Help - can't choose appropriate categories anymore!

[#1]

Hi! Not sure if it is just me or an overall problem, but with the new listing form I can't list some of my vintage kid's clothing simply because the automated category search doesn't offer any relevant options to list them under. For example, I have girls shoes, but when I enter this as a search term in the listing's category window, I get: Women's Skirts, Men's Loafers, Book Covers, Girl's Shorts and Reborn Dolls. Nothing close to what I want to sell. Same with other items. Wonder if I am doing something wrong? There was no problem with choosing categories in the old form, since there was an option to choose manually. Now I can just choose between the ones that I am offered, non of which apply.

[FoundAndFlogged]

There are many similar problems on Etsy, and a lot of them are on basic dropdowns... choice of color is the first thing that springs to mind - if something you are selling is cream colored, the closest option you are presented with is white, which doesn't really do the job adequately. There are many areas such as this where increasing the range of choices would be more helpful than other additions that make the process of making an ad more complicated and time consuming, both for us and people who are trying to find simething to buy.

[SwirlingOrange11]

I have experienced the same thing, and what I did was leave everything blank, scroll to the category, type in the category I want (from the published category list in the etsy handbook) and then go back and create my listing.  It takes a bit of tweaking as the pull down list still suggests things, BUT without any indication from filled in text in title or description the bot has no reference!  It still is a whack a mole type situation, but without text to go by, you have more control!

[TraceysCollectibles]

Think a copper roasting pan goes in nipple piercing??????? Took 5 minutes to find the correct title to place the pot in.  What a waste of time!!!

[SpottedDog1]

So, initially I accepted a suggestion early in my question (I'm the OP) as a solution but it doesn't work for me the way it is for them. I have been getting by, just barely, by renewing sold listings that are either in the proper category or close enough. I'm still confused because if the item can be renewed under the "old" category, why is there not a corresponding "new" one? With 25k plus sales I can keep this up for awhile however my question is why should I have to!!? Seriously, my sales numbers are pitiful right now and really the only logical reason could be the cluster foxtrot of the Search function on this platform! They had months to iron out issues before going live June 25th and yet here we are, the Vintage Shops, the red-headed stepchild of Etsy trying to be relevant. 

[TheBlissfulBundle]

Thought it was just me! It’s annoying. You would think the simplest categories would be an option. 

[MaggieandRose]

Vintage items of any sort have always been difficult to categorise on Etsy, the only choices for antique postcards fall under  party supplies for postcards, which has never made sense, or under collectibles which makes more sense but has no actual corresponding category within collectibles. I’ve found other postcard sellers selling successfully under both categories, so I try a mixture of the two, it doesn’t seem to matter either way.
I’m glad it’s worse and less clear now.

I recently found out that some people have no concept of the history or age of antiques, they don’t understand that an item might be a bit shabby because it is over 120 years old, they simply have no grasp of the idea of new, vintage or antique and that explains such a lot. They would walk round an antique centre wondering why things were dusty and not perfect.
It appears some of them work for Etsy. 

[whiteoaksocks]

I just spent (wasted?) time trying to enter the category for a new listing, and ran into this same problem in the "new and improved" new listings screens - the choices I was being offered were so far off base !   I finally saved as a draft, and pulled up an existing similar item, and copied & pasted the category exactly.  What a pain in the whatsis!  The old drop down / scroll down menu for this field was way way better.  

[VintageSouthVillage]

Mine is working fine now . . . 

[PaperandPlastics]

I agree, the listing options are very limited especially with the new lister.

I sell a range of vintage items and I have great difficulty in finding an applicable category for many items.

Etsy need to review the categories and find out from sellers what they actually want, not what Etsy think they want.

[EliteBabyNursery]

Etsy changed all my categories in my store from Reborn dolls to Crafts something or other. I had to manually change all of them myself.