eBay

monstertoybox · ‎11-15-2019

Better question is "why" do we have to figure out which one to use? They mean the same, they should be treated the same in search results.

Example: I have a doll set from Beauty & the Beast.

My title: "Belle & Gaston Doll Set Beauty & the Beast Live Action Disney Store"

1st Search: Belle & Gaston Doll Set

Results: 33

2nd Search: Belle and Gaston Doll Set

Results: 27 (My set is not in this result)

So if a potential buyer types "and" instead of an ampersand they will not see my item. This is the kind of thing that is limiting visibility. In order to cover each type of search I would have to add "Belle & Gaston" and "Belle and Gaston" in my title. That is ridiculous! It would probably be considered spamming a title doing it that way too, so you can't win.

Just typing in "Beauty and the Beast" you get more results than "Beauty & the Beast". There should be the same number of results in both searches. Buyers are not going to know that, that simple detail is preventing them from seeing other items.

Can we please ask that the search bar treats "and" and the ampersand the same? This can't be that hard to update. It has been requested before and it is still a problem.

slippinjimmy · ‎11-15-2019

Personally when I search as a buyer I don't include "&" or "and" or any similar stuff.

Belle Gaston Doll Set - returns 33 listings

I had a closer look and I noticed that one of your listings (303352952370) goes away with the "Belle and Gaston" search but is included in the "Belle & Gaston".

BUT

That particular listings DOES NOT include "and" anywhere in the title, pretty much all the other listings are written with "Belle & Gaston in the Title AND "Beauty and the Beast" as well. Another unique thing about that listing is that you are using "Beauty & the Beast" while most other listings use "Beauty and the Beast".

Try enclosing your searches in quote marks,

"Belle & Gaston Doll Set"

"Belle and Gaston Doll Set"

"Belle Gaston Doll Set"

You get either 3 or 4 listings, might make it easier to see the differences.

Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep

zamo-zuan · ‎11-15-2019

@monstertoybox wrote:
@zamo-zuan wrote:
In most search systems I've seen they have references for similar phrases. I'm not sure why eBay does not use them.
I thought so. Why would you think that they would program this search engine to not acknowledge "and" and "&" as the same thing? Is there some reason for this? Or is it just something that should be fixed? Give us your expertise Zamo!

I don't really see a good reason why they wouldn't do it unless they were trying to narrow down the search results as much as possible (which seems to be their goal).

I don't think that's a good idea, though. It doesn't match the intended design of a "site where you can sell everything". Narrowing search results seems to be the antithesis of the goal.

slippinjimmy · ‎11-15-2019

When I listing an item where the primary keyword includes non-alpha characters I try to include both versions, tagging the second version on to the end of the Title. Although I usually use almost all available space in Titles much of it is informational to encourage clicks and views rather than as keywords for search and some can be left out to make space.

Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep

monstertoybox · ‎11-15-2019

@slippinjimmy wrote:
Personally when I search as a buyer I don't include "&" or "and" or any similar stuff.

Belle Gaston Doll Set - returns 33 listings

I had a closer look and I noticed that one of your listings (303352952370) goes away with the "Belle and Gaston" search but is included in the "Belle & Gaston".

BUT

That particular listings DOES NOT include "and" anywhere in the title, pretty much all the other listings are written with "Belle & Gaston in the Title AND "Beauty and the Beast" as well. Another unique thing about that listing is that you are using "Beauty & the Beast" while most other listings use "Beauty and the Beast".

Try enclosing your searches in quote marks,

"Belle & Gaston Doll Set"
"Belle and Gaston Doll Set"
"Belle Gaston Doll Set"

You get either 3 or 4 listings, might make it easier to see the differences.

You're right! With it written as "Belle Gaston" without the "and" it is now not showing up if I search for "Belle and Gaston". I must not have waited long enough when I had searched before. Well that s*cks! Because now I'm back to not being shown if someone uses "and" instead of "&" in their search. Ugh.

I search the same as you, without the little words, but problem is that we have no idea what a buyer is putting in the search bar. So this kind of thing "and" and "&" should not make it harder for a potential buyer to find an item.

coolections · ‎11-15-2019

@slippinjimmy wrote:
Personally when I search as a buyer I don't include "&" or "and" or any similar stuff.

Belle Gaston Doll Set - returns 33 listings

@slippinjimmy

Knowing that some sellers use & , and some sellers use and, I normally search the same way as you. It is always best to start a search with the lowest amount of keywords and work from there.