TOPIC: don't know if this belongs in main forum ?

I have an Ebay headache !!!
I did a search on "Vintage boat parts". There are over 8000 listings !
Sometimes being specific doesn't get the results you are looking for ? BTW... if found 3 of what I was looking for, that aren't in the specific search.....

I got through 20 pages of 200 per page listings.

20 bucks for for a bag of 20 cotter pins because there is a Johnson p/n ?
10 dollars for 12 for old silicon bronze screws ?

I was like holy Sh*t ! So for the hell of it, I did a search on "Thingy" THERE ARE 220 items on that search !

yep...10 years ago when we sold out the rusty junk from that old machine shop we bought, we sold a lot of things, red pinchy things, strange dolittles.....people just bought from the picture....don't have a clue wether we did well or not, but we sold around $3000.00 worth of it!

I feel your pain. I have never been able to search for complete engines, even though there is a category for it!
Very frustrating.

And yet, could you imagine putting our old boats back together without eBay, etc......

Good with the bad.

73' You are right. I found a new bow light for my boat. Exact fit. Countless obsolete engine parts.

I've found that if I can find one or more of an item by part number or specific word search, I can often find key words in those auctions that I can also search and find more of the same goodies.
doc

Ditto what the Dr said. A general search will get you a lot of what you are not looking for. Posting on ebay gets complicated. Most posters do not put part numbers, years, models etc. in their descriptions which makes it harder to find. If you're looking for some antique chocks you'll find a million, put in a length, chrome/brass/bronze/antique/classic/size. Any word to help shorten your search.

I understand what you're saying ?
But you guys know the part number, and you know what it is ? But what I bought, the seller's husband recently died, and she was selling off what the tag said, that her husband tagged it as.

I was looking for a 1" rudder stuffing box, because of a rudder I bought on Ebay. Any stuffing box I wanted was 1 to 300 dollars. That is why I went more general to "vintage boat parts" The 1" shaft rudder stuffing box was listed as "perko heavy duty hull fitting". I asked the seller if it was indeed a 1" rudder stuffing box because the description was real vague, but there were pictures, her reply was" I don't anything about the part. Her husband was a boat builder "...I bought it for 39.99+ 12 dollars shipping.
I'm not trying to be thief, but a lot of sellers don't know what they have or what it's called ?

That is why I searched thingy too ?

The trick to looking around on Ebay is to think like a seller. You have to look for what you want by what a seller might call it. Not all sellers know what they have, what it's called, what it goes to, etc.

If you're looking for a winch, try typing in WENCH. (A lot of sellers can't spell either.) No, you won't get a woman but by doing so, you'll find a lot of winches for sale that others will not find...maybe you'll get a deal? I did!

Also, remember to check the box "include item description." A lot of Ebay selling titles are very vague but the descriptions might include the words you are searching for.

Another tip is to check FREQUENTLY

I do every day, multiple keywords. Or better yet USE the ebay search bot setup. It'll email you when a new item is listed that meets your search criteria. Then sort the search results by most recent posting.

When I get down to stuff I saw yesterday, I stop looking thru the list. Never more then a page or 2 of items. Course thaylt might still be 300+

Nautilus,

I shudder to think what one might find on "the worldwideweird" if one needed a large wrench to fit some of the "oddball fasteners" on some boat-trailer beds of the 1945-1960 and you looked for: LARGE BED WENCH.
(What you receive might be "hard to look at".)

yours, satx

Just for drill I searched for it, this is what showed up.

WOW...I think I know her!!!

Don't think that's an extra large though, like the one being sold.