Description search function not working.

[intuitive]

The eBay search engine is not returning results for description searches.   Or it is failing to properly index descriptions when an item is listed.  (Indexing is the process by which descriptions are assimilated into the search engine database.).   Either way, buyers who use title/description search are not seeing all the results that should be returned by their searches if the search engine were working properly.     I have performed several tests and in most instances received 0 results for title/description searches when normally I would receive dozens, even hundreds of results.   This problem has been ongoing for at least the past 2-3 days. 

If you are a seller and your items are suddenly not receiving the bids/views they normally would, this may be why.   If you are a buyer using title/description search and suddenly not getting the kind of results you are accustomed to, this may be why. 

I urge eBay to please fix the title/description search issue as soon as possible.    My buyers rely heavily on title/description search, consequently so do my sales.   I am sure thousands of other sellers are similarly affected.  

[the-deltiologist-list]

This feature is still not working properly. 

Come one Ebay, you guys are better than this, what did you change to 'make you think' it was better off?

[trekclassic]

The description search function has been not working for me, for some months now.   This hurts me as a seller and hurts me as a buyer as well.

It would be nice if eBay would address this problem here on this thread and find a solution.

[eburtonlab]

The description search function has been not working for me, for some months now.

Could you provide an example of how the search is not working?

[merseyglo]

Why are search results not straight forwards and transparent.

Buyer searches..then all results of what buyer is asking for accurately presented to buyer.

Simple show buyer what he she is looking for..all of it.

[eburtonlab]

Why are search results not straight forwards and transparent.

Buyer searches..then all results of what buyer is asking for accurately presented to buyer.

Simple show buyer what he she is looking for..all of it.

What are you searching for? What is not transparent?

eBay does not necessarily know what the buyer is looking for -- eBay only knows what the buyer is asking for, which may not be the same thing. Sometimes two different buyers use the same search terms but actually want different very things.

[gollih]

I tried to find new "Oppo" phones in EU area. Search is absolutely useless and results were in India, USA, GB etc. I did advanced search and set Germany as country (with new searches with other EU countries), accuracy of results about same except included +1700 covers for Oppo phones...

How ebay search is cocked up this bad?

I don't nowadays even bother to search ebay if i have anything even slightly specific items to look for.

[eburtonlab]

I tried to find new "Oppo" phones in EU area. Search is absolutely useless and results were in India, USA, GB etc.

Lots of folks in the EU seem to be having problems limiting their search results to EU locations, but those searches work outside of the EU, at least in the US.

EU users experiencing this problem first hand need to contact eBay directly -- preferably eBay in the EU where the problem can actually be replicated, studied and fixed.

[intuitive]

It's happening again -- title/description search appears to be on the fritz.    When I noticed a significant drop-off in impressions/clicks over the past 24-48 hours, I performed a series of title/description searches on my items.  They yielded 0 search results every time.   My items come up in basic title search, but not title/description.

This may not pose a problem for some sellers but my buyers are very specific and rely on title/description search to find the exact items they're looking for.

[eburtonlab]

@intuitive 

Can you provide a current item number? And a string you are using to search?

I am not seeing any current or recent listings under this account.

[intuitive]

Update:

Several days have passed and the problem remains ongoing: My listings are still not showing up in title/description search results.    I have confirmed these results with other users and eBay agents.

As of yesterday my sales were down by 86%.   I have spoken to eBay customer agents as well as a supervisor.   They have assured me that tickets have been submitted/escalated to the IT team.

In the meantime, I won't be listing any auctions.   It would be foolhardy to put items up for bidding when my listings are not getting 100% of the visibility they enjoyed just a week ago.

It seems to me that the search engine's failure to index/include the Seller Description field may be related to recent changes eBay made to the listing page, specifically the reduction of the Seller Description field to a tiny window which now displays a mere fraction of the Seller's Description.   

[intuitive]

Update:  On Friday I spoke to a supervisor on the eBay Leadership team by phone who acknowledged the Title/Description search problem.   He informed me that eBay is aware of the problem, that it is affecting "large groups of users," and that the IT people are working to resolve it.

As of today, Sunday, it has not been fixed yet.  In the meantime, my sales (and those of many other sellers, no doubt) are lagging for a second week.

[retrorockit_66]

I have seen the same problem lately, off and on... I just posted this in another reply to a question on this topic" 
 
"I have been having an occasional problem for several weeks at least, where I will receive a notification from ebay by email (I use laptop PC) for a "hit" on one of my "saved searches"... that, after clicking to view the item listing, I will sometimes click "view seller's other items" and have it show "0" items, not even the one I just viewed.. even searching the seller's items for the exact listing I came from, with proper keywords from its title... and still "0"! Hit back-button, refresh, and item is still up for bids or BuyItNow!!" 
 
This mess is misery. 

[intuitive]

I have hundreds of very specific searches bookmarked, most of which incorporate the title/description search.    Since this search engine failure began, most of those searches no longer yield the results I want, even though the very items I want to buy may be actively listed on the site.

[intuitive]

What do you have to do to get a chronic technical issue addressed by eBay in the Ongoing Technical Issues thread?   The thread was just updated after a month and I looked for the title/description search failure in it, but there's not a word about it -- despite that I have been reporting it here and have made numerous calls to eBay customer service, spoken to supervisors, gotten tickets submitted, etc.   

The failure of the title/description search has been ongoing for nearly three weeks.   For nearly three weeks my items and those of many other sellers have not been enjoying full visibility on the site.    This isn't some little glitch.   One of the two major functions of the Advanced Search engine is not working.   And sales are suffering because of it.

A problem this big and of this duration should certainly be addressed by eBay in the Ongoing Technical problems thread. 

[btjossem]

As of 7/31/2023, I am having significant issues trying to do searches within the description, within my sellers active listings.
Are others having the same issue and if you are, is there a workaround?
I have tried to reach a live eBay person and that is futile.
And no matter what screen I go to… As in ebay.com/help . There is no method to get to a live chat.
I am in dire need of finding some items that need to be removed from my active list and I can't go through 1000s very quickly.
Suggestions?