A major way search is broken

[somanypostcards]

Today I did a search on Collectibles -> Postcards.  eBay returned 8,000,000 Best Match results.  When I sorted by Time:  ending soonest, Time:  newly listed, Distance:  nearest first, and Price + Shipping:  highest first, eBay also returned 8,000,000 results.  But when I searched Price + Shipping:  lowest first, eBay returned only 2,800 results with a message:  "We’ve streamlined your search results to show you the best listings.  See more results".  At least when I clicked this link I did finally get 8,000,000 results.

2,800 listings is just 0.35% of  all the postcards listed, just 1 for every 286 postcards listed.  The initial 2,800 "best listings" showed NO listings under $1.00 and less than 240 listings less than $2.00.  The 8,000,000 listings showed over 240 listings under $1.00, and I didn't even try to count all the listings under $2.00.

[rlaybeast]

Unfortunately, the search algorithm can screw quotation marks even worse.

I used them on two words, each in marks, for a seller's list, and not only dropped spurious items, but six of the eight that actually had the words I was seeking.

Also, I regularly switch from Best Match to Lowest Price... and find myself with a suspiciously specific 40 items.

The more they tweak the algorithm, the less you can depend on reasonable 'hacks'.

Doug

[bennotbill]

The easiest way to do a "lowest price + P&P" search without many of the items disappearing, is to simply do a "highest price + P&P" and start at the end.

[somanypostcards]

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@bennotbill wrote:

The easiest way to do a "lowest price + P&P" search without many of the items disappearing, is to simply do a "highest price + P&P" and start at the end.

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This doesn't work if the search returns a high number of results.  Example:  searching for collectibles postcards returns 8,900,000 results, and there is NO way to start at the end as eBay only allows you to select one of the first 9 pages of results.  The lowest first sort is still broken so you have to click the "see more results" link to see all 8,900,000 results.   Initially sorting by Price + Shipping:  lowest first only shows 3,300 results and the message:

• We’ve streamlined your search results to show you the best listings. See more results

[tobaccocardyahoo]

It is likely that the search has been updated to adapt to buyer behavior.

Other marketplace sites have been reducing the listings shown to those which are more likely to result in a sale for years.

8 million results are worthless to most buyers. They will not consider more than the first few pages of results.

Differences in filtered results are probably due to delays in updating those filters to the latest algorithms.

It is likely that searches many sellers perform, but do not result in sales will fail to meet their needs.

It costs money to provide results which do not result in sales with no payback for the effort.

[bennotbill]

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@somanypostcards wrote:

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This doesn't work if the search returns a high number of results.  Example:  searching for collectibles postcards returns 8,900,000 results, and there is NO way to start at the end as eBay only allows you to select one of the first 9 pages of results.

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Yes with a lot of results it does get more complicated. No one would like using a calculator to work out the pages then edit the browser link with that number.

I guess the point is no one should have to. The search should just - work.

If I was new to eBay, either a buyer or seller, I reckon I might last all of five minutes before looking elsewhere. Though due to so many site failings I often end up doing anyway.

[eburtonlab]

This [sorting highest to lowest and starting at the end of the results] doesn't work if the search returns a high number of results. 

True, eBay only displays the first 10,000 results of any search, so it may be necessary to limit your search to less than 10,000 results first to be able to use that technique. This is a long-standing limitation of eBay's search.

Example:  searching for collectibles postcards returns 8,900,000 results, and there is NO way to start at the end as eBay only allows you to select one of the first 9 pages of results.

It is possible to go to page 2, and then from there edit the page address directly, entering a new page number in the search URL, provided that the page corresponds to the first 10,000 valid results. If you use 240 items per page you can go up to page 42 if there are 10,000 results or more.

[alanmcinnes]

why have they removed highest price and lowest price first on the search filter on the (best match) drop down box where you find lowest price post and packaging, highest price post and packaging, newly listed, ending soonest, and nearest first.

[eburtonlab]

why have they removed highest price and lowest price first on the search filter on the (best match) drop down box

Those options were not available on ebay.com, but were available on ebay.co.uk.

If you do not see those sort options on the search results page on ebay.co.uk, try going from your search results to the Advanced Search page using a desktop browser and changing the sort order there where those options are still available.

[sextons-sweet-deals]

You have to be more specific in your search. Are you looking for a certain postcard such as era, location, city, national parks / monuments, countries, and so on?

If you're just typing in postcards, I can see you getting 8,000,000 hits.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

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@somanypostcards wrote:

Today I did a search on Collectibles -> Postcards.  eBay returned 8,000,000 Best Match results.  When I sorted by Time:  ending soonest, Time:  newly listed, Distance:  nearest first, and Price + Shipping:  highest first, eBay also returned 8,000,000 results.  But when I searched Price + Shipping:  lowest first, eBay returned only 2,800 results with a message:  "We’ve streamlined your search results to show you the best listings.  See more results".  At least when I clicked this link I did finally get 8,000,000 results.

Ebay decided not to waste money on useless searches. Expect more of the same.

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[inhawaii]

Despite the search being broken,

people are somehow still finding and buying stuff.

I believe the latest figures are 2,000,000,000  items sold on ebay every  day.

4 of those were mine yesterday.

[slippinjimmy]

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@inhawaii wrote:

Despite the search being broken,

people are somehow still finding and buying stuff.

I believe the latest figures are 2,000,000,000  items sold on ebay every  day.

4 of those were mine yesterday.

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That 2 billion number just never goes away.

If it were true each item would  be worth a tiny fraction of a penny...do the math!

[inhawaii]

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@slippinjimmy wrote:

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@inhawaii wrote:

Despite the search being broken,

people are somehow still finding and buying stuff.

I believe the latest figures are 2,000,000,000  items sold on ebay every  day.

4 of those were mine yesterday.

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That 2 billion number just never goes away.

If it were true each item would  be worth a tiny fraction of a penny...do the math!

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Really?  Then I stand corrected.

Does anyone know what that number really is?

[theteamsetguy]

Who wants to or has time to go thru 8 million listings?

[rlaybeast]

Thanks so much to all who are trying to help!

"You can avoid keyword substitution and automatic category navigation in your searches by putting a keyword in quotes to force eBay to return only literal keyword matches."

As I said above, 'not always.'

"It is likely that the search has been updated to adapt to buyer behavior."

Absolutely! However, the adaptation that ignores quotation marks is ignoring behavior as well.

As for 'people keep buying', I buy a LOT, but less than if I found what I was seeking.

Really, thanks to all!

Doug