eBay

electrola_man · ‎08-22-2018

I am confused about "search placement" issues on used items, which is what I sell. For example, let's say I want to look for a particular camera, the Pentax ME Super. I would go to the search line and type, "Pentax ME Super," which I would expect to bring up a large number of listings that contain those words. If I only wanted a body, and didn't care about any particular lens, I would type in, "Pentax ME Super body." I would expect that to bring up fewer listings; those that have "body" in the title that may or may not include some lenses. If I only wanted one that had a 50mm lens with it, I would type in, "Pentax ME Super 50mm." If I further was only interested in ones that had a 50mm F/1.4 lens, I would type, 'Pentax ME Super 50mm 1.4."

1. Isn't this how most people search?

2. If I search for something, doesn't everything that has a title that contains what I put in the search field show up, at least in some order?

3. How does search placement enter in? Is that what "best match," is? I have a "no returns" policy, and I think that supposedly puts me lower, but what does that really mean?

4. If search results are sorted by price, don't they all show up in ascending or descending order?

argusmike · ‎08-22-2018

@electrola_man

I've been selling cameras for a while, and I've always observed exactly what you've described, save "best match," which is a mystery to me (but I'm sure a no-return policy would impact it, as you suggest). I'm sure you'll get lots of replies on that topic.

Sometimes I think I don't see an item I've listed. Almost all the time this is because I've set my eBay search to a specific, and inconsistent, category. If I broaden the category I'm OK.

Another reason for not seeing something is that it was too recently listed. I've had items show up under a search of my user name for several hours before the same item shows up in a general search. This is due to the latency of the processing that the search tool needs to do after an item is listed. If I list it the night before I start it, it always shows up as soon as the listing starts.

Has anyone seen eBay guiding a general search by overriding a broad search into a more specific category? For example, you put a lens under "vintage photography,", do an all-category search, and find that eBay searches only "lenses and filters" (which is distinct from vintage)? I've gotten into the habit of doing a search on the key words that I'm intending to use and seeing which category comes up most often and using that for the listing.

One last funny thing. Sometimes I see my auction way down at the bottom, grouped with "international sellers." I almost always ship internationally, but why should that be a penalty? Haven't noticed it recently - may have something to do with setting the delivery country (under the shipping tab) outside the USA and not switching it back.

I hope folks chip in on your question. It's an interesting and contentious subject.

Mike

fashunu4eeuh · ‎08-22-2018

@electrola_man wrote:

.”...1. Isn't this how most people search?
2. If I search for something, doesn't everything that has a title that contains what I put in the search field show up, at least in some order?
3. How does search placement enter in? Is that what "best match," is? I have a "no returns" policy, and I think that supposedly puts me lower, but what does that really mean?
4. If search results are sorted by price, don't they all show up in ascending or descending order?”

Hi! There are different ways to sort in Search order. These include Best Match, Lowest Price plus shipping, Highest Price plus shipping, Ending Soonest, and Newly Listed, among the choices. Best Match is eBay’s default setting.

Question 1. It is hard to say how most people search for items, but it is likely very similar to the way you have defined when looking for camera parts. Some will narrow the field as they go along if looking for a specific item. Others sort by categories. It just depends on a number of factors.

Question 2. No. It is not a given that everything available will come up when you start a Search. In the eBay User Agreement, eBay reserves the right to not show everything. Thanks to their Search Engine Cassini and its artificial intelligence, it supposedly remembers your choices while shopping and brings you a tailor-made set of items it thinks each visitor will want to buy.

“To drive a positive user experience, a listing may not appear in some search and browse results regardless of the sort order chosen by the buyer..”

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/member-behaviour-policies/user-agreement?id=4259

Question 3. How is Search order determined? By a number of factors, including things like a liberal return policy. Those sellers with No Returns will place lower, eBay says. From the UA:

“We strive to create a marketplace where buyers find what they are looking for. Therefore, the appearance or placement of listings in search and browse results will depend on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to:
- buyer's location, search query, browsing site, and history;
- item's location, listing format, price and shipping cost, terms of service, end time, history, and relevance to the user query;
- seller's history, including listing practices, Detailed Seller Ratings, eBay policy compliance, Feedback, and defect rate; and
- number of listings matching the buyer's query..”

Question 4. Yes, when sorted by price, the listings appear in descending or ascending order as expected.

Sorry for the length of this post. Trying to be succinct. For more info on Search placement on eBay, google eBay SEO and/or Cassini.

electrola_man · ‎09-01-2018

I'm pretty frustrated. Signed in as myself, when I search for my own item, it does not show up at all! If I use exact words in my title, I get a group of items. There are 36 of them, and not one of them is mine. What seems really odd is that if I add one more word to my search, that is also in my title, that makes hundreds of items show up. When I sort that long listing by price, I'm able to find mine. This is not making much sense. It would seem that adding more words should seemingly make it less likely to match other listings, and a shorter list should appear, but it's the opposite.