Searching eBay with keywords

The eBay auction system, as smart as it is, has quite a few limitations with regards to how sellers can describe their items. The length of the text is limited, and even though some meta-tags are available, they are far from complete. For this reason, the eBay community has developed many keywords that are used as shortcuts to describe the items within the auction title.
The most common item is BNIB, which stands for “brand new in box”. Another common term you will see a lot is NR, standing for “no reserve”, meaning that the seller hasn’t set a reserve price on the auction.

A somewhat differently purposed keywords are “as-is”, which describe an item that is probably damaged or broken. A comparable term that’s also common for this situation is “for parts”. Such items would typically be offered at very low prices, but you get what you pay for…suitable mostly for someone who has the ability to repair the item or really does need part from it to repair another.

In the clothing department, you will find additional keywords. A common one is BNWT, which means Brand New With Tags, or its cousin NWT (New With Tags). “NBW” stands for Never Been Worn, and is also useful for the clothing industry. In the toy and action figure field, the word “loose” means an item that’s out of its original packaging, which would deter collectors, but means attractive pricing for those who just want to play or use the item. In electronics, “repaired”, “refurbished”, “refurb”, “restocked” and “repackaged” denote an item that has been returned by a customer and is being offered at a reduced price, but with a limited warranty.

You can find a fairly comprehensive list of similar keywords here:
http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/account/acronyms.html

Want to learn more? Read more articles on my blog, or better yet, attend my public class on eBay buying. Click here to find more details and about the next class dates.