eBay sellers have discovered another glitch in eBay Stores search. This glitch prevents eBay's search tool from finding all of a seller's Store inventory once a buyer has clicked on a Store category. Last month, users uncovered a glitch in which searches in eBay Stores did not bring back all results on default "Title & Description" searches, a problem that now appears to be fixed.
eBay sellers have complained of deteriorating search in eBay Stores since March of this year. They blame eBay's new marketplace, eBay Express, and the rollout and subsequent rollback of "Stores in Search."
The recently identified Store Search glitch prevents buyers from finding items from all Store inventory if they conduct the search within a Store category. For example, if a buyer clicks on a Storeowner's "Clothing" category and then conducts a Store search for the word "Tiffany," they won't find Tiffany items that are listed in the seller's Jewelry category. A buyer would have to go back to the Store home page or switch to the Jewelry category in order to find items in the jewelry category, but would most likely assume the seller did not carry Tiffany items.
eBay spokesperson Catherine England said, "Our team has made good progress on this particular issue and is aware that some Store searches are still intermittently impacted. We are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible."
One eBay Storeowner published a guide using eBay's Reviews & Guides feature to help Store owners understand the problem. The guide suggests a workaround that may help sellers minimize the effects of the glitch (http://digbig.com/4mfxh).
The same glitch also appears to be affecting sellers' ability to make changes to their Store categories.
This has been a particularly rocky time for sellers who use eBay storefronts to sell online. eBay announced last month that the marketplace needed "rebalancing," reporting that there were too many Store items and not enough auction and fixed-price listings on the core (non-Store) platform. To induce sellers to change their listing behavior, eBay announced significant hikes in fees for Store inventory format that go into effect on August 22.
Related Articles:
"eBay Glitch Impacts Stores Search," 7/17/06
http://auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y06/m07/i17/s01
"eBay Anecdotal Slowdown: Part 2," 6/23/06
http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y06/m06/i23/s02
