Gazza & Mark, I know it would take a lot of work but PLEASE consider

[Gothicina]

A Major Overhaul & restructuring of (more or less) all the Categories.

Too many of them are a total shambles, some items have no correct category other have too many!

The current structures are failing in many ways in part because,they don't cater to users from all continents very well, so some have a US bias & don't work for UK sellers, some have a UK bias, & don't work for US sellers, that's without even taking into consideration users from the other eBid Countries.

New categories then add to the problem making the whole system more & more unwieldy.


Categories that are no longer relevant are not replaced by up to date ones.


The whole adding of new categories, seems very hit & miss.

Would it be possible to rework, each top-level (or highly populated sub) category one at a time, with input from the sellers that use those categories to get it right for all members wherever they are located?

Maybe you could announce in the Newsletter something like
in (month) we will be reorganising the (top-level) category & its sub-categories.
We are open to suggestions from members who use these categories, the relevant discussion can be found at the (name) forum.

[burgyeb]

A Major Overhaul & restructuring of (more or less) all the Categories.

Too many of them are a total shambles, some items have no correct category other have too many!

The current structures are failing in many ways in part because,they don't cater to users from all continents very well, so some have a US bias & don't work for UK sellers, some have a UK bias, & don't work for US sellers, that's without even taking into consideration users from the other eBid Countries.

New categories then add to the problem making the whole system more & more unwieldy.


Categories that are no longer relevant are not replaced by up to date ones.


The whole adding of new categories, seems very hit & miss.

Would it be possible to rework, each top-level (or highly populated sub) category one at a time, with input from the sellers that use those categories to get it right for all members wherever they are located?

Maybe you could announce in the Newsletter something like
in (month) we will be reorganising the (top-level) category & its sub-categories.
We are open to suggestions from members who use these categories, the relevant discussion can be found at the (name) forum.

Agree Gothicina. Growth is not easy and does not come without a level of pain.

[theweaverboy]

Could they make a fill-in the blank and see if what the common used terms are used?

[madelaine]

Could they make a fill-in the blank and see if what the common used terms are used?

there needs to be some expertise involved. I know about stamps.. I know about craft materials but I know very little about coins though I sell them. So my opinion of categories for coins should be ignored, for example.

I feel this would be really worthwhile.

[Gothicina]

there needs to be some expertise involved. I know about stamps.. I know about craft materials but I know very little about coins though I sell them. So my opinion of categories for coins should be ignored, for example.

I feel this would be really worthwhile.

In some cases it just needs a few sellers to get together & thrash things out, before presenting something workable to support, it worked fairly well, for the China, Porcelain & Pottery section, although more input from US sellers would have been useful.

That's how Kim, Jan & I got the Remplate section of Computing Internet sorted to more or less as we wanted, but that was easy, as it only required subcategories to be added.

Things like Car Parts, Coins, Sportscards, Comics, all seem to be causing problems depending on where the seller is based. Some members seem to forget that eBid categories have to work for sellers from different continents, not just one, so copying other country specific sites, although it may help them, won't help, or work for everyone.

You've got Jewellery & Watches, which seem to have too few categories for some types of items, & way too many for others.

You've got Computing & Technology, where the specifications are changing all the time, & the categories don't keep up.

Then you've got the clothing categories!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...............


It will not be an overnight fix, to get it right will take time & discussion,but the longer this is left the worse it gets.

[TiasTreasures]

There was a VERY long discussion of the Jewelry categories a couple of years ago. While people agreed that there needed to be a clear distinction between Fine Jewelry and Costume Jewelry, they just couldn't come to a consensus. Every time they got close, people would come back wanting more changes. Apparently everyone eventually got tired of the constant bickering and the whole thread just died. And the jewelry categories have not been changed.

[Naturelady]

I agree this change needs to be made. I went through the figurines category and updated and alphabetized and sent for changes months ago but nothing has happened.

[Gothicina]

There was a VERY long discussion of the Jewelry categories a couple of years ago. While people agreed that there needed to be a clear distinction between Fine Jewelry and Costume Jewelry, they just couldn't come to a consensus. Every time they got close, people would come back wanting more changes. Apparently everyone eventually got tired of the constant bickering and the whole thread just died. And the jewelry categories have not been changed.

That's one of the problems, if the sellers who, supposedly know what they are talking about cannot agree, how can somebody who doesn't understand the category at all implement changes?

[MagnetsAndHangers]

I believe I am in the minority with my view on categories and sub-categories.

They can be taken too far and too deep.

In the earlier days of auction sites, I could go to, for example, ''toys''.....and would be presented with pages of all sorts of different toys. It was one the attractions for me - and gave me lots of ideas for gifts etc etc.
If I was looking for a particular item, or manufacturer, I would then put it in the search box. That would narrow it down for me.

Nowadays, on ebid for example, I click on buy, then I click on toys, then I am presented with dozens of sub-categories.
This immediately puts me off ''window shopping'', particularly if I am simply looking for ideas, and not a particular item.

While I understand the need for ''parent'' categories, am not too sure about thousands of sub-categories, when a good site search engine would narrow items down.

This is not a gripe and nor is posted just for arguements sake - it is just my opinion based upon my own purchasing habits.

[Naturelady]

I agree Mags. Categories can go too far. I think that is what Gothicina is saying. It needs a comprehensive overhaul.