I was wondering if maybe the Coins&Banknotes:Coins:Supplies category could possibly be moved top-level to Coins&Banknotes:Supplies&Publications
This would make it easy to find numismatic publications and supplies easier. For instance, not all numismatic supplies and publications are specific only to coins. Not only with listing using templates, but also in browsing for items, I personally believe it would be easier to look through all of the available items under one roof, so to speak.
Right now, to browse for holders and sleeves for banknotes, I would either have to search keywords, or know to browse through the Coins sub-section. New users to eBid may not understand to do so.
Also, with regards to publications, there is no specified sub-category for numismatic publications. They can be found under Coins&Banknotes:Other,C&B:Coins:Supplies,C&B:Coins :Other,Books&Magazines:Books: (varied sub-categories),Books&Magazines:Other, etc. etc.
It would be much easier to simply go to a sub-category Coins&Banknotes:Supplies&Publications:Publications
The same with such categories under Coins as Mint Sets, Proof Sets, Rolls, Collections&Lots, etc. It's as though the Coins&Banknotes category is overly specialized. Instead of individual sub-categories of MintSets, ProofSets, Lots, Rolls, etc under each sub-category per country, I believe it would be easier to browse through one major sub-section under Coins&Banknotes:Coins:MintSets, for example. Where every country's set is listed together. As a birth-year collector myself, this is much easier than going to different sub-categories or searching.
I believe this form of setup would make it easier to browse through the available material as well as bring more exposure to a larger number of sellers.
My proposed changes are:
add Coins&Banknotes:Supplies&Publications:Publications
add Coins&Banknotes:Supplies&Publications:Supplies:Sto rage&Holders
add Coins&Banknotes:Supplies&Publications:Supplies:Car e&Handling
add Coins&Banknotes:Supplies&Publications:Supplies:Aut hentication&Grading
add Coins&Banknotes:Supplies&Publications:Supplies:Oth er
remove Coins&Banknotes:Coins:Supplies (current listings moved to Coins&Banknotes:Supplies&Publications)
rename Coins&Banknotes:NonMilitaryMedals&Medallions to Coins&Banknotes:Tokens&Exonumia
remove Mint Sets, Proof Sets, & Rolls sub-categories from Coins:United Kingdom,USA,Canda, and anywhere else
add Coins&Banknotes:Coins:Mint Sets
add Coins&Banknotes:Coins:Proof Sets
add Coins&Banknotes:Coins:Rolls
move all listings to the new sub-categories
remove Sets&Collections from Coins:United Kingdom, Coins:North&CentralAmerica:Canada, and anywhere else
move the listings to Coins&Banknotes:Coins:Collections & Large Lots
Now, I know that many times, these are simply excuses as to why not to utilize eBid, especially since eBay has just as many sub-categories. But, whenever I go to actually browse through the sub-categories, I myself find it exhaustive when trying to simply browse through inventories on, let's say, birthyear proof sets. Give it a try!
Sure, you can search for a specific year, but that's not always going to bring you the best buy, and you may actually miss quite a few items that do not have the specific keywords. Same with publications.
Now, there are less than 55,000 listings under Coins & Banknotes, 45k of them under Coins. There are over 280 sub-categories under the Coins sub-category. Of those, only a literal handful have sub-categories such as mint set, proof set, etc. Now, as a birth-year collector, that's quite a bit of hunting to find what I'm looking for. Again, I know all about searching, but I have found many times in the past, a lot is missed by searching, especially when things are included in lots or collections.
I believe that will make browsing easier (there is always the search function for finding specific items), make the sub-categories appear to be more populated with goods, and thus possibly bring some more traffic.