@AbstractArtHome - Yes, the Categories option is there (relatively new for me) but how it's planned is counter-intuitive, at best. Useless, at worst.
Prior to this change. if I entered Etsy thru their main page I'd see the Search Bar. This is normal, here or on any site. I enter my search term "vintage garden tool" & get over 100K results. Before the change I could go into Filters & drill down to the more relevant 1K or less results.
Now when arriving at the home page, never mind that the Categories menu doesn't jump out at me, lets say I type in the same term "vintage garden tool". Again, since I typed in Vintage I'm there in vintage. I go to filters & none there to help me narrow down the results.
But maybe I notice the Categories menu. So I click on that & choose "Craft Supplies & Tools". I am now on a page that has the header "Craft Supplies & Tools". The results are about the same, over 100K results.
But more importantly my search term has disappeared from the search bar. A glance at the results on the page only shows 100% irrelevant items. So now what do I do?
Do I reenter my search term to find gardening tools in this Category? Uh, no, don't do that. You'll be right back to the start of your search, as if you'd entered a completely different search term.
Well, maybe go back to the Filters? Click on that & now I see Etsy has filtered down to Craft Supplies & Tools. I can now continue to drill down to gardening tools.
Ah, but I made a mistake, opting to do this. All other filter options are gone. I'll hit "Apply" anyway. So if location, etc. was important to me I don't see them.
The results now have me in "Gardening Tools" per the page header, but I see 5,919 results. What happened? Well, Etsy dumped me out of "Vintage" and is now showing me "All Items". Thankfully the Filters are back & I can open that menu to re-select "Vintage".
Editing To Add: Let's say I immediately see the "Categories Menu" just to the left of the search bar. Oh good, I'll click on "Craft Supplies & Tools". I'm brought to a page with the header "Craft Supplies & Tools". But don't think entering your search term in this "Category" will give you specific results. If I type in "vintage garden tool" the results are as if you didn't choose a category to begin with.
But, even if I have not entered a search term yet, yes, the search bar is blank, by opting to go into the category "Craft Supplies & Tools" the Filters menu has become active. I can use the "all filters" option & drill down to gardening tools, though I'd better remember to use any other pertinent filters first.
Now apparently buyers are supposed to know that by choosing a category, they might be able to drill down thru Filters to find what they're looking for - realize that the buyer has not entered a search term into the search bar yet.
And I say "might" since I'm looking for specific things and there are a bazillion search terms I've never used, here or anywhere else. I don't know how wide-ranging Etsy's categories & additional filters are. End of Edit Addition.
At some point in time whether the buyer has the patience of a saint or is "on a mission", I can see this "new & improved" search being much more frustrating.
Again I'll say there is a reason I purchase more on eBay. If I type in the same search term, I can sort by "newly listed" & within seconds I'll be able to see if there's an item I want to view in further detail. (The search results are 98% relevant, too.) Change my search term & eBay remembers my "newly listed" filter. Decide to get more specific with my search term & opt for "Antique" or "Collectible", instead of "All"? Well I'm there, in that category. It remembered/still shows what I typed into the search bar & shows me results for that term. I don't need to change anything else either, the "newly listed" filter sticks.
IMO Change for change's sake is rarely a good.
