|
Using Custom Search Options |
 |
Refining your searches for better results
Every time you search for an item on eBay and see a list of search results you will also see a set of options running down the left side of the results page. Amongst these options is the custom search options box, which can be used to refine your search results. Using the box you can tell eBay to show you only results in a certain geographical area, only results in a certain price range, or a set of results narrowed by some other criteria.
The diagram below shows the custom search box from an eBay results page. Refer to the numbered items below for details on how and when to use the custom search feature in question.
- Item location (general): Check this box to restrict results to items in a few general areas. Chose the general area in question from the drop-down list—your options will include things like your continent, your nation, or your state.
- Item location (specific): Check this box to restrict results to items near to where you currently are. Enter your ZIP or similar code into the lower box and choose the maximum distance for which you want to see results from the drop-down list. For example, select "50" from the list and enter the ZIP code "10027" in the lower box to search only for items within 50 miles of Manhattan's upper west side.
- Items listed with PayPal: Check this box to show only those items for which you can make payment via PayPala>. Items whose sellers don't accept PayPal payments won't be shown.
- Buy It Now items: Check this box to show only those items that can be bought immediately using the Buy It Now feature. Items that require you to make a bid and wait for the auction to end in order to see if you've won won't be shown in search results.
- Free Shipping items: Check this box to show only those items for which additional shipping payment isn't required. Note that you may want to use this option when searching for items with very expensive shipping (i.e. when the reduction in shipping costs is very important to you), since it may considerably limit search results.
- Get It Fast items: Check this box to show only those items being sold by sellers willing to do expedited shippinga> with guaranteed shipping times. Though this may limit your results to some extent, it also ensures that any item you purchase will arrive quickly. Keep in mind that shipping can only occur once you've actually won an auction, so figure in the extra time needed to wait for the auction to close.
- Completed listings: Check this box to search for items from amongst eBay's vast database of finished auctions. Remember that if you check this box, you won't be able to buy anything you see (since all of it has already been sold), but you will be able to see how much things have cost for other buyers.
- Gift items: Check this box to show results including only those items that are being sold with gift features as an option—these include gift wrapping, the inclusion of a card, and so on.
- Items listed as lots: Check this box to search only for items that have been listed by the seller as "lots." A lot is literally a kind of pile of items. It is generally many items of unknown or untested condition being sold very inexpensively for salvage or resale.
- All items including store inventory items: Check this box to include in your results items that would normally not be displayed because they belong to other areas of eBay (first and foremost among these, the items for sell in eBay stores).
- Listing times: Check this box to search for items with specific time-related characteristics—most often, auctions that close within a specific amount of time or that have been recently listed. Select one of "Ending within," "Ending in more than," or "Started within" to specify the time characteristic you want to see, then select the number of hours in question from the second drop down list. For example, choose "Started within" and "24 hours" to return results only for items that have appeared on eBay within the last 24 hours.
- Items priced: Check this box to limit your search results to items within a certain price range. You supply the range in the two boxes below the checkbox. The first (left) box is your lower (minimum) price, and the second (right) box is your higher (maximum) price. For example, to show only items priced below $100.00, enter "0" in the first box and "100" in the second.
- Show items! Click this button when you have checked every custom search parameter that you want to use to refine your search. After you click, your search will be re-run (i.e. using the same search terms that you used the first time around), with all of your new criteria as narrowing factors.
Mixing Advanced Searches
The power of the custom search options box really comes to the fore when you use it in combination with advanced searching techniques that help you to search eBay for multiple simultaneous terms (this AND that), one of several terms (this OR that), or excluding terms (this but NOT that). Don't miss the details on how to perform these types of advanced searches either.
