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Published: February 05 2008, 12:40:00 PMUpdated: August 05 2022, 1:41:59 AM

I have listed my item via the API, but when I search on the site using keywords that I have in my title, my item does not show up in the search.  It does not show up in my store as well.  However, when I search by the ItemID, it shows me the view item page.  Why is keyword search not working?  It is because I used the API to list my item?

Summary 

Whether you list your item via the site or the API, it makes no difference on when the item starts showing up in searches.

Here are the reasons why the item does not show up:

  1. Item is not yet indexed:   There are a number of processes and checks that kick off after an item is listed and it is only when they complete, the item surfaces in searches.  Normally, it can take a few minutes to a few hours for this to happen.  However, depending on a number of factors, like the category and seller, it item can take longer to get indexed, sometimes even more than 24 hours.
    Please see this help page on eBay for more details:
    http://pages.ebay.com/help/find/questions/wheres-my-item.html

  2. If are use the API, ensure that you set the ItemType filter correctly to get all the items that match the query.  If you do not set the ItemType filter, it may not return the stores items depending on the site.  For instance, if you are using the Finding API call findItemsAdvanced, set ListingType to All.

  3. If an item is listed on a site with the shipping available just for that site, then the item will not show up in the searches of other sites.  For example, if an item is listed on Ireland and the item is shipped just within Ireland, the item will not show up on US (www.ebay.com).  Similarly, it will not get returned in the response of findItemsAdvanced for SiteID 0 (US).  It will get returned only on www.ebay.ie and if the SiteId is set to 205 (Ireland) in the API call.

If you have any additional questions about your item not showing up, please contact our customer support team.


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