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Noise words: This version of search has NO NOISE WORDS. All the words including words such as and, or, the etc. will be interpreted as words to be searched for in the text. Hence, the keywords and and or SHOULD NOT be used for logical and (include both of the words) and logical or (include either of the words) search operations. Please see the examples below for these types of operations.

Phrases: Searches within "" (quotation symbols) will return items with text EXACTLY as specified within the quotes. Phrase searches should not be used unless intended to get the exact text as it can result in miss-hits. A search for "football autograph" will return text including the exact phrase football autograph . Text in the form autograph football will NOT be found. Wildcard searches (*) or special modifiers such as (+), (-) CANNOT be used with this query.

Examples

If you type...	eBay will find items for sale that...
football autograph	include both of the words football and autograph
(football,autograph)(no spaces after comma)	include either the word football or autograph
"football autograph"	include the exact phrase football autograph
football -autograph	include the word football but not autograph
football +autograph	include the words football and autograph
star*	are related to Star Wars, stargazing ,stars, Star Trek, etc.
barbie -(ken,skipper)	include the word barbie , but not ken or skipper
#1969	include the year or number 1969
"The Doors"	include the exact phrase The Doors
@0 football autograph	include either the word football or autograph
@1 gumball sweets nuts	include at least two of the words of gumball, sweets, and nuts
police k-9	include both of the words police and k-9
sweets M&M	include both of the words sweets and M&M
coin £0.50	include both of the words coin and £0.50

Tips

Narrowing Your Search

You'll get the fastest response when the search query returns the fewest possible matches. Example : To find a particular Barbie item, don't just type Barbie in the query box. If you are looking for a Barbie dress made in the 1960s, enter: Barbie dress 196* The trick is to be specific and give a narrowly defined query!

The Reported Number of Items Found is Just an Estimate

The results of any search includes an estimated number of items found for the search and the search pages are generated corresponding to this number. In most cases this is equal to the actual number of items. However, in some rare cases (depending on the query) this estimated number and the corresponding pages generated may be different from the actual number

Sorting Your Results

You can use the sort menu to order the item results by ending date, bid price, or search ranking.

Special Words and Modifiers

Finding all the words (Equivalent to an AND)

Enter the words into the text box, separating each word with a space. Example: To find anything with the words football and autograph, enter: football autograph

Finding several words (Equivalent to an OR)

Use , (comma symbol with NO SPACES) to separate the words (and surround this search with parentheses) to find at least one word of a set. Wildcard searches (*) CANNOT be used with this query. For an or search using wildcards (*) see @ (at sign) - Intersection of words Example: To find anything related to football or an autograph, enter (with no spaces): (football,autograph)

Finding words (or phrases) exactly as specified in a specific order

Use " " (quotation symbols) to find words exactly as specified in the same order. Phrase searches should not be used unless intended to get the exact text as it can result in miss-hits. A search for "football autograph" will return text including the exact phrase football autograph . Text in the form autograph football will NOT be found. Wildcard searches (*) or special modifiers such as (+), (-) CANNOT be used with this query. Example: To find the entire phrase, Barbie Doll House, enter: "Barbie Doll House" Example: To find the music group, The Doors, enter: "The Doors"

More Special Words and Modifiers(Advanced)

* (asterisk symbol) - Wild Card

Use * (asterisk symbol) for a wild card when you only know part of a word. Example: star* would return items such as Star Wars, stargazing, stars, and Star Trek.

+ (plus symbol) - Required Words

Use + (plus symbol) before a word if the word must appear in the area you are searching. Example: To find a rocking chair with the word "antique" in the title, enter: rocking chair +antique.

- (minus symbol) - Exclude Words

Use - (minus symbol) to exclude any word you do not want to include. Example: To find a rocking chair "without" antique in the title, enter (include space after rocking chair): rocking chair -antique Example: To find a Barbie without the words "Ken" or "Skipper" in the title, enter (include space after Barbie): Barbie - (Ken,Skipper)

@ (at sign) - Intersection of words

Examples: @0 drive* scsi* will return items with "drive*" or "scsi*" (0 intersection). This is an or search that uses wildcards (*) @0 property tax will return items with "property" or "tax" @1 property tax value requires one intersection of any two of the three specified items. Therefore, the text unit will be retrieved if it contains an occurrence of "property" and "tax", "property" and "value", or "tax" and "value". +tax -federal @1 market assessment value property assets requires that the retrieved text must include an occurrence of "tax" (designated with the plus sign `+'), but must exclude the hit if it contains any reference to "federal" (designated with the minus sign `-'). The "@1" means that you also want 1 intersection of any 2 of the other 5 equally weighted (unmarked with `+' or `-') query items: "market", "assessment", "value", "property", and "assets".

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