"We removed some search results"

[tweetyboyd1971]

So  I like to shop the newly-listed in the buy-it-now search,  but now see that ebay is purposely hiding some of the results,  and gives you the option of showing all results.    Then I discovered some of my items were in the "hidden area"  and now know why my sales have been so slow for the last two weeks.     Isn't this like shadow banning?   How does ebay know what I want to see,  and know what's "best" for me to see and buy from their manipulated listings?    Ebay should just outright say that they only want Wal-Mart and Target selling on their site and stop playing these irritating games to drive sellers away

[nuclearomen]

what do you mean when you say "hidden area" what option on search are you selecting to see this "hidden area"? What is the item(s) your searching for - so we can have a good example for others to recreate your search and see if the same happens.

[tweetyboyd1971]

I always select newly listed buy-it-now when I search my favorite categories and have for YEARS.    Now,   at the top of the first page in that category,  there is a box that says "we have removed some search results to show you the most relevant listing.   Click her to show all listings".      First time this has ever happened.   Nobody can see 'certain" results that ebay says are NOT relevant unless you click the box.   What is this all about?

[tweetyboyd1971]

oh,  you can search in Vintage or Contemporary Barbie,  newly listed,  buy-it-now.      These were my main searches for years.    You will see this box at the top of the category page that tells you they are limiting search results

[nuclearomen]

IDK, I'll need to do some searches to see what you mean, I did use search yesterday but didn't notice any change. 

[nuclearomen]

i just search for multiple items and didn't get that which you describe - a box at top of the category that tells they are limiting search results - nothing of such exists in the searches I just did. 

[tweetyboyd1971]

Wish I new how to do the screen-shot to show you.   I just went back to newly listed Vintage Barbie BIN,  and it shows 12 thousand results with their censoring,  but when I click to "View All"  then it shows that there are really 35 thousand listings.     A lot of people missing out and don't know it.     Other people must be experiencing this

[nuclearomen]

that is why I asked in my first post what you were searching for so it can be recreated... that explains why the option your getting - 12 thousand results - that just too many results. 

[popblox]

I see it when I search "Vintage Barbie" @nuclearomen, but I don't see it when I sort by newly listed.

[nuclearomen]

@tweetyboyd1971 @popblox 
yes I see, that is because searching with keywords like "vintage barbie" is going to yeild way too many results, need to define the search better like maybe a specific barbie name, era, year, edition, etc... those results should slim down quite a bit then. 

[collectfest]

The message did on some but not all searches I did. One was walking sticks, another wood cravings. It existed on about a third of what I searched for. 

[collectfest]

It's happening, your not crazy 😊. Search is a mess in the vintage areas I search in. 

[tweetyboyd1971]

Yes!  That's exactly it.   Thank you for posting that Popblox.  That is how I have been searching for over TEN years and never had this happen before.    I listed an item for sale in Vintage Barbie tonight,   and then when I went SHOPPING in that category,  I noticed my item was missing,   not being shown for sale UNLESS I click to VIEW ALL.       Ebay is hiding over 50% of items for sale.   Shoppers will not see the item I just listed unless they click VIEW ALL.           I have found some really good buys in the past this way and ebay should not start limiting results

[nuclearomen]

like I said above, to search with limited keyword(s) is going to yield to many results and so obvious that ebay would limit the results - how many barbie's have been produced, how many sellers on ebay have them and put them up every single day, of course results would be so large it would never be able to define the search properly with "vintage barbie" as the search keywords, especially when so many sellers are using those two words in their title and description. If I go to search and type in "vinyl record" the results would likely 10x that of "vintage barbie" keywords - would never give me a result I want cause those key words are just describing a category, not a specific item, but if I change that to "band name, title, medium" those result will slim down to only that band, title, and items with titles that include that band name in their description. Results would be 1-10 pages say rather then 12 thousand + results with 500 pages + items ebay just decided to hide in those results. 

[fashunu4eeuh · Accepted solution]

Hi, the blurb you are reading is not a new thing. EBay has been doing it awhile on some search results. I have seen it for a couple of years now at least, and always click on show me all the results.

It is in the User Agreement that eBay may not return all search results. It reads as:

”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...”

As for how eBay “knows” what you want to see in search results, eBay says it depends on multiple factors, taking your search history and platform usage into consideration. This is also in 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...”

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