topic Re: How to ELIMINATE Foreign Sellers from Search Results in Buying

How to ELIMINATE Foreign Sellers from Search Results

dazzledayz — Sat, 11 May 2013 07:02:20 GMT

After the recent changes to eBays search engine it is harder to eliminate overseas products from search results BUT it is not impossible.

Just clicking Australia Only does not work - looks like ebay want us to be clicking on foreign listings.

They have even removed the item location info they used to give in search results.

I got sick of it and I suspect plenty more have too!

It took me a while to figure out what to do but here is the trick:

In the left hand column near the new (and horrible) price range slider there is a link called "customise".

Open it up and go to "Item Location".

Select "Australia Only" radio button.

Select "Within" checkbox.

Select "2000km" from drop down list.

For postcode use 5723 which is Coober Pedy in SA.

This is the only postcode that works reasonably well as 2000km isn't really enough in Aus.

It will however include Perth, Broome, Darwin, Cooktown and Hobart plus all the East Coast.

Rough but effective.

Better write it down because it WILL NOT be remembered in your next search.

You will have to do it each time to narrow your new search.

Of course it still won't help with sellers who lie about the item location and there are a few believe me.

Here is another tip to get more specific search results:

If possible put your search term in quotes like "dolls clothes" for example.

Doing this will return only listings that have those 2 words next to each other in that exact order.

This will stop eBay returning results for dolls, clothes and clothes dolls.

This is a good trick for things like book titles but it can return too few results if not used carefully.

Seriously, eBay expects its users to have a degree in computer science these days.

Better customer experience my fat aunt!

Re: How to ELIMINATE Foreign Sellers from Search Results

upworx — Sat, 11 May 2013 07:24:46 GMT

It gets even more fun when trying to use the mobile apps...I haven't got a clue how to find anything that isn't in the US 😞

Re: How to ELIMINATE Foreign Sellers from Search Results

suitcase_of_memories — Sat, 11 May 2013 07:35:27 GMT

Yes, we are having China & the US forced down our throats here in Australia whether we want it or NOT.

Good work dazzle ! Lets hope the buyers here in oz read these pages as far as sellers in oz are concerned. It is a bit like some Australian suburbs now, much harder to spot the aussie !

Re: How to ELIMINATE Foreign Sellers from Search Results

kopenhagen5 — Sat, 11 May 2013 09:38:57 GMT

Hi dazzle, they haven't removed the item location search function, it has been moved to under the heading of More refinements in blue.

And I like your suggestion of using 2000 ks from coober pedy and you can save that search next to the search button in advanced search.

Re: How to ELIMINATE Foreign Sellers from Search Results

dazzledayz — Sat, 11 May 2013 10:47:44 GMT

Well I thought it was a good idea lol.

Unfortunately using 5723 knocks out Brisbane but 5725 Oodnadatta doesn't.

Apparently eBay's distance calculation is NOT as the crow flies.

Probably road distances which are longer.

That would also make it impossible to include all of Australia within only a 2000km radius.

After a bit more fiddling about with the search I've noticed something else though:

If you choose items in Australia Only and then select Nearest First you will notice something.

The results still return a mixed list of foreign and local sellers BUT the local sellers come first and the foreign sellers DO NOT have their distance stated.

That's a method that seems to work pretty well and also points to what eBay are up to.

They are deliberately hiding the fact that product is located O/S

Re: How to ELIMINATE Foreign Sellers from Search Results

fourandsixpants — Sat, 11 May 2013 11:25:51 GMT

Thnkx dazzle for this indepth study .....and for others who have been doing the same.Will buyers bother to fill out all these parameters to find as many Oz based sellers/products each time they are looking for an item or just browsing? I and many will but I think not for most....... I see lost sales for Oz based sellers.

Overnight Ebay Australia has become China Bay

Re: How to ELIMINATE Foreign Sellers from Search Results

i-once-was-bump — Sat, 11 May 2013 14:10:23 GMT

Thnkx dazzle for this indepth study .....and for others who have been doing the same.Will buyers bother to fill out all these parameters to find as many Oz based sellers/products each time they are looking for an item or just browsing? I and many will but I think not for most....... I see lost sales for Oz based sellers.

Overnight Ebay Australia has become China Bay

Not many will follow that suggestion because most won't even see it but is seems like a great idea.

Re: How to ELIMINATE Foreign Sellers from Search Results

14coder — Mon, 04 Nov 2024 01:44:13 GMT

TBH I'm using ebay less and less for this specific issue.

They're still pushing the overseas stuff on me. But if I want that, I'll go to amazon.com - much faster - or aliexpress - much cheaper.

Ebay does not have much to offer, except for the used stuff, but for that we've got gumtree.

So there you go. There's no reason for ebay, unless you really can't find something elsewhere (which is rare).

Re: How to ELIMINATE Foreign Sellers from Search Results

sandypebbles — Mon, 04 Nov 2024 01:49:30 GMT

No reason to drag up a thread from over 11 years ago either to tell other members either

Especially if you cannot be bothered to check a seller's feedback before buying

Re: How to ELIMINATE Foreign Sellers from Search Results

kh-syedse — Mon, 04 Nov 2024 03:47:21 GMT

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread, if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.