not anymore.  When I'm looking for something specific, that's what I want the search to show me.  Now when I search, not only do I get similar items that I don't want, I get tons of unrelated items popping up which do not even contain words of the item I'm searching for in the title.  I noticed this happening the past few months. What the heck is going on here?

[jmorand55]

There is a huge positive to this.......I'm gonna save a bunch of money. If I can't readily search for what I want to buy, I won't waste my time. And here's another thing too, I was going to post a bunch of cards that I wanted to sell this weekend, but I think I'll hold off for now. Why would I want to post something that other people won't be able to search for?

[hurryagain]

OP posted this on 8/05/2020.

Can you imagine what he must be thinking now after the sweeping changes in the books, music & collectables categories??? 

the sky IS falling! 

[airbrushm]

The changes are horrible! No good at all!! They have made it even harder to find model kits! CHANGE IT ALL BACK FEEBAY!!!! They will lose a ton of money and customers and I hope they do!!!!!

[eburtonlab]

They have made it even harder to find model kits!

eBay sometimes reorganizes categories, which can cause older searches to stop working correctly. You may have to recreate your search if the problem is due to eBay's reorganization.

What sorts of model kits are you searching for?

Start with a general search using keywords, and then try narrowing down the category from there:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=model+kits&_sacat=0

Another search with some filter options on the left:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/1188/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=kits&LH_TitleDesc=0

[airbrushm]

Why fix something that's not broke?! **bleep** Idiots! 

[skotty611]

It's terrible now I'm a model railroader which is scale based probably much like I imagine model kit building is like.  Yesterday and for years and years priorI I could search by scale. Today all model railroading is lumped together and now I have to filter each search by scale. It doesn't even save the filter! It's a huge waste of time and makes no sense!

[janesbears]

I have happily been using eBay since 1999; but really I cannot understand what they are up to now. I collect antique teddy bears; I used to be able to go into "Dolls and Bears - Bears - Antique" and would get a list of about 3-4000 that i could refine at will. But that has all gone. Now there is just a general search that gives me about 30,000!!! including Santa bears, kids Beanie Babies and goodness know what else and with out making heaps of separate searches I can't get just antique.

I hate this eBay!!!!!!! You have made a big fail. 

[eburtonlab]

I collect antique teddy bears; I used to be able to go into "Dolls and Bears - Bears - Antique" and would get a list of about 3-4000 that i could refine at will.

One possible starting point for antique bears that turns up about 2300 likely used results:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=bear&_sacat=262345&LH_TitleDesc=0&_fsrp=1&Antique=Yes...

[mr_lincoln]

@emmarose1999   Good post, I've had the same issue doing Sold Search to see what specific things have sold for in the last 90 days ... I wind up having to tweak the words or numbers use on the Search bar until I get what I am actually looking for.

[4bco-inc]

What I would like to know is how to filter out the mass listings that I have to sort through to actually find what I am looking for. For example, from time to time I search for parts, both new and used, for one of my cars or trucks-sometimes a classic car, sometimes one that is just several years old. An example would be when I search for a part for my 1990 Chevrolet C-1500 pickup...I try key words, sometimes try different combinations of them. What really is annoying is whatever you search, you always have to search through all these new chrome plastic hubcaps, custom skull valve stem covers, fuzzy dice, etc. that have nothing to do with what you are searching for..they all have "Fits: 1990 Chevrolet C-1500" in the title..even if they are irrelevant, or sometimes, clearly do NOT fit that particular vehicle. Frustrating as heck, I wish there were a way of filtering that crap out...

[carnelscarr]

Absolute mess.  Lots to buy here - you just can't find it.  Guessing ebay prioritized advertisers for revenue so we are forced to see junk we are not interested in.  Simply cannot search for what you want.  Goodbye ebay.

[carnelscarr]

Here is a simple search I would like "art" category - local pickup zip 75025.  All formats - used items.  Not possible from what I can tell.  

[eburtonlab]

One possible search for used items in the "Art" category, offering free local pickup within 50 miles of 75025:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/550/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=art&LH_ItemCondition=4&_stpos=75025&_fspt=1&LH_Pr...

More results if you choose "used" and "not specified" and exclude "new":

https://www.ebay.com/sch/550/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=art&_stpos=75025&_fspt=1&LH_PrefLoc=99&_sadis=50&...

[corndogcache]

Your reply suggests that there's something wrong with how the user is using the search function. A shopper shouldn't have to follow a link to a page on the Ireland eBay site to figure out how to use the eBay USA search function. As a seller, I'm here to make money, and I can't do that if eBay's search function is based on advertising, not on a basic understanding of the English language and what we've all come to expect of search windows over the last twenty years. Ebay has made the decision that it is more profitable for their investors if they manipulate search results, which they have been doing for decades. The manipulation has increased greatly over the last two to three years, making the search function as useful as spinning a wheel of fortune. The results are unpredictable, inaccurate and absurd. That has nothing to do with the user, and everything to do with eBay's business model. 

[nlehman6167]

I would like to ask how would I be able to go into ebay motors and type in a year and make and only get results with that year and make in the title.  a while ago I used to be able to do this, but now when I do I get tons of results that have no relation to what I am searching for. 

all of these useless returns I assume are burying the results I am looking for.