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ebay 'search' results all of a sudden returning unbelievable numbers of 'results'

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  • #1

    ebay 'search' results all of a sudden returning unbelievable numbers of 'results'

    Anybody else noticing that now, as opposed to a few days ago, when you search on a general term (say, "1/64 diecast xxx") there are now hundreds of thousands of 'results' being counted. Has there really been such an 'explosion' of search results? I, of course, can't point to the specific moment this count seemed to change (it does seem reasonable to believe that there could be, in a world with over 7 BILLION people, hundreds of thousands of "members" here at Diecast Garage and similar diecast websites), but I DO notice "counts" such as that returned in general searches, and I cannot remember a single time before this morning that the 'count' showed over ONE-AND-A-Quarter MILLION search results (1,250,000). I should have 'captured' the screen; sorry about that.

    Again, has anyone else encountered such a large number in the 'search' results? There's NO WAY I can ever start sorting thru over a million posts to find what used to be a simple thing...how do you actually narrow down a search term if it could be in the hundreds of thousands of results returned???? (I've tried, in the past with far fewer 'total' results returned, to be more specific, and you still get wrong results because of folks on the "other end" of a transaction/listing not being particularly careful in their descriptions.....)
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  • #2
    And it substitutes in similes and synonoms of seach terms, even if they have nothing to do with what you're buying. I suspect that this may play a part.

    I've been looking for a few older Caterpillar-branded advertising pocketknives, mostly to replace a Victorinox Tinker Small model from the early 1980s that I gave away, as well as some older Utica/Kutmaster models made in the USA in the 1990s and early 2000s. Ebay has been subbing in "CAT" for Caterpillar, a more generic term. Another problem is "Camco", a lower-priced brand produced by Camillus Cutlery Co. from the 1930s-close in 2008. eBay keeps trying to say I said "camo".
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    • #3
      I'm not sure eBay still has this, but many years ago they once had a help page with advice and techniques to get better search results, back when I used the site I used their methods all the time with excellent results.

      I forget all the things it showed you, but there were ways to add plus signs in front of words, while putting a series of words in parenthesis, as well as using minus signs in front of certain words to avoid them , anyways, it wasn't hard to learn, and helped a lot, though I thought when I returned to site some years later, and tried to search for something using these techniques, it gave me a message that they no longer supported those search features, I may be remembering that wrong though, and they may still let you use that type of searching.
      Doug
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      • #4
        b2,i have gotten away from using general terms when searching on ebay.
        for hot wheels...i search...hotwheels then list the casting i am looking for.
        this works best for me.
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        • #5
          When searching I either type in the exact model I want, 'yatming lot' or something similar. If just inputting generic or super broad search words then you'll get a bunch of hits.
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          • #6
            I'm just noting that when I use ebay's criteria (selecting search criteria of "Toys and Hobbies"--I do NOT 'select' the default of "All Categories"), the counts are incredibly gigantic, and they were not beyond belief before this past Christmas season. I also check off the boxes for "Diecast and Toy Vehicles" and often the scale(s) preferred for the search.

            Perhaps the aberrant results were a factor of the time of year? Right before Christmas? Maybe there actually were more than a million listings for "fire truck" under "Diecast and Toy Vehicles" simply because it was the "Christmas shopping season"? (I haven't checked this morning if it's different... just replying to the above comments.)
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