Ebay Search is the WORST

[kelekt]

why is it that I search on Ebay and get limited and sometimes NO results then search on Google and find things that are listed on Ebay that Ebay search does not show?

what a ridiculous set up to limit what shoppers see on Ebay search and make it seem like Ebay does not have what they want

soooo dumb that Ebay limits search this way!!! really dumb. and incredibly annoying/frustrating/exhausting as a shopper.

seems to me that Ebay would want customers to come here and STAY ON Ebay (without having to search Google and possibly shopping / spending $$ elsewhere) !!!

[this*old*attic]

Agree with that, too. Useless.

Listing is burdensome too.

[dinpavent0]

Yes I do use the filters on the side, just a little extra work. But the quotes is a good idea, I use them on google when I search. Thanks.

[sapphireseal]

eBay's search also sucks when it comes selecting the country to search in.  Looking for that rare Pokemon or Mario toy that was only sold in Japan?  WELP, there's no option to search in individual countries (aside from "US only") so have fun searching through thousands of Chinese bootlegs as you try to find a seller from Japan.

[eburtonlab]

@sapphireseal 

no option to search in individual countries

In the Advanced Search there is an option to search for items located in a particular country using "Location" and choosing the individual country from a drop-down list:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ftrt=901&_sop=10&_sadis=15&_dmd=1&LH_LocatedIn=104&_ipg=100&_ftrv=1...

[abfabvintage]

@eburtonlab 

Hi, eburton. Always, always learn something from your posts. I never go to the Buying Board. And I mentioned to you a long time ago: wouldn't it be even more helpful to post your information on the Buying Board, too? Maybe it would help buyers find items they are looking for? And I said it before, maybe not a good idea in ebay's eyes as that would be overstepping why ebay has the search set up the way it is. Not being snarky, do appreciate all of your help and all with a sense of calmness lololol. JMO.

[sapphireseal]

Thanks so much for that information, I had no idea!  This will be very helpful for me. 🙂

[eburtonlab]

@sapphireseal 

You are most welcome!

I was actually composing a post with a possible workaround when I stumbled upon a reference to that feature in another discussion (after three or four other searches had failed to find anything).

[eburtonlab]

@abfabvintage 

Thanks again for the kind words.

I keep telling myself that one of these days I will put together a comprehensive list of all my searching tips and techniques, and post them on the Buying board. But that would require organization and planning, and often I would rather just answer a specific question that an actual user (buyer or seller) has posed.

Other than a couple of boards like Technical Issues that I make an effort to keep up to date on, I spend a lot of time looking at the "Latest Discussions" Community feed, which just has all the latest posts from all the boards mixed together.

https://community.ebay.com/

For whatever reason, many of the "searching" questions that I feel I can answer are posted on the Selling board. Possibly posters on the Buying board are not as concerned about how search works compared to the sellers here who are worried that buyers cannot find their items. Perhaps the sellers here just have more inherently interesting questions, or the questions found here generate more interesting discussions that I feel I can add something to.