eBay search for Atari gets non-Atari stuff

[Brian R.]

Has there been a change to the search function at eBay?

 

Used to be, if you searched for "Atari," you'd get listings that had "Atari" in the subject, so you'd get only Atari things.

 

Now, I'm getting listings for XBox games, Playstation games... stuff that doesn't have Atari in the heading, but I guess because the publisher is Atari.

 

I don't know about you, but when I search for "Atari" on eBay, I'm looking for 2600, 5200, 7800, 8 bit, Lynx and Jaguar stuff, not an XBox DragonballZ game! All this extraneous listing is muddying about the search results.

[Albert]

Geesh, yeah, that is crap. I'm seeing stuff come up that doesn't even have the word Atari in the title, description, or publisher, but happened to be listed in some Atari-related category. Leave it to eBay to further munge their system and make it even more confusing.

 

..Al

[Artlover]

I don't know about you, but when I search for "Atari" on eBay, I'm looking for 2600, 5200, 7800, 8 bit, Lynx and Jaguar stuff

In other words, you're only looking for the Atari you personally want to see and not the ones you don't. Why is Atari not Atari?

 

Personaly, I'm not interested in the google effect. If I search for Atari, I'd want to see all things Atari, because you know, I might just be looking for "Enter the Matrix" or "Dragonball Z: Sagas".

 

It's my job to decide what I'm looking for. Either by sifting through the results, or using better, more specific search terms that reflect what I'm actually trying to find. It's not up to a 3rd party to filter my results for me based on what they think I'm looking for.

 

Geesh, yeah, that is crap. I'm seeing stuff come up that doesn't even have the word Atari in the title, description, or publisher, but happened to be listed in some Atari-related category. Leave it to eBay to further munge their system and make it even more confusing.

Leave it to eBay? It's that the fault of the seller who put their, what some people consider non atari item, in an atari group? Is that any different then using the wrong keywords (Super Mario World for the Atari SNES)? Running a web forum, you should know the difficulty in creating groups and sub groups. How many doors to additional groups it opens. What deserves to go where and how to enforce it. Not to mention it goes back to my point above. Why is Atari not Atari?

 

We nutty Atari collectors can hold on to our narrowly specifc view of what "Atari" represents, but like it or not, it doesn't reflect real world reality. "Dragonball Z: Sagas" is Atari, you don't have to like it, but you do have to accept it.

[Albert]

Leave it to eBay? It's that the fault of the seller who put their, what some people consider non atari item, in an atari group? Is that any different then using the wrong keywords (Super Mario World for the Atari SNES)? Running a web forum, you should know the difficulty in creating groups and sub groups. How many doors to additional groups it opens. What deserves to go where and how to enforce it. Not to mention it goes back to my point above. Why is Atari not Atari?

 

We nutty Atari collectors can hold on to our narrowly specifc view of what "Atari" represents, but like it or not, it doesn't reflect real world reality. "Dragonball Z: Sagas" is Atari, you don't have to like it, but you do have to accept it.

Historically eBay's search has always been a "title" search. If you wanted to search the description, you could check the little "Search in descriptions" checkbox. They are dumbing it down to broaden the search results, making it less useful overall. You can always browse the various categories if that's what you want. They are throwing everything and the kitchen sink into the results. If someone wants Dragonball Z then they should search for that. Nobody is going to use the word "Atari" to search for "Dragonball Z" games--look at the titles for those auctions, you won't see any that have "Atari" in them for the modern games. It's not nearly as important or relevant as it is for classic games. If the seller feels the manufacturer/publisher of an item is important and something people may search for, they should put it in the title.

 

..Al

[Brian R.]

Leave it to eBay? It's that the fault of the seller who put their, what some people consider non atari item, in an atari group? Is that any different then using the wrong keywords (Super Mario World for the Atari SNES)? Running a web forum, you should know the difficulty in creating groups and sub groups. How many doors to additional groups it opens. What deserves to go where and how to enforce it. Not to mention it goes back to my point above. Why is Atari not Atari?

 

We nutty Atari collectors can hold on to our narrowly specifc view of what "Atari" represents, but like it or not, it doesn't reflect real world reality. "Dragonball Z: Sagas" is Atari, you don't have to like it, but you do have to accept it.

Historically eBay's search has always been a "title" search. If you wanted to search the description, you could check the little "Search in descriptions" checkbox. They are dumbing it down to broaden the search results, making it less useful overall. You can always browse the various categories if that's what you want. They are throwing everything and the kitchen sink into the results. If someone wants Dragonball Z then they should search for that. Nobody is going to use the word "Atari" to search for "Dragonball Z" games--look at the titles for those auctions, you won't see any that have "Atari" in them for the modern games. It's not nearly as important or relevant as it is for classic games. If the seller feels the manufacturer/publisher of an item is important and something people may search for, they should put it in the title.

 

..Al

 

Well said, Al. My thoughts exactly.

 

Some of the non-Atari listings I get for "Atari" - and this is just from the first page of results...

 

NINTENDO GAMECUBE GAME DRAGON BALL Z SAGAS *BRAND NEW*

Unreal 2: The Awakening, (Xbox)

Enter the Matrix (GameCube) GAME/MINT CONDITION

ROLLER COASTER TYCOON 3 PC WINDOWS XP SIM GAME NEW

TransWorld Snowboarding (Xbox)

Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee GameCube Wii Rare

MATRIX: The Path of NEO DVD PC Games UNUSED!

ACT OF WAR Direct Action PC Games NEW!

TRANSFORMERS PS2 GAME PLAYSTATION 2 FastSH ~SEALED NEW!

AXIS & ALLIES PC MAC WWII Strategy Games UNUSED*

PLAYSTATION PS2 GAME DRAGON BALL Z SAGAS *BRAND NEW HOT

TRANSWORLD SURF XBOX SURFING GAME X-BOX * NEW SEALED *

Sid Meier's Pirates!: Live the Life (PC Games)

ROLLERCOASTER TYCOON 3 Amusement Park WIN PC UNUSED*

Dragon Ball Z: Sagas (XBOX) Game DragonBall SEALED NEW!

BACKYARD SKATEBOARDING 2006 PC Games - UNUSED!

Unreal Championship (Xbox) COMPLETE NO RESERVE***

Wheel of Fortune (Playstation 2)

Nancy Drew: Danger on Deception Island (PC Games)

TRANSFORMERS PS2 GAME PLAYSTATION 2 FastSH ~SEALED NEW!

THE MATRIX: Path of Neo Xbox Action Movie NEW SEALED!

ROLLER COASTER TYCOON 3 PC WINDOWS XP SIM GAME NEW

Boiling Point: Road to Hell (PC Games)

PLAYSTATION 2 PS2 TRANSFORMERS ARMADA AUTOBOTS *NEW*

 

 

... wow, that's a lot. More than I even expected. And again, all from just the first page of listings - most of which are not Atari. None of those have Atari in the title, and IMO these listings should not have been returned on a search for "Atari." Makes me wonder how many of the 5,344 items that as of this writing come up for the search "Atari" are actually not Atari at all.

 

 

I also remember when searching for "Atari" just brought up results - again, listings that actually had "Atari" in the title. Now, instead, it goes to the category page, which I always bypass. Yeah, I want to bring up everything Atari, but I don't want Nintendo, PS2, Wii, XBox and PC stuff.

 

Sometimes, being specific can exclude a valid result. Someone selling an Atari item may not always list it as, say, being a cartridge for the XL or XE line, but just simply call it an Atari game.

Edited September 19, 2007 by Brian R.

[Atarian7]

I have no problems when I search for "atari 2600". Maybe you just need to narrow down your search to 2600, 5200, 7800 or whichever console you want to look for. Wouldn't it be easier to sift through anyway if you have to search for one console

at a time?

[Brian R.]

I have no problems when I search for "atari 2600". Maybe you just need to narrow down your search to 2600, 5200, 7800 or whichever console you want to look for. Wouldn't it be easier to sift through anyway if you have to search for one console

at a time?

 

I do search for specific things - lately, for example, it's been Atari computer stuff - so I'll search Atari xe, atari xl, Atari 800, Atari 600, Atari 400 and such.

 

But if I just want to see what's ending soon to see if there's anything I'd be interested in, I just search "Atari."

[Artlover]

Historically eBay's search has always been a "title" search.

Ok, fair enough. I haven't eBayed in a while.

 

But I would like to comment, "title" search alone wasn't perfect either. What about all the Atari's that don't say Atari, and all the non Atari stuff that does? Hasn't this always been a problem. People calling everything from Colecovision to Intelivision to NES carts Atari. People selling 2600's saying 2600, VCS, Sears Tele-games. The search always included results you wern't searching for, and excluded ones you were.

 

Sure, the dumbed down search everything "broaden the search results", but I think thats the point. You're getting more subjectively false results, but you're also getting more valid ones as well. That is usefull to those who are noobs both to what they are searching for and of propper search techniques. Lets face it, A LOT of people on eBay are not technicaly savvy enough to know exactly what they are looking for or how to find it.

 

Nobody is going to use the word "Atari" to search for "Dragonball Z" games

Actually, I didn't know the exact names of any recent Atari game and googled "atari infogram" to dig up "Enter the Matrix".

 

Some of the non-Atari listings I get for "Atari" - and this is just from the first page of results...Makes me wonder how many of the 5,344 items that as of this writing come up for the search "Atari" are actually not Atari at all.

Non-Atari by the biased defination you guys set fourth for the matter of personal convenience.

 

Every one of those, except for one "Nancy Drew: Danger on Deception Island (PC Games)", is technically an Atari product.

 

Also, one of those demenstrates my point above about title search. "THE MATRIX: Path of Neo Xbox Action Movie NEW SEALED!". Path of neo for the Xbox is a "movie"? Even if it was working still as a title search, people searching for "the matrix movie" would be getting xbox box games listed, wouldn't they?

 

Sometimes, being specific can exclude a valid result.

So does being generalized.

[deathtrappomegranate]

I've noticed this over the past week or so, too.

 

It wouldn't be so bad if ebay actually told their members that they were going to do this kind of thing, but the change in search logic has really messed things up for me.

 

They also mess around with the appearance of the site all the time.

 

I haven't listed anything for sale since ebay UK saw the hike to 9% in FVF for video games, but I guess that I'll have to do it soon.

[Albert]

I've noticed this over the past week or so, too.

 

It wouldn't be so bad if ebay actually told their members that they were going to do this kind of thing, but the change in search logic has really messed things up for me.

 

They also mess around with the appearance of the site all the time.

 

I haven't listed anything for sale since ebay UK saw the hike to 9% in FVF for video games, but I guess that I'll have to do it soon.

That's a big problem with eBay--they are always screwing with something, and they don't go out of their way to let you know they are doing it. Just today a friend of mine sent me a link to an auction he listed and told me to look at it to spot something that was very obviously wrong. Turns out that the auction had a $50 BIN, but there were already two bids on the item and the BIN was still active! He called eBay and they told him that in some categories they no longer kill the BIN until 75% of the BIN has been reached through bids. This pissed him off since it changes the dynamics of the bidding--he doesn't want someone to hit the BIN if it's already reached 75% of that price, as it's likely bidding would go higher than the BIN! eBay really has taken what was once a relatively simple auction site and turned it into a huge quagmire of features and inconsistency..

 

..Al

[Zwackery]

eBay allows you to exclude words from their searches, too, so you can search for atari -nintendo, which would yield all hits that have atari excluding the word nintendo...you can do this in both title and description searches...you can also "stack" the exclusions, ruling out multiple terms, just remember to put a minus in front of each one

 

For example: I searched titles only for atari and got 5386 hits and then searched titles only for atari -nintendo -pc -ps2 -playstation -flashback -bullet and went down to 3763 hits.

Edited September 20, 2007 by Zwackery

[jetset]

Holy crap is that annoying!

[lemoncurry]

All right! Jetset and I have something we can agree on!

[RangerG]

I wish Ebay and Paypal had some decent competition. Then they would need to streamline their service to make it more competitive.

[+Psionic]

Holy crap is that annoying!

I've been noticing this looking for lots of things...

I was just looking at ColecoVision stuff and there were some aquarium filters mixed in...WTF?!

Coleco used to make pool filters, but the items I saw were not...and didn't say anything Coleco-related anywhere in the auction. I don't know what the deal is.

[jetset]

Holy crap is that annoying!

I've been noticing this looking for lots of things...

I was just looking at ColecoVision stuff and there were some aquarium filters mixed in...WTF?!

Coleco used to make pool filters, but the items I saw were not...and didn't say anything Coleco-related anywhere in the auction. I don't know what the deal is.

 

I kid you not, I saw that and came right back here to post that when I saw yours!

 

It's funny...but not funny.

[Zwackery]

How are you searching to get these aquarium filters showing up in a Colecovision search? If I search for Colecovision by title or by description, I don't get any such filters.

[+Psionic]

How are you searching to get these aquarium filters showing up in a Colecovision search? If I search for Colecovision by title or by description, I don't get any such filters.

I'm doing a worldwide search...the filters in question are from a UK seller.

[Zwackery]

How are you searching to get these aquarium filters showing up in a Colecovision search? If I search for Colecovision by title or by description, I don't get any such filters.

I'm doing a worldwide search...the filters in question are from a UK seller.

 

ah, I see them now

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=160159191991

 

the issue is that the seller erroneously has them listed as Video Game Accessories - look right at the beginning of the description section

 

if it was only a buck or two it might be fun to buy one and then complain that you can't find any way to hook the dang thing up to your Colecovision

 

"Man, I got that crazy Mario all up in that plumbing and everything!"

[+Psionic]

the issue is that the seller erroneously has them listed as Video Game Accessories - look right at the beginning of the description section

You're right. The seller is from Hong Kong...and smoking some very strong opium, no doubt.

 

I still don't understand why it's showing up in a search for 'ColecoVision' (item is categorized as an Xbox accessory). Oddly enough, I got some Xbox stuff mixed in with the results while searching for ColecoVision a few days ago.

[Artlover]

How are you searching to get these aquarium filters showing up in a Colecovision search? If I search for Colecovision by title or by description, I don't get any such filters.

I'm doing a worldwide search...the filters in question are from a UK seller.

ah, I see them now

 

the issue is that the seller erroneously has them listed as Video Game Accessories - look right at the beginning of the description section

Was just going to post this.

 

Not just listed in the wrong place, but listed the platform as Colecovision.

 

I would like to point out it's only 3 out of 238 results, and reflects seller error.

[Zwackery]

You're right. The seller is from Hong Kong...and smoking some very strong opium, no doubt.

 

That's the special pack-in controller for the very rare "Hong Kong Hookah" edition of Donkey Kong - "how high can you get?"

[mnbren05]

Ebay has always had a head ache inducing search engine. Title searching should be decent but unfortunately people do stupid things to grab the most views as possible. Like putting:

 

Nintendo PS3 Wii XBOX 360 with 32 games

 

Which I absolutely hate. If you feel the urge to put up something your not auctioning in the title then please jump off a cliff. Honestly, the search function may be completely whacked at times but the ebayers that feel the need to title-tumor their auctions make this no easier.

 

 

(Yes I made title-tumor up)

[Albert]

Ebay has always had a head ache inducing search engine. Title searching should be decent but unfortunately people do stupid things to grab the most views as possible. Like putting:

 

Nintendo PS3 Wii XBOX 360 with 32 games

 

Which I absolutely hate. If you feel the urge to put up something your not auctioning in the title then please jump off a cliff. Honestly, the search function may be completely whacked at times but the ebayers that feel the need to title-tumor their auctions make this no easier.

 

 

(Yes I made title-tumor up)

This is keyword spamming and is against eBay's policies for the very reason that the auction will come up in searches it should not. Unfortunately eBay doesn't seem to actively police auctions for keyword spamming, but if someone reports it they'll probably take it down (especially for such an egregious violation).

 

..Al

[jetset]

Ebay has always had a head ache inducing search engine. Title searching should be decent but unfortunately people do stupid things to grab the most views as possible. Like putting:

 

Nintendo PS3 Wii XBOX 360 with 32 games

 

Which I absolutely hate. If you feel the urge to put up something your not auctioning in the title then please jump off a cliff. Honestly, the search function may be completely whacked at times but the ebayers that feel the need to title-tumor their auctions make this no easier.

 

 

(Yes I made title-tumor up)

This is keyword spamming and is against eBay's policies for the very reason that the auction will come up in searches it should not. Unfortunately eBay doesn't seem to actively police auctions for keyword spamming, but if someone reports it they'll probably take it down (especially for such an egregious violation).

 

..Al

 

Yes but now, ebay is practicially endorsing it. If someone puts in their description "please check out my other auctions on such item's as PS2, Xbox, 360, Wii, Star Wars Action figures, Disney movies, NFL apparel from such teams as...." Well you get the point.

Would that be considered keyword spamming?