Advanced search returns items that are not relevant

[aroytman]

I set up two advanced searches a while ago. They had worked fine for a year or so, but couple of months ago I started getting every day a lot of items that are absolutely not relevant. My searches are pretty specific: "147023 movement" and "147023 clock" all words, any order in title and description. Why am I getting irrelevant items?

[eburtonlab]

Those searches should turn up any item that contains that number and the word clock or movement anywhere in the title or description -- that could potentially be a lot of items.

In addition, eBay will sometimes offer results that match a synonym of one of your keywords. If your number has also recently become associated with other keywords as a part number, eBay may find those results in your search now.

You can bypass eBay's keyword substitution by using a search command such as by using quotes around a keyword "literally", exclusions keywords with a minus sign in front, like -octopus, or parenthetical terms to search either this or that (this,that).

The following search will match either clock or movement or patent plus that patent number exactly, while excluding some false positives:

147023 (clock,movement,patent) -scorpion -suunto -mousepad

https://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=147023+(clock%2Cmovement%2Cpatent)+-scorpion+-suunto+-...