Ebay or Walmart, different engines different results. And if you change one category expect it to reset your display preferences about cheap to expensive or when it closes. Especially what local store you want to see in stock right effing now. You have to learn how to finesse things - I use a zip code different from my own to get the stores closest to me to actually display and still have to pay attention that one or the other may not stock it. Walmart isn't monolithic.
Ebay the same. "Dive watches", "Mens dive watches," "200m dive watches" will all deliver different results. There is a core group but the people listing them sometimes don't click a box or simply don't have a clue how 99% of the other owners list something. And the categories it searches will vary results. "Watches parts and pieces" gets you some, "WATCHES" does everything. Including a bunch of stuff you don't want. And worse, Auction, Make Offer, and "click to buy right now" won't pull up the same list.
If anything, I check the oddball stuff nudged into the corners of their online listings where the real gems are getting no attention and it's been relisted twice for lack fo traffic. Sellers sometimes bring this on themselves not knowing the merchandise descriptions, categories, or even the popular jargon. Some also have no concern for a quick sale, thinking that $100 more later is a real score. These are not the sellers who worry about the real economics, cost of money, etc. Some auction sites are now charging a relist fee, what I would like to see is a sliding scale, another 2% step up in fees every relist, to clear out the clutter of stupid listings where the owner has no incentive to actually move it. NOW. Like those $85,000 Rolex submariners, it's not realistic and in some cases it's not even a kosher sale of merchandise, there are other things going on.
It took a few hours of study on past sales to get an idea on what an S&W 4566 TSW might actually be closing at auction, not just getting relisted over and over. With that number in mind, and not overreaching by trying to bid on two at the same time (ooops) then you deal with the auction you have in hand and go from there. Sometimes, to the next one, and then the one after that. You might be dealing with people in high cost metros who don't even blink at another $100, latecomers to a fad, etc. And condition has a lot to do with it, yet, sometimes the seller simply does a bad job of presenting the product and you benefit. Sketchy photos and incomplete information can net some real savings. Don't tell them, but Citizen watches do not have a model number on them at all. Go ahead and list that string of numbers on the back of the cases, pls, it hides the listing where the public won't find it. Another hoop to jump thru - a BN0000-04H is numbered an E168-SO16525. You can google either and get there, on an auction site you could miss half of them. Nooks and crannies created by owners, not the algorithm. I have four Citizens each less than $100 yet BIN is often over $200.
BTW, DuckDuck uses Google, they just cut off all the data mining (I hope). I have found signicantly better results thru Google in some categories because it's not operating the same way, on the other hand, Google deliberately hides some results - you could have it pulled up in another window and they refuse to list it. Google works off paid elevation of a web site, and number of clicks, even if wrong. Others actually use a search algorithm they don't politicize and you can find answers.
One thing that has come up with sites is keeping it bookmarked and returning often, stock moves fast, and auctions elevate quickly. People handed cubic dollars tend to spend it. We will see continued inflation until folks pull back and realize that no, things aren't really the same, we need to dig in for the long haul. Discretionary spending won't be the same as it was in the past for some time.
