|
Ebay's own search engine went south for a while, but it's
back!
The eBay programmers keep tinkering with it, but their search engine has really become efficient. The efficiency
isn't in the search engine itself, but in how you tell it to search. You've got to refine your search to find what
you really want... without the engine overlooking it. You can start with an unrefined search, but if it returns
100,000 items, you better start refining (unless you're into browsing through countless items for endless hours).
Basic Search
Search Keywords or item number: Allows searching by one or more words, and the drop down to the right
allows picking "All - Any - or Exact". That's the first refinement. Below that you can check the box
"Search title and description". That doesn't refine. Searching descriptions slows
the search considerably and expands the results, but if your search terms are very specific, it can improve your
chances of finding the item.
Words to exclude: I don't find that too useful. It's hard enough deciding what to search for without trying to decide what
not to search for.
Search in categories: That can shorten your search time since it doesn't search the whole
eBay site, but you're risking the chance that a seller put the item in a wrong category (and you might find a great
deal on an overlooked listing).
Price Range: Very useful! This can reduce the number of wasted item listing on your results. For example, say
you are looking for a good used Jeep Grand cherokee. Well, you know it's not going to sell for a dollar, so searching
from $1000 to $10000 will eliminate handbooks, parts, floor mats, etc. It will also let you put a maximum number
on what you are willing to bid on.
Item location: Useful if the item is too big to ship or you're in a hurry and can't wait for shipping times. Otherwise
you'll probably miss some of the better deals by restricting your search to a geographical area.
View results: I never use it.
Sort by: "Ending first" is best for me. If I'm buying I usually want it now. "Newly listed"
is okay if you want to find items that you can wait 7 days to bid on??? "Lowest prices" is okay, but
you'll likely find items that have a long time to go. The most spirited bidding still happens at the end of the
auction. "Highest prices" is great if you are a seller and want to see what similar items are selling
for, but it that case, you're better off to go to Advanced Search and look at Completed Items.
Payment method: Duh! Ebay owns PayPal and that's the only refinement they offer. If you won't pay any way but PayPal,
use it, but many sellers accept PayPal but don't check the PayPal payments box when they list their item. Some
want to upgrade you to a better product in their end-of-auction email, but some are just careless.
Advanced Search
Advanced Search offers a few features that we like.
Item type: Lets you search for specific listings. I always check "Completed Items only " when I'm
researching an item that I want to sell. I'm looking for realistic opening bid, Buy it Now, and Reserve price levels.
Location / International: Has some usefulness if you don't want tp purchase from a different
country, or waste time reading listings that won't ship to you anyway.
Results per page: I usually set it at the max. Takes a little longer to load the first page, but eliminates jumping
from page to page as much later.
Ebay Help: Click Here for some useful(?) tips from eBay on using their search engine, then close that window to return.
Back to Articles
Index
|