ebay's search is crap

[CThunder-blue]

I just tried a search today on ebay and it's freaking bad. Instead of giving me listings for all my search words, it gave me listings for 1 or more words. Way to take 2 steps back there eBay!

[2WheelGuy]

You just need to use advanced search criteria and operators. It takes a while to learn but you can hone a search to exactly what you want:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/search/advanced-search.html

[CThunder-blue]

their old search was just fine. I see no reason to make an advanced search out of it.

[Flow]

Just use quotes.

"search term"

[edwinmcq]

No offence dude, but eBay I believe uses Oracle 11g running on SUn servers capable of upwards of 30 billion query executions a day. I'd brush up on my query skills before I knock what may be the greatest publicly accessed database on the planet. That said, it is a pain after a few tequilas.

I usually just put quotes around my phrase. "ducati 749".

[CThunder-blue]

Originally Posted by edwinmcq

No offence dude, but eBay I believe uses Oracle 11g running on SUn servers capable of upwards of 30 billion query executions a day. I'd brush up on my query skills before I knock what may be the greatest publicly accessed database on the planet. That said, it is a pain after a few tequilas.

I usually just put quotes around my phrase. "ducati 749".

I don't think the hardware is at fault. It's their "new" search that sucks. I never had to use quotes before to get the exact thing I wanted. Now it's more like a google search.

[Flow]

Originally Posted by CThunder-blue

I don't think the hardware is at fault. It's their "new" search that sucks. I never had to use quotes before to get the exact thing I wanted. Now it's more like a google search.

This is a good thing; it allows for more specific searching. Using quotes isn't much of a hassle unless you forgot to put a sperm guard on your keyboard and ruined the key.

[CThunder-blue]

you mean i have to not be semi lazy and push more keys? how dare you?!? you just ruined my american dream.

[addy126]

I've always had decent searches when I've used Ebay... no complaints here.

[Blackwidow]

Originally Posted by CThunder-blue

I never had to use quotes before to get the exact thing I wanted.

times change, things change...learn how to change. You sound like those folks that are 100 years old complaining about how much things have changed. lol

[CThunder-blue]

I am 100 years old! thanks

[edwinmcq]

CT,

It really was in jest. If I have a problem with the "form" based searching at eBay is that in the eBay motors the price range is at the bottom rather than up at the top. It would seem to me that when running a quick search for a high ticket item one of the first exclusions you would want to perform would be price range.

The way it is structured is price is somewhere below engine size and auto-window locks.

[Flow]

Originally Posted by drsketch

try doing a google site search

go to google.com then type something like this in the search box

site:ebay.com ninja 250

This would do the exact same thing the eBay search does.

[CZroe]

eBay's search is frustrating for me too. Using advanced search isn't nearly advanced enough for me to make a query that includes the various alternate ways to describe something as well as something to limit them logically. They limit the auction title length to an almost unusably short length in order to sell subtitles but you still can't search subtitles without expanding it to the whole listing, which opens up a whole other can of worms.

Fairings are pretty frustrating, I've found. People usually don't list the part number or may list the color name vs. color + year, describe it differently ("lower right" might be "right hand side" or "RH lower"), and so on. It's a pain.

[Flow]

Originally Posted by CZroe

Fairings are pretty frustrating, I've found. People usually don't list the part number or may list the color name vs. color + year, describe it differently ("lower right" might be "right hand side" or "RH lower"), and so on. It's a pain.

Isn't there an "or" or "optional" operator?

[Sailariel]

I have been quite lucky with E-bay. Doing bicycle restorations, I am always looking for some obscure part 40 years old. Believe it or not, but the stuff is out there. I recently restored a 40 year old Univega Comp. for myself and was doing a parts search. I actually found an NOS Frame for $100. The components were practically new. In effect, I have a 40 year old New Univega Comp. Did it in a week. I am so grateful to Al Gore for inventing the Internet.

[Flow]

Originally Posted by Sailariel

I am so grateful to Al Gore for inventing the Internet.

It was Bill Gates what done invented that innernet.

[Sailariel]

Originally Posted by Flow

It was Bill Gates what done invented that innernet.

Justin, I know that. I was just being a wisea--. It was the big joke during the Clinton--Gore era

[addy126]

Originally Posted by Sailariel

Justin, I know that. I was just being a wisea--. It was the big joke during the Clinton--Gore era

lol.... generation gap rears it ugly head again! I truly fear for the future of this country.

[Flow]

Originally Posted by drsketch

not quite...

That was sarcasm, my good sir.

[jonthechron]

"quotes" is the way to go, i always use quotes + advanced search

you can also use: -
to remove something from your search title

eg; Your looking for exhausts for the ninja 250r, but you hate Yoshimura exhausts and don't want them to show up

so you then type in the search:

ninja 250r exhaust -yoshimura

and your search results will exclude whatever result it found with "yoshimura" in the title, like a filter



But I have to agree with you, eBay is becoming crappier and crappier, ever since they started with that DSR junk

[CThunder-blue]

So for you "expert" search users out there, riddle me this:

ebay site:

This is the exact search I use: "joe rocket ballistic pants"
It comes back with 0 results.

I remove the word pants: "joe rocket ballistic"
Lo and behold, there ARE auctions with the title "Joe Rocket Ballistic 7.0 Men's XXL Motorcycle Pants". As a matter of fact, there are quite a few auction listings for pants all of a sudden. Try it yourself if you don't believe me.

ps- i did use quotations in both searches.

[jonthechron]

Originally Posted by CThunder-blue

So for you "expert" search users out there, riddle me this:

ebay site:

This is the exact search I use: "joe rocket ballistic pants"
It comes back with 0 results.

I remove the word pants: "joe rocket ballistic"
Lo and behold, there ARE auctions with the title "Joe Rocket Ballistic 7.0 Men's XXL Motorcycle Pants". As a matter of fact, there are quite a few auction listings for pants all of a sudden. Try it yourself if you don't believe me.

ps- i did use quotations in both searches.

Works fine. It's normal that you don't get any results for: "joe rocket ballistic pants" because you are searching for those EXACT words in that EXACT word order.

If you are looking for joe rocket ballistic pants, just type in: joe rocket ballistic pants and you will find what your looking for.

[2WheelGuy]

I just searched: joe rocket ballistic pants

and received 208 results.

[CThunder-blue]

Originally Posted by jonthechron

Works fine. It's normal that you don't get any results for: "joe rocket ballistic pants" because you are searching for those EXACT words in that EXACT word order.

If you are looking for joe rocket ballistic pants, just type in: joe rocket ballistic pants and you will find what your looking for.

haha. makes more sense now. I forgot that it will search for that exact phrase. Oh well, I buy less and less on ebay these days. I'm finding online retailers finally are pricing to compete with sellers on ebay.

They should have left things alone. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[Flow]

Originally Posted by CThunder-blue

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

If we lived by that logic, you'd be throwing stones instead of using a computer.

[CThunder-blue]

how does throwing stones mean the same thing as using a computer? Maybe you mean I would be using an abacus instead of using a computer?

[rockNroll]

what's this ebay thing?

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by CThunder-blue

So for you "expert" search users out there, riddle me this:

ebay site:

This is the exact search I use: "joe rocket ballistic pants"
It comes back with 0 results.

I remove the word pants: "joe rocket ballistic"
Lo and behold, there ARE auctions with the title "Joe Rocket Ballistic 7.0 Men's XXL Motorcycle Pants". As a matter of fact, there are quite a few auction listings for pants all of a sudden. Try it yourself if you don't believe me.

ps- i did use quotations in both searches.

It should be "joe rocket" and "ballistic pants"

Actually, I'd split "ballistic" and "pants" too and unless they have other non-pants "ballistic" items, I'd drop "pants" from the query entirely.