O.T. Any tips for searching eBay for specialized items?

Yvsa

Yvsa

Joined
May 18, 1999
Messages
15,395
I'm having a heckuva time trying to learn how to search things out on eBay that I'm interested in. I type in a series of words or even sometimes just one word in their search feature and it tells me there is no listings for those items.:( :rolleyes:

So just how do you go about searching there?:confused:
And how do you limit a search to narrow it down to just one item, khukuris for example?
I'm also interested in Keris, Marble's, Western, and etc as well as Amberina Glass and ndn artifact's.:D

Thanks in advance guys, and gals.:)
 
Yvsa, if you are doing a search for Western and Marbles knives I'd recommend doing the following:

In Ebay, click "Browse", "Collectibles", "Knives, Swords & Blades", then do a search for the paticular brand/model of knife. I just did a search for "Marbles" under the "Knives, Swords & Blades" heading and came up with 75 items found. Using "Western" in my search produced 140 Items. Ebay Knives, Swords & Blades. That's how I search for knives and it is works great for me.

If you want to look for other things, look for the catagory it would be under or in a search type in something like this: "Western Knife" or "Western Clothes". Hope that helps and Good luck in your searching. :)

Heber
 
I've had good success with most search engines (eBay included) by only using one term at a time. Don't forget to try alternative spellings. There's a story (urban legend?) floating around the 'net about people who've gotten amazing bargains on "labtop" computers. :)

Another tip: from their homepage, click "Smart Search," right under their basic search form. Enter several spellings or related terms and then pull down the option to the right. Instead of "All of these terms" change it to "Any of these terms."

In the search form, make sure it's checking the entire listing -- not just the auction title.

eBay can be really hit or miss sometimes, but it's worth messing with. I snagged a really nice Fred Bear Grizzly recurve bow for $40 one time. :D Don't get to shoot it nearly enough, though. :(
 
Thanks, now what about bidding and paying with PayPal?
From some of the stories I've read I'm not so sure PayPal is all that safe?:confused:
 
Knives may be listed under more categories than "collectibles." It all depends where the vendor puts it. So if you use the "browse" method, you miss some possiblities.

I use "search." For example, using "advanced search" type in "(knife,bowie) marbles" and in the box to exclude words type "glass, toy, game, games,children." Click the box that causes the search to also look at the description, not just the label the vendor selected. (For a Marbles, the label could be "Wow! Nice Hunting knife.") See what you get. You may need to "refine search" to add other words in the exclusion box to narrow the search.

Searching on eBay is a skill you will develop with use.

You need to learn what people call the item.

It's the Wild West. Between the outright crooks and the ignorant, many descriptions are not close to accurate.

Use the feature that allows you to ask the vendor questions about the goods. My rule is if they don't answer a polite question ending in "Thank you," I don't bid.

Failure to spell correctly is a fact of life, but how you anticipate these errors is beyond me. Example: a khuk was recently listed as "Gerkin Knife." Pickles anyone?

PayPal allows you to pay via a charge on your credit card (click on "other payment options"). That means if the goods don't show, you can refuse the item when your credit card bill appears. If you pay any other way, I'd do business only with vendors with extensive 99%+ feedback records. Save all e-mails that document the transaction until you get the goods.

Good luck and don't bid on anything I'm after. :D
 
Yvsa said:
Thanks, now what about bidding and paying with PayPal?
From some of the stories I've read I'm not so sure PayPal is all that safe?:confused:
Click to expand...

I use paypal for everything and everyone that will accept it. Convenient,easy,and it keeps a detailed record in it's history section that I print out about every 6 months for filing.

I do not let them withdraw funds from my bank account I use the credit card option only.

I have found it to be safe and reliable but I use several firewalls and Norton.
 
Yvsa,
I've never had a problem with PayPal but I know some here have. There two ways to pay with PayPal. Either tie the account to your credit card as Clearblue said or allow PayPal to direct transfer from your bank account.

Some vendors will not accept PayPal that is tied to a credit card because the fees are higher. I use the bank account option but I have it tied to a separate bank account that I use solely to fund PayPal purchases. I only put enough money in that account to cover PayPal. Never had a problem.

Semp
 
Don't forget wildcards. They catch odd spellings and misspellings. Unfortunately, you can only do a remaining character wildcard, such as khu*, and not a leading character wildcard, like *ri. I've emailed about adding that feature but ebay has gotten so big I'm sure it'll be ignored.

Also, if you've got the time, include descriptions in your search with the little check box . A lot of people won't put some important info or description in the title because they have limited space and are trying to make something eye-catching.

It's ok to limit the searches to certain catagories, but I have seen many many things mis-listed in wacky catagories. I have seen many of those things with misspellings that go for a song because nobody else found them.
 
and don't forget to search for "koo-koo-ree" every once in a while....:D :p


Paypal is safe....and if you have any seller problems, there are ways to get your $$ back.

Paypal is now so widely accepting as a payment option, that scams pretending to be Paypal are rampant. Be alert whenever you play around with your $$...!

Dan
 
Yvsa,
I would not search for keris, kris or anything lile that on ebay, please I have enough competition already! ;) I have bought many keris on ebay and if you want, I can let you know who I have bought from. The keris market is wierd on ebay, I have seen good stuff not go, but questionable stuff go for crazy prices. Guess that means business as usual for ebay. I saw John had a great khuk on a while ago that last I check did not even have a bid. It was out of my range so I did not follow it. Drop me a line if you want to chat about keris. We can take it to email or keep it here if no one objects to the OT bandwidth.
 
Yvsa said:
Thanks, now what about bidding and paying with PayPal?
From some of the stories I've read I'm not so sure PayPal is all that safe?:confused:
Click to expand...

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