For new newsgroup readers, these are not our forum posts. Any comments to the posters below should be made on the applicable thread, marked in bold below.
From what can be read from eBay, they have no intention of NOT changing how searches are done.
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From eBay Search Forum
New Search SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://forums.ebay.com/db1/thread.jspa?threadID=2000404259&tstart=0&mod=1185169347167
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friendtomananddog (54 ) Jul-20-07 10:21 PDT
This new search SUCKS. I can't find what I want without a lot of crap included that should be excluded based on my search parameters. I will not be using ebay with this type of difficulty. Why should I have to find this forum to vent when all I want to do is USE ebay to shop. Get your crap together EBAY!
babydoll0000000000000 (345 ) Jul-20-07 10:28 PDT 1 of
Well said my friend!
amethistle (559 ) Jul-20-07 12:08 PDT 2 of
My God, what a disaster the new search is! I didn't get what I wanted, and I got a lot of stuff I didn't want!! It's unbelievable that, apparently in order to keep all their programmers busy, they come up with this unnecessary, unneeded, and useless change!! Please please please don't screw with something that works!!!
oldgoatplanes (806 ) Jul-20-07 17:20 PDT 3 of
What are they thinking????? I'm leaving, this isn't fun anymore. :(
vanlohd08em (23 ) Jul-20-07 18:08 PDT 4 of
Yup, I agree...the new search is terrible. The filters on the left aren't all laid out in one view...you have to click on things & open menus to get to them. Terrible!!
I found a link at the bottom of the page after a search. It said something about an experimental new search. Click here to opt out. I clicked "Opt Out" and go the good 'ol search we all like!
webpaper (1554 ) Jul-20-07 18:46 PDT 5 of
I QUIT!
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[email protected] Jul-21-07 16:51 PDT 6 of
Hi All,
If you'd like eBay to consider your feedback on changes to the new search system including the layout, items returned or other, we need more information from you.
When providing feedback please provide detailed informaiton about what queries you're using and what you're expecting to see vs. what you are seeing.
Thanks,
Jeff
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gillz (578 ) Jul-21-07 22:05 PDT 7 of
Attention eBay. I'll make this real simple. Do NOT change the search engine results page. This is not about fearing change. The new results page is difficult in so many ways as have already been discussed in the other posts here.
rushinto (223 ) Jul-21-07 23:39 PDT 8 of
What do I want to see?
Every damn auction, Store item, eBay express item, half.com item, eBay motors item, and overseas item (if I choose) that matches my keyword(s) and none that don't. No hierarchical or contingent separators based on the source of the item. All items from all sources intermingled based on my sorting criteria. (Criteria, that's plural, I want to be able to sort by more than one column, should I choose.) I don't care what part of the eBay empire it comes from, I just want to know if someone is offering it to me.
All items presented with vital data in (easily customizable) columns so I can scan down them rapidly.
Multi-select of categories as I drill down. Keep the current format of offering sub-category matches on the left, but add check boxes so one search can cross multiple sub-categories.
Direct editing of all Saved Search parameters right on the saved search page. Using the subset of search tools on the results page can be frustrating and inefficient. As an alternate, clicking on "edit" in Saved Search will bring up a split screen view. The advanced search options are displayed at the top, pre-filled from the saved search and the search results are displayed at the bottom, so changes can rapidly be verified.
Separate search boxes for titles and descriptions in advanced search
rushinto (223 ) Jul-21-07 23:43 PDT 9 of
Also, Jeff, do your search developers even do live, over-the-shoulder, testing with regular users driving the tool? When I sit in front of the test version of search I see the signs of cave-dweller development. Let your developers out into the wild with real users so they can see the frustration points and fix them. Now!
webpaper (1554 ) Jul-22-07 02:45 PDT 10 of
Jeff,
99 percent of the users that take the time to come to these boards do so pleading to leave search the way it is because it works.
If you can't understand that there is no hope for ebay. Ebay does not know what we want to search for - we have been using search for years and understand how it works.
We do not want our time wasted by you, or anyone else. We want to see all of the items we are searching for and NO OTHER ITEMS. We want to be able to search categories and set priorities without ebay making assumptions about what we want to see and favoring large accounts over small accounts.
LEAVE IT ALONE - we have told you, and told you, and told you what the problems are in numerous threads on these boards and to date you have not acknowledged our complaints - this is absolute garbage. No company can survive ignoring their customers.
buystuff35235 (27 ) Jul-22-07 05:13 PDT 11 of
"LEAVE IT ALONE - we have told you, and told you, and told you"
And I will tell you, and tell you, and tell you, too. LEAVE IT ALONE! Do NOT make the new search method mandatory. It is HORRIBLE in EVERY WAY.
denizappleby (68 ) Jul-22-07 08:04 PDT 12 of
Please,Please,Please, bring back the Ebay we all love!Please!!! This is like the NEW Coke Idea, we don't want change!! PL?EASE.!?
denizappleby (68 ) Jul-22-07 08:07 PDT 13 of
Jeff, why don't you let your members vote with a little HTML box on the main screen after signing in? Don't try a force feed us! Let the members decide!
greatoldstuff2 (89 ) Jul-22-07 13:42 PDT 14 of
Jeff, I can customize columns of data now. Choose which order I feel most comfortable viewing. And, which data. With your "test," I don't seem to be able to do this. Why? Instead, the "test" has data stacked on top of each other, which I find extremely impossible to scan with any speed.
I know this isn't the first time anyone has stated this.....yet you continue to ignore this. Instead, you persist in taking away features that make searching more fun and pleasant.
greatoldstuff2 (89 ) Jul-22-07 15:46 PDT 15 of
Jeff, how many positive comments have been posted to the Search Board, about your "test?"
Inprovements should be a positive thing. And, nothing that I've seem posted is positive about the changes that you are moving forward with.
oldfrog1 (138 ) Jul-22-07 17:59 PDT 16 of
If you'd like eBay to consider your feedback on changes to the new search system including the layout, items returned or other, we need more information from you.
I may just be a stupid customer of ebay buying items etc but the changes you at ebay made make absolutely no sense at all. My Favorite searches were set up to give me a limited and set pattern of results with a manageable number of items. Now amazingly I get the entire inventory of my search items. I want the concise searches that gave me what I was looking for back. I do not want to go through all that nonsense and junk you have added. the system you had before was easy to use and could be modified at the click of a mouse. Was/is it your intention to drive even more buyers from the site from with such an ill considered and stupid decision?
Is that clear enough feedback from me?
oldfrog1 (138 ) Jul-22-07 18:11 PDT 17 of
When providing feedback please provide detailed information about what queries you're using and what you're expecting to see vs. what you are seeing.
My first favorites search was set up as follows
category:jewelry and watches/wristwatches
Men's: pre 1940 :US only: paypal only: keyword automatic
Items ending within 1 hour. my typical results were limited to no more than 10 items. I could look at a longer time frame on the left of the page with just two mouse clicks.
Now it tells me that my search parameters are too broad and the search returns over 4,000 items and there is no I repeat no logical way to return to my comfort level.
Please tell me how there was an improvemant made, sincwe if it continuies to be this difficult to find what I want it will nmot be worth my time or effort to visit ebay anymore.
member_amx (33 ) Jul-22-07 18:30 PDT 18 of
I was "selected" to participate in the "test". I was not warned my Ebay would start sucking. The new search is aweful! It took me some time to figure out what was happening... I first went to my preferences to see if it could be turned back into a powerful and easy to use interface. No luck. Then I went back to the search page again to see if it was my computer messing things up. (Getting desperate...) Nope still sucking. Then, waaaaay at the bottom of the page I find the "opt-out" link. Success! Now the suction ceases... I'm afraid that the cookie or whatever opted me out will be erased when I close my browser and I will have to endure more awefulness.
More specifically I didn't like:
1. Always resets to "Ending Soonest" with a new search.
2. Hard to switch to "Completed Auctions" view.
3. More scrolling due to wasted screen real estate.
4. Totally unfamiliar feel. You might want to try incremental changes so us Ebay veterans aren't totally lost/alienated.
I will not enjoy my experience as much with the new search.
Of course I've only been here since shortly after the start of Ebay.
Please abandon this, or make the old search a preference choice in my Ebay.
I appreciate the chance to participate. I'm sorry I didn't like the changes.
JB
yellowstonelove (201 ) Jul-22-07 18:50 PDT 19 of
I'm sorry Jeff, but you're post is really patronizing. Don't talk down to us. You know darn well that the new search stinks. It's very simple. We ALL know it. What ebay is not telling us is WHY they are trying to cram it down our throats.
The smug attitude of ebay is sickening. And anyone who says we should be nice to pinks, well.... that's like saying be polite to someone who is shooting you with a bb gun. No, if someone is hurting you, you fight back.
Jeff do NOT ask us for more details -- there are none to give. We cannot possibly give you a simpler response than, DON'T CHANGE IT.
yellowstonelove (201 ) Jul-22-07 18:53 PDT 20 of
ugh, i meant "your" post, not "you're" post. and when I said "it's very simple", i meant, the solution is very simple (i.e. don't change the search)
sorry... it's just that i'm so angry. but hey it's just a website.... i won't let it get me down... lol
jaddwhat (33 ) Jul-22-07 21:17 PDT 21 of
What was eBay thinking? This new search is NOT an improvement.
Where did the completed listings go? That was a great feature to see what the price range may be for a like item.
Each item now takes up to many lines with wasted space on the right hand side.
Before you could eliminate listing by using the "space-item word", which helped weed out items that were close but not really what you wanted.
Some heads should roll over this piece of crap.
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[email protected] Jul-22-07 21:53 PDT 22 of
Hi oldfrog1,
Thanks for the great detail here. I'll have the team investigate what's going on here & get back to the board.
member_amx,
also great feedback.. thanks!
1. Not having the sort order 'sticky' is a bug. We'll fix it..
2. Completed items isn't done yet. It will be released in a few weeks
3. 'real estate problem' We're not happy with the layout of the search results. The current layout shown in the test is leftover from the experiment we did last fall that we're changing dramatically. The new layout will be much more like the existing search with a real cleanup of the stores expansion and other needed updates.
4. We did push some of the page designs in the test 'to the extreme' a bit to get a good understanding of how users could interact with new elements. (for example Top Navigation instead of left side) We're learning a lot from the test and I expect that the designs closer to existing will perform well.
yellowstonelove,
My apologies. It was not at all my intention to come across patronizing. We really want your feedback. The team is very committed to improving search on eBay and understanding specifcally where you are having issues is important to us.
Jeff
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rec78 (1065 ) Jul-22-07 22:42 PDT 23 of
UGHHHHHH !! This is simply awful. How come when i click on one of my favorite catagories now-i get 7000 listings where i used to get 20-30? eBay is losing money with this system-i can't find anything without a great waste of time. If i can't find what i want-how can i bid on it? Please go back to the old system and leave well-enough alone. I also use completed listings a lot as references. PLEASE -Please-PLEASE- do not implement this system-It is useless. Thanks for your consideration. It is your bottom line. Bob
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laska_2006 (82 ) Jul-23-07 01:23 PDT 24 of
I'm still in shock!!! WOW!! Why would anyone in this world would do something like this??????? They just destroyed a lots of good things! And e-bay representatives just look not very smart by asking :"oh, give us more details, give us description what you didn't like....." Huh, let me think.. !!EVERYTHING ABOUT NEW SEARCH!!! I'm really pissed off! This is awful!!! E-bay will loose tons of customers.. Seriously. I think most ppl rather would go to Wal-Mart then come back to poor, ugly, pittyful, confusing, messed up NEW SEARCH. I'm afraid to think even about "Selling" portion of e-bay! Tht should be disaster!!! If simple search became sooo unattractive, imagine how hard it will be post item for sale?
Today i tried to look for something on E-bay, and when I saw new search results I felt sick in my stomack. Then I thought it was my computer. Then i went to MY ebay and tried to play with preferences. Didn't help. And then I got brightest idea to check discussion board. I've had hope till the last moment, but when I read all the post on new search everything just collapsed..
I think it is against all the rules. People who use Yahoo mail not long time ago noticed invitation from yahoo to try new and improved interface view. BUT THEY HAD CHOICE TO SWITCH BACK IF THEY DIDNT LIKE IT!!! Thts what I call freedom of choice and ability to run business with respect to your customers, ppl who makes world of e-bay turns. PLEASE SWITCH IT BACK!! PLEASE!...
webpaper (1554 ) Jul-23-07 01:50 PDT 25 of
"My apologies. It was not at all my intention to come across patronizing. We really want your feedback. The team is very committed to improving search on eBay and understanding specifcally where you are having issues is important to us."
If you are not trying to come accross as patronizing then I don't know what to tell you, because you certainly do. The reason so many of us who have been here 8 to 10 years are leaving is because of the arrogance and contempt displayed by the "pink" posts. Do all ebay employees get a crash course in how to tick people off?
Ebay belongs to the stockholders, yes. But ebay will not survive without customers and if you implement this piece of trash in core it will absolutely collapse.
Please hire someone with just a trifle bit of courtesy and common sense to tell us what is going on.
roadviewer (3592 ) Jul-23-07 06:06 PDT 26 of
This is beyond belief!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
roadviewer (3592 ) Jul-23-07 06:07 PDT 27 of
Will someone please tell me how to get to COMPLETED AUCTIONS??????
glenda (1349 ) Jul-23-07 07:47 PDT 28 of
Hi roadviewer
Bookmark this link: http://search.ebay.com
Hi laska_2006 and roadviewer
There is an opt-out at the bottom of each search results page.
Glenda
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V3 You can write to eBay support by clicking on Help then Contact Us.
It's hard to tell where the road will lead, just looking at it from the one end.
fairly_dinkum (6 ) Jul-23-07 08:53 PDT 29 of
I am so afraid that all of these "new search" complaints simply fall upon deaf ears. Once ebay makes up its mind...
Something that Bill Cobb said in his introduction email, way back when, was just so telling of the way they think. It was either uber-condescending, or else it foretold our future (now, our present).
"We have heard you say that you want the ebay site to be simple, to return to those simpler functions and to stop changing it. We have heard you and we will work on that."
Sorry, but in returning things to an earlier function, the small amount of effort involved should not be referred to as work.
fair treatment for Stores - just do it
~me
fflustred (139 ) Jul-23-07 13:05 PDT 30 of
"If you'd like eBay to consider your feedback on changes to the new search system....we need more information from you.....Thanks, Jeff"
Hi Jeff and how about more information from YOU?!
How about a summary of what your trying to achieve with the new search that the old one failed to deliver?
Convince us that this is not change for the sake of it...
book_and_music_mover (901 ) Jul-23-07 17:01 PDT 31 of
Jeff, you're unbelievable. Your answer to most of the complaints is that there are layout problems and the final version will closer to the existing version. How about resolve the layout problems internally before bringing to the users to test?
What he hell was so wrong about the old version that the whole system needed to be changed? Always room for a few tweaks but there was no need for a major overhaul.
Everybody knows this is about Ebay shoving sponsored links and items onto users who aren't interested enough to specifically search for them.
SELL your Ebay stock NOW, boys and girls. Revenues are going to plummet and the programming managers are going to lie to upper management about the real reason (screwed up Search) in order to protect their jobs. They have sunk so much time and money into this new format that to cancel it now would lead to heads rolling.
oldfrog1 (138 ) Jul-23-07 18:08 PDT 32 of
Everybody knows this is about Ebay shoving sponsored links and items onto users who aren't interested enough to specifically search for them.
Couldn't agree more if the new system is implemented then definitely I will not stay around to use the cumbersome and illogical nonsense that I saw the other night.
greatoldstuff2 (89 ) Jul-23-07 19:57 PDT 33 of
The Search Board is quickly filling with threads saying how much folks HATE the "test" search.
Some want to find COMPLETED LISTINGS.
Some DON'T WANT best match as a default.
etc. etc. etc.
Jeff, are you reading and listening?
As a seller, I am reading and listening. Am I getting my money's worth for my listing/gallery fees? Are my items getting the exposure in the Searches that I expect from eBay? I'm beginning to think that I'm crazy for paying full price to list items on a TEST SITE. That's some very specific things to consider, Jeff.
fraer_at_work (11 ) Jul-23-07 22:04 PDT 34 of
In addition, the advanced search is now broken. When I specify my location, and check the box "Items near me" the search returns items from all locations. Instead of the usual ~100 items I got ~21,000, and the number is exaxtly the same as when the box is unchecked.
Am I supposed to waste my time looking through 21,000 ads?...
Alex
webpaper (1554 ) Jul-24-07 01:55 PDT 35 of
As a seller I quit over a month ago -probably forever (down from 40 items per week).
As a buyer I will soon be leaving, even the unannounced "tweaks" are making it difficult to find things and IMPOSSIBLE to enjoy.
scotchorama (60 ) Jul-24-07 02:20 PDT 36 of
Just to echo what has been said: I can't find anything anymore. I've just wasted 10 minutes of my life trying to figure out this new search, and it is plain rubbish. Ebay will lose out a lot here, as there will be less bids. I just can't find anything anymore!
Rubbish.
scotchorama (60 ) Jul-24-07 02:28 PDT 37 of
Ok, to be constructive:
My main complaint for the "antiquarian & collectible books" category:
1) I can't search by date anymore;
2) I can't search for words in description;
As it is, ebay is useless in this category.
sko74517 (593 ) Jul-24-07 05:58 PDT 38 of
Get rid of "Best Match" as a default....period. The "best match" is a joke. Let people search the way they want.....make it an option, but not a default. I also want to see everything that contains my search keywords.....not someone elses idea of what they think I want. It is not easier when I have to click on extra links to find the stuff I want.....not easier at all.
I seem to get this new search sporadically......not for every thing I search for. Maybe they finally figured out that it just doesn't work for most vintage items.....the things I buy and have sold.
Right now, I'm not selling or buying. Between eBay trying to control my search and making tons of other silly decisions and Paypal making a unilateral decision about how I receive my buyer credit invoices, I've about had it with this place.
sean-q (864 ) Jul-24-07 07:31 PDT 39 of
Today was the third time I was opted into this test. I actually tried to use the new format like I use the current one and after ten minutes I just gave up and opted out again. I'm not trying to do anything crazy, just the following:
1) Search across the entire US Coins category: the new system is forcing me to search in either individual coins or group lots.
2) Dig down to subcategories within the Individual Coins category. I want to look at commemmoratives. The old system has a separate subcategory for them, even divided into Early and Modern. In the new system I can't access those at all. Searching for "Commem*" only gives me items with that string in the title - if I'm a seller putting my item in that category, why would I waste space repeating it inthe title? instead of 6,000 coins the search returns about 1400, all mixed between early and modern.
3) When I finally get to an auction in a subcategory, and I click on it, it returns me to the main Individual Coins page. No matter what I tried, I could not access the subcategories from any page. That's when I gave up. If that functionality is there somewhere, it wasn't at all obvious to this longtime eBay user.
If you could just allow users to access the existing subcategories again I would almost be willing to give the new system a try. They are the most effective way of organizing search results and rendering them inaccessible makes everything else useless. I don't come to eBay and I don't use the search function to have to surf through 5,000 tangentially related items with no organization. I come to eBay to look in the handful of categories in my specialty. I'm not going to buy more if you dump a huge pile of stuff in my lap, it's only going to obscure the few things I'm really interested in.
I've been on eBay as a buyer and seller for almost ten years, and the new search in its current construction is by far the worst "improvement" you've ever proposed.
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