I have spent a lot of time looking for various items (from boxes to porcelain to books to jewelry) I wanted to buy over the past five years on eBay.  Here are some of the things I have learned that may help you in your searches.  I will focus on my recent interest of searching for vintage Scottish broochs to illustrate for you some searching tips.  These ideas could then be applied to items you are hoping to find.

1. KNOW AS MUCH ABOUT YOUR ITEM AS POSSIBLE
This has been repeated in many other guides, and it still bears saying it again.  The more you know about what you want, the more options you have for searching.  For example, I have recently been interested in finding vintage Scottish Brooches.  So, what should I enter in the search box?  The obvious answer would be "vintage Scottish brooches". Truly this will produce many results. But not all sellers use these same words.  There may be real treasure you are hoping to find out there if you just knew how to locate it!  The search itself often becomes an exciting adventure -- almost a mystery to solve. To paraphrase an old saying . . . it is the journey rather than the destination that is really important.  When viewed this way, your treasure-hunting on eBay becomes even more enjoyable. Here are some ideas to consider.

2.  TRY DIFFERENT ADJECTIVES / DISCRIPTION WORDS
You can of course broaden the search by eliminating the word "vintage" or by substituting other similar adjectives such as "antique", "traditional", or even "old"

3.  KNOW THE KEYWORD and its VARIETIES and POSSIBLE SPELLINGS
There are two keywords in my sample search -- "brooch" and "Scottish".  How else might these words be used or misused by sellers?  For Scottish you might try "Scotland" or sadly "Scotch".  I knew better, but once accidently tried to compliment a man on his beautiful Scotch accent.  He immediately corrected me by saying "Madam, scotch is a wonderful drink but the preferred term is Scot or Scottish!"  However, on eBay such niceties are frequently forgotten, unknown, or overlooked.  

So, if you are aware of a common way of describing something, try it.   For the word brooch try "pin" or "tie tac". Technically these are smaller items but still may lead to something you might really want to buy.  A dictionary or thesaurus would be useful here. 

Once again be aware that sellers may use another spelling intentionally or accidentally.  One for brooch is "broach", another is "brooche".   One seller had a large selection of lovely items, but he had listed them all with the one spelling of broach and did not seem to sell as many as a result.  For the buyer, however, the bidding was less competitive and therefore easier to win bids.

4.  KNOW THE MAKER and HIS MARK
Sometimes, sellers have so many different items, they do not have time to research all information about their product,  but a good seller may have many pictures of the item or may give a clear written description of what can be seen on the product.  These can help you as an informed buyer in your search. (Do be sure to check the eBay box to search in titles and descriptions to take full advantage of these tips.  Also, check the box for Worldwide, especially in the case of Celtic brooches.) 

For example, I knew that one of the silversmiths that made the kind of brooch I wanted to buy was Robert Allison.  His mark is an RA.  I would put either the whole name, the last name, or just the initials and the base keyword brooch in the search field and found a couple that did not show up in other searchs.  Even if the seller does not know that RA stands for Robert Allison, such a seller may still use the initials in describing the maker's mark on the back of the brooch. (Oh and spelling again . . . Robert was listed as Richard and Allison was spelled with one L.)  I also learned that Robert Allison used designs of another silversmith, Alexander Ritchie, who started a company on the island of  IONA at the turn of the century.  Therefore, I often entered the word IONA or even Ritchie in the eBay search field.  This would bring up brooches not only made by Ritchie but by others who worked with his designs or in his style.  Sellers often try to tie into a better known maker to get customers to view their similar products.
                                 

How did I know what the mark meant?  There are usually books out on these subjects that you can buy.  More often though, I will conduct a general internet search for silversmith marks for a particular area of the world, or sometimes just enter the initials in an eBay search and hope I find one result of a seller who gives that information.  EBay often gives more information than can be found on the wider internet.

5. KNOW WHERE THE ITEM WAS MADE
Here is where you need to know what the hallmark means.  For Scottish brooches I learned that there were four main assay offices that approved hallmarks in England for the kind of brooches I wanted.  They were Glasgow, Birmingham, Edinburgh, and Chester. Therefore, I would enter the name of the assay office as well as the base keyword of brooch in the eBay search field.  It is surprising what you may find along the way!   I discovered other makers names and other styles of brooch I had not even dreamed of.

6. KNOW THE COMPONENTS OF THE ITEM YOU WANT
From a general survey of Scottish brooches I found a variety of components or materials that interested me.  For example a particular stone to be the centerpiece of the brooch such as an amethyst or a cairngorm.  I looked up each stone on the internet to find out what it was made of and how it might be described.  This helped me when I read the description given by the seller to determine if it was the quality I wanted.  As for the search I would enter "amethyst" (often spelled "amythist") or "cairngorm" (sometimes spelled cairmgorm) brooch in the eBay search field.
                                      

7.  KNOW THE STYLE, USE, OR SHAPE of the ITEM
I knew that the brooches I wanted were used traditionally in a variety of different ways. They included plaid brooches, kilt pins, clan badges.  A "plaid" brooch holds the shawl or main upper garment together and was pinned at the shoulder.  A "kilt" pin holds the lower skirt part together and keeps it from flapping open to reveal what a Scotsman has or does not have underneath.  A "clan badge" was a pin used by members of the clan to display their loyalty to the clan chief. It is generally in the shape of a belt within which is displayed the clan chief's crest from his coat of arms. Again I would just enter the use type in my eBay search field. There are many shapes that I was looking for and would enter in the eBay search field. They included: thistle (national symbol for Scotland), bird claw, Luckenbooth, harp, Viking ship, axe, battleaxe, dirk or dagger, shield, sword, celtic design (designs such as bird, dragon, horse ....), stag. Sometimes styles such as "art nouveau", "art deco", "traditional", "arts & crafts", "celtic", would bring desired results for my Scottish brooch search especially for more modern designs with Scottish themes.
                                        

8.  THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX
These are just some of the tips that I, as a commited searcher, have learned to use. If you keep an open mind and look upon your searches on eBay as a kind of game, you may come up with even more valuable tips for finding that treasure. I have learned so much about the items I finally have purchased just from the adventure of searching for them, that I now appreciate my purchases even more.

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