my item ends in 2 hours and doesn't show up in search

[jason_incognito]

Do a search for "ceramic christmas tree"  ending soonest and mine is not there.

Do a search for "ceramic christmas tree music box base" and there it is, the ending soonest.

Remove the word "base" and it disappears.......

[annasunicorns]

Ive been having this issue as well. Just as buyer. I found 3 very cool things just hours before they ended. Id been looking all week!

Im going to KISS while guessing the problem: ebay needs new in house techs, ones that focus on search and checkout simplicity.

[southern*sweet*tea]

Could it be because you have your tree listed under music boxes instead of Christmas trees?

[castlemagicmemories]

I've noticed this as well when I search.  The search has become strange, general terms that should bring up things aren't.  You can't buy what you can't find.

As in your listing, ceramic Christmas Tree that isn't there on the simple search, then is there with the word base, then remove base and it is gone.  

[annasunicorns]

I tried finding thank you stickers the last three days. All i get are promoted WALL DECALS about thankfulness. I know someone on here sells cool thank you stickers with unicorns, but I gave up looking today again. Ughhhhh. I am sure whoever is looking for your tree base is just as annoyed, and NOT at you the seller.

Technology is great when it works!

[eburtonlab]

@jason_incognito

A general search for "ceramic christmas tree" (without quotes) will default to the "Artificial Trees" subcategory of Collectibles:Holiday and Seasonal:Modern (1946-90).

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=ceramic+christmas+tree&_sop=1

Your item is listed in Collectibles:Decorative Collectibles:Music Boxes:1970-now.

If you want your item to be found in a general search of "ceramic christmas tree", you need to put it in the Artificial Trees subcategory even if you think it really belongs in a different category.

[dhbookds]

It's one of the category things, at least for me.  When I put in Ceramic Christmas tree, it takes me to artifical Trees category.  As said, yours is in Music Boxes......

going to slow typist corner........

[nobody*s_perfect]

You have encountered an example of a deliberate strategy that ebay calls "Implicit category navigation."  When a search turns up "too many" results, eBay will choose to show you only one category.

 The narrower search, including "base," turns up very few results so all of them are shown.  But if you drop the word "base," then the larger number of results precipitates this category selection (in this case, "Artificial trees," not something to do with mustic boxes). You'd have to click on "All" to see them all.   Apparently ebay thinks we are too stupid to deal with all 167 results for "ceramic christmas tree music box."

Here's an official eBay explanation; note that it's 3 years old but still most members are unaware of it.  See post #44:

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Archive-Weekly-Chat-with-eBay/Weekly-Chat-with-the-eBay-Mobile-Team-Oc...

[jason_incognito]

This is the category that eBay wanted me to use. But it seems they want buyers to look in another category......

Seriously might just pull all my auctions and be done with eBay.

[southern*sweet*tea]

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@jason_incognito wrote:

This is the category that eBay wanted me to use. But it seems they want buyers to look in another category......

Seriously might just pull all my auctions and be done with eBay.

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Probably because you have the words music box in the title, so Ebay thinks it's a music box. Maybe musical base would have been better, idk.

I have the same problem sometimes. One example - I have a book about the history of Betty Crocker. It's not a cookbook, not a single recipe in it, but Ebay automatically defaults it to the cookbook category and I have to change it to non-fiction, the proper category.

[myjunqueyourtreasure]

Try using "ceramic christmas tree musical" = )

I really should list mine but I just know it would sell and I do NOT want to pack the ^%$ thing.