E-bay is retarded

[reetpleat]

I recently was looking up something on e-bay to find out how much they bring.

I searched men's vintage 40s shirt, and found some entries. then I looked up the same but with 40's shirt and got 9 different listings and none of the previous.

Personally, I think using the apostrophe makes no sense, but many people use it and even some media outlest find it acceptabel.

But one would think e-bay would have software that will give 40s and 40's together under a search for either.

Am I mistaken. Is this a non issue. I just think since they sell a lot of antiques, they would try to make sure searches get all the available stuff.

 

[The Wingnut]

The poor apostrophe is one of the most misunderstood pieces of punctuation in the English language...especially with regard to the use of denoting contractions of the fist two digits of a date.

I've seen it mucked up in all manner of ways:

"40s", '40s', 40's, 40s', 40s", "40s

I suppose people have difficulty understanding two digits have been dropped from the front of the date and it's a plural form, not possessive...

...or they just realize that an apostrophe or quote belongs in there somewhere and don't really care where it goes.

 

[reetpleat]

The poor apostrophe is one of the most misunderstood pieces of punctuation in the English language

Yes, but consider the good fortune of the ampersand @. For years he was used less and less and almost became obsolete. Next thing you know the internet happens. Suddenly people are inviting him to parties, old friends are calling. He has a whole new lease on life.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Ah, but I beg to differ.

Could not the term,...40's... be used to indicate an item that belongs to the forties?

 

[Astrobeej]

There should be an apostrophe, most people just put it in the wrong place. You should say that you are interested in the '40s.

 

[Matthew Dalton]

Have any of you tried searching for something, only to have the bay "correct" your spelling? When it was the name of an item or similar and not a typo? That irritates me.

 

[reetpleat]

Have any of you tried searching for something, only to have the bay "correct" your spelling? When it was the name of an item or similar and not a typo? That irritates me.

What cracks me up is when I use google and it corrects your spelling by asking if you mean... with a different spelling. So you click on that and it doesn't find anything there either. And you think, "why did you offer that alternative if there isn't anything there?"

 

[SinatraStyle]

Sorry to correct you...

Yes, but consider the good fortune of the ampersand @. For years he was used less and less and almost became obsolete. Next thing you know the internet happens. Suddenly people are inviting him to parties, old friends are calling. He has a whole new lease on life.

I'm sorry to correct you, but the ampersand symbol is shown as &. The name of the @ symbol is commercial at, commonly referred to as just at.

 

[SinatraStyle]

To get back on topic

I have had similar problems with ebay. The apostrophe problem is one of many. It would be nice if ebay could do a better job of grouping things together.

It would be even nicer if sellers could list and categorize things correctly on their own. Granted there are some good finds out there if you are willing to browse through hundreds of items that are of no interest, but it would be nice to be able to type in "vintage" and not get "new trucker cap" results.

 

[Amelie]

you guys should try to replace the beginning or the end of a word with *

like if I am looking for a 40's pattern but not certain if it would be listed 1940, 1942, 1943... I'll just write 194*, then when searching, the engine will automatically replace the * with anything that's pertinent

this could apply with 40s (40*) but there, you could end up with too many weird results depending on the specificity of your search

this is possible with almost anything, so it is really time saving, for a lot of searches, and worth trying

hope this is going to be of some help for some people (since I have discovered few people know this shortcut)

 

[GOK]

As a former teacher and self confessed grammar fascist (!), I think it would be rather nice if people actually learned to use their own language correctly. However, as a freelance proofreader, the fact that they don't means it is good for business!

I have no idea how Ebay's search engines work (can't be any worse than the one here in the Lounge) but it's easy enough to type in a search such as;

40s, 40's, '40s, 1940s

and then add the negative values for things you don't want;

-black -tie -shoes

etc. Just remember to separate the postives with commas and leave them out for the negs.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

The problem with using 40s as a search term is that everything in size 40S comes up because the search engine does not disciminate between s and S.

bk

 

[reetpleat]

you guys should try to replace the beginning or the end of a word with *

like if I am looking for a 40's pattern but not certain if it would be listed 1940, 1942, 1943... I'll just write 194*, then when searching, the engine will automatically replace the * with anything that's pertinent

this could apply with 40s (40*) but there, you could end up with too many weird results depending on the specificity of your search

this is possible with almost anything, so it is really time saving, for a lot of searches, and worth trying

hope this is going to be of some help for some people (since I have discovered few people know this shortcut)

That's just it. If you are searching, that is a neat trick. But when I am selling, I want your average joe to find my stuff, not just someone savvy. So if someone puts in 40's and my stuff doesn't come up, e-bay has failed me. I think I will put in 40s 40s then add swing rockabilly emo vintage retro trucker cap just for good measure

 

[reetpleat]

The problem with using 40s as a search term is that everything in size 40S comes up because the search engine does not disciminate between s and S.

bk

True, I have notice that. BUt that only happens with suits. Of course we are looking for suits all the time, so we are screwed, or at least doomed to look at a bunch of cheap new suits.

 

[Flying Scotsman]

I'm sorry to correct you, but the ampersand symbol is shown as &. The name of the @ symbol is commercial at, commonly referred to as just at.

Symbology is pretty interesting stuff, I think...I found this on-line at symbols.com:

The @-sign has different names in different languages: In England it is called at-sign or commercial at, in Germany Klammeraffe (hanging monkey), in France arobas or petit escargot (small snail), in Spain arroba (an entity for weight) and in Italy chiocciolina (small snail).

Small snail I can see...but "hanging monkey"?

 

[Twitch]

I've found that using a singlar or plural can affect the search too. Hat vs. hats.[huh]

 

[Slicksuit]

Yes, but consider the good fortune of the ampersand @. For years he was used less and less and almost became obsolete. Next thing you know the internet happens. Suddenly people are inviting him to parties, old friends are calling. He has a whole new lease on life.

lol lol lol

Seriously, I hate it when apostrophies are generally misused in situations of posession where it's unnecessary, for example...

"Restroom for employee's only" apostrophie is unnecessary

 

[Slicksuit]

I'm sorry to correct you, but the ampersand symbol is shown as &. The name of the @ symbol is commercial at, commonly referred to as just at.

Supposedly, the "@" is also known as the ampersat (close to ampersand). Before its common use for the internet, it was used in accounting and grocer's price tags.

 

[reetpleat]

Symbology is pretty interesting stuff, I think...I found this on-line at symbols.com:

The @-sign has different names in different languages: In England it is called at-sign or commercial at, in Germany Klammeraffe (hanging monkey), in France arobas or petit escargot (small snail), in Spain arroba (an entity for weight) and in Italy chiocciolina (small snail).

Small snail I can see...but "hanging monkey"?

Actually, If I heardthe phrase hanging monkey, I might think it was referring to a more risque thing.

 

[Benny Holiday]

I thought the correct punctuation for writing a decade would include an apostrophe as such: 1940's. The punctuation guide for Websters's New World Dictionary states that an apostrophe should be placed thus in forming the plural of letters or numbers, and 1940's. for example, refers to a ultiple of years.