Search Changing Terms, Impossible to Enter Correct Term

[dayspringcollectible]

I run into this every so often.  This time I'm listing a number of marbles by famous glass artist John Hamon Miller.  But when I try to do an incognito search, it gets changed to John Hammond, the character from Jurassic Park.  It doesn't matter what other terms are included in the search.  It gets changed to John Hammond.  Use of quotes for exact searches was removed by etsy long ago.  It gets so tiring dealing with this rinky-dink site that can't even handle a simple search.

How are people suppose to buy what they want when they are not even allowed to search for them?

[RiversEdgeRelics]

I searched for marbles by John Hamon-Miller and found you. Try adding a hyphen and see what happens.

[dayspringcollectible]

Yes, that brings up the marbles.  The problem is, that is not how he writes his name, and the marble/glass community knows that, so that is not what people are going to hunt for.

And how many customers would even know to try that?  I didn't, and I've been online for over 20 years on multiple sites.

[FallenAngelBrass]

When I search that name I get this at the top:

"Showing results for john hammond miller. Search instead for John Hamon Miller."

Etsy search always offers the option to search for what was entered into the search bar exactly. 

[dayspringcollectible]

I was expecting to see that message, but it didn't show for me.  If we could override the search given, that would be fine.  I was just shown products for John Hammond...no options.

[Former_Member]

That works, but try adding a filter after you click Search instead for John Hamon Miller.  The whole process starts over, making it impossible to filter the results.

[dayspringcollectible]

I tried several different searches adding different words, and didn't get the option to override what I was shown.  Just did it again after 20 minutes, and this time I finally was.  Maybe it just took it awhile to "catch up."

I've had this happen on other terms where spellings were changed and that never did correct itself.  Only wrong items were shown, with no way to get to the correct terms.

[MouseGarden]

Interesting.  I put in John Hamon Miller and it actually says "we couldn't find any results for john hammond miller".  But I can see in the search bar I put Hamon not Hammond.  It isn't what I searched for !

[nineteen27]

I searched for john hamon miller.

and it showed the most loved for john hammond miller... grrrr.

under the 4 listings in the first row it said...

search for john hamon miller instead?

so i clicked and saw yours right away.

the link url is interesting!

https://www.etsy.com/search?q=John+Hamon+Miller&explicit=1&spelling_correction_show_original=john+ha...

you can see what i searched for and then it says *spelling correction* and then john hammond miller.

etsy search sucks because they think i cannot spell.

[dayspringcollectible]

Since Etsy doesn't seem to think sellers know anything, it is only logical they would code the same arrogance into their Search and bots.

[dayspringcollectible]

Notice how small the "Search instead..." line is.  It would be easy for customers to overlook, as it fades into the listings above and below it.  It should be the same size and boldness as the term they show at the top.

[nineteen27]

why can they not show us what we searched for FIRST and then ask us if we meant something else?

and yes... the search instead is small  and it should not be shown after a line of listings.

[OneEyeCatStudio]

I had this problem once, I was listing a vintage necklace by Franck Herval.
The search would change it to 'Franck herbal' and gave no options for Herval.

I ended up tagging my necklace with 'franck herbal', and it sold pretty quick as it was the only piece that came up immediately if you searched for that designer.

[dayspringcollectible]

Yes, I've had the similar things happen multiple times with other terms.

I guess I should lie to customers and tag this "John Hammond" in the same way you were forced to.  Isn't it sad that to overcome their lack of professionalism Etsy expects us to use the same lack of ethics in our listings if we wish to be found that they use sitewide.

[BagmakerSupply]

We need to remember that the Artificial (Lack Of) Intelligence powering the Etsy search engines knows better than the buyer what they really want.

[JMOldeVintage]

Entering marbles by John Hamon Miller in search & the results were for marbles by John Hammond Miller. Only 41 results that included a hat, stickers, maps, a cane head & some Hammond clock parts thrown in. It was apparently easy to ignore the word "marble" much less the spelling.

However, when I clicked on the "search instead" hidden option, the results filtered down to 8 results. Three were relevant & @dayspringcollectible they were your listings. The other items included trading cards, 2 t-shirts, a dog bib & a street sign. These last three items had the word "John" in the title.

I have had the same issues with Search & shake my head in frustration. The cynic in me wonders if Etsy may have realized I was reading this forum thread & decided to straighten up and fly right for once. 

[nineteen27]

i get lots of miller beer items.

i guess drinking and marbles go together.

[dayspringcollectible]

@nineteen27 

Well, if you've ever been to a marble show late at night, yes beer and marbles go together!

[AmoreTreasure]

There's a vintage jewelry designer, "Charel".  Try searching "vintage Charel".  When results are returned it says "showing charel necklace in vintage."  The thing is, the results aren't showing "charel" necklaces, they're showing "chanel" necklaces.  I didn't look through all 3244 results but I looked through many, MANY pages and could not find one "Charel" necklace.  I know they exist because I have 3 listed.  Not that anyone could ever find them by searching for "Charel".   It really doesn't seem like it should be that tough to present results that match the terms being searched for.  If there are no results that match the term being searched for then, yes, present what you think the shopper is looking for but why in the world would you not present exact matches when they exist?  Dumb, dumb, dumb!

[dayspringcollectible]

I've heard this one before.  So apparently they've done absolutely nothing to fix this.  Typical.

[OneEyeCatStudio]

" It really doesn't seem like it should be that tough to present results that match the terms being searched for."

The current Etsy search is going to kill the site.
It's that simple.

When a site does not show a buyer what they came to buy, the buyer is very likely to assume that it does not exist on that site and go elsewhere to buy it.

[ArtDollsbyJD]

Hammond miller shows up because Etsy has many more items for that person than for the one you have.  So the system is assuming the searcher made a mistake and is showing items with the most hits.  That's how many search engines work.

Try quotation marks around the name.  It seems to work now.  Hasn't worked in a long time. But I just tried it and got 4 listings for marbles.  

[JMOldeVintage]

@ArtDollsbyJD - I smiled when I read your comment ..."Etsy has many more items for that person than for the one you have.  So the system is assuming the searcher made a mistake"...

Maybe Etsy should realize that while typos happen the buyer may not have erred. This is where the "search instead" can include the "many more items" they think you mean. And after all, we all know what "assume" really means. 

[dayspringcollectible]

@ArtDollsbyJD 

Quotes haven't worked for a long time.  When I tried them I got nearly 400 items for John Hammond instead.

Also, the system should assume the buyer knows what they are looking for.  That is what should be offered first, no matter how many hits another spelling has.  The alternate spellings are what should be shown as "Search instead for...." as was suggested above.

The only reason it doesn't work like that is because of admin's arrogance and greed.

[AmoreTreasure]

"That's how many search engines work"????  Huh?  Show me ANY other search that returns only "Vintage Chanel" when you search for "Vintage Charel" and they exist on the site.  Just tried it on Ebay.  Guess what? They showed me the 286 hits for "Vintage Charel" and asked "Did you mean: vintage chanel (22,042 items)?"  THAT'S how a search engine works!  Descent search engines simply don't assume because there are "many more" hits for a similar spelling that the searcher made a mistake.  In fact Etsy's is the only one I know of in existence.