Sellers filling category with

[rosscd57]

This is the category where I sell my radios. 

collectibles, radios, Phonograph, TV, Phone, radios, tube radios

When I look at the category and I filter out the USA and have Canadian location only. In the past few months one seller in particular and a few others, have been filling up the category with radio tubes and radio parts. They are using up more than half of the listings in the category.  There are separate listing categories for radio tubes and radio parts. They should be using those categories and not filling up the tube radio sales section.

I have placed three complaints using: "report this listing" to no avail. I think it is dropping sales, as radio buyers  have to scroll through  a lot of  parts and tubes to find actually radios for sale.

I don't want to seem petty - but I am irked. Is there anything else I can do? Or am I just petty?

Chris

[ricarmic]

My thoughts on this are that I don't believe people go to a category and just look at what's there in order (whatever search order they have), I think most folks are looking at stuff via searches.

This would at least be true in categories with many thousands to millions of items in them.

However I might be wrong. 

I know that for myself, I almost never look at a category, I always am using a search of some form. The only time I look at a "raw" category is to see how stuff is finishing (ie it is a measure of how many items are selling as a % of items ending kind of thing).

This belief is why I think it is of upmost importance to have the most important keywords in the "first 5" so to speak.

I doubt much will happen within a category unless there are a lot of complaints, and generally these will come from sellers as opposed to buyers is my guess.

I'd also worry that the "fix" would be implementation of more stupid time consuming rules that make listing the actual stuff that's supposed to be listed be more difficult and take longer. This is probably how many of the rules we all hate have come to pass.

I don't think you're being petty but there are so many things not done the way they're supposed to be done, I generally adopt the "learn to live with it" approach to these things, ie finding ways to make my stuff stand out from the in/appropriate stuff in the categories as opposed to trying to get the "system" to fix them....

[reallynicestamps]

I would agree with ricarmic.

My usual Search would not be Science Fiction Collectibles, but Firefly/Serenity*, since the former would give me thousands of responses while  the latter turns up perhaps  three dozen, although apparently there is some NewAge stuff that also uses those key words.

*It's a cult TV show that was cancelled after 12 episodes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUn-eN8mkDw&t=1s

[byto253]

I think you have done all that you can do.   I think that eBay has so much going on that this would not be high on the to do list.  

It is irritating though.  I sell some audio parts and turntable dust covers are a good item.  There is a seller that manufactures and sells them, but Never selects condition so his show up in every search even if you try to filter out with used if you are looking for a vintage OEM one.  One cover will also be good for several models so there are multiple listings.  It jams up the search results.  I reported it months ago but nothing changed and I think this is similar to your situation.

This was from before the listing format change so I hope that loophole has been closed.  

[pjcdn2005]

I think that the problem is more the way that ebay has the sections set up now. If you do go to that category there is a holdge podge of stuff but you can narrow down the search on the left side by clicking on radio and tube radios.

When I started a search in all categories, typing in tube radios took me directly to the tube radio section with only tube radios. I suspect that most people search starting in all categories.  I did notice that if I then clicked on Canada only it took me to all categories but the majority of the listings still appeared to be for tube radios.

[reallynicestamps]

FWIW - I was looking on The Bay website for  a particular brand and size, and when I put in the size all brands appeared. When I switched to Price Lowest to Highest, both size and brand disappeared. I've seen similar problems on Lee Valley and on WalMart.

I suspect that it is very hard to write these programs that winnow out unwanted listings.

[byto253]

There has been some odd stuff in searches.  Sometimes I want to narrow down sold to used only and no results come up, but if I do completed all the sold and unsold are shown.    Some max headroom stuff going on. 

[reallynicestamps]

Never put down to conspiracy what can be explained by stupidity incompetence.

[intimewithmusic]

It's my understanding eBay "suggests" categories but it's up to the seller to decide where he wants the item  listed, not eBay. 

Reinforcing that theory is that eBay  promotes and sells second categories that run simultaneously for the same item /same listing. This option is still on every listing form. (To the right of CATEGORY click "edit". )

There are many advantages to lisitng certain items outside their "suggested" category even if the item doesn't show up in a Google search.