eBay search operators, and how to use them

A search that is too broad floods your alerts with things you would never buy. A search that is too narrow misses the one listing you were waiting for. Operators are how you land in between — and they are the difference between a saved search you trust and one you end up muting.

Everything below works in the Dealerts search box exactly as written.

Start broad, then cut

Type the plain thing you are after first and see what comes back.

iphone

That returns every listing containing the word. Useful for about thirty seconds — long enough to see what the noise looks like, which is what tells you which operators you need.

Match either of several terms

Parentheses are OR. Put the alternatives inside, separated by commas, with no spaces.

iphone (15,16)

Listings that mention iPhone and either 15 or 16. This is the single most useful operator in the set, because it collapses several searches into one. Instead of a saved search for iphone 15 and another for iphone 16, you keep one.

Exclude what you never want

A minus sign drops a word.

iphone -pro

And -( ) drops several at once.

iphone -(pro,max)

This is where most of the noise goes. If a word keeps showing up in listings you would never buy — case, broken, parts, repair, lot — exclude it once and stop seeing it forever.

Require a word

A plus sign makes a term mandatory rather than merely present.

iphone +unlocked

Only listings that actually say unlocked.

Lock an exact phrase

Quotes match the words in that order, with nothing between them.

"iphone case"

Without the quotes you would also get a listing for an iPhone that happens to mention a case in the description.

Match at least N of the terms

@ followed by a number sets a minimum.

@1 iphone android

Listings mentioning at least one of the two. Handy when you buy across a couple of related things and do not want two searches.

The full reference

Operator	Does	Example	Matches
space	Match both	`iphone case`	Listings containing both words
`( )`	Match either	`iphone (15,16)`	iPhone listings mentioning 15 or 16
`" "`	Exact phrase	`"iphone case"`	Only that phrase, in that order
`-`	Exclude a word	`iphone -pro`	iPhones, but nothing saying Pro
`-( )`	Exclude several	`iphone -(pro,max)`	iPhones with neither Pro nor Max
`+`	Require a word	`iphone +unlocked`	Only unlocked iPhones
`@`	Match at least N	`@1 iphone android`	Listings with at least one of the terms

Putting it together

Operators stack. Read this one left to right:

iphone (15,16) -(pro,max) +unlocked

An iPhone, either generation, not the pricier trims, and it has to say unlocked. That is one saved search instead of four — and, more to the point, no notification you did not want.

Four habits worth keeping

Be specific about the thing, vague about the rest. Model numbers and brand names do more work than adjectives.
Exclude the moment you see noise twice. The second time a word annoys you, add it to a -( ) list. It takes five seconds and it is permanent.
Combine before you duplicate. If you are about to save a second search that differs by one word, use ( ) instead.
Re-test after editing. A stray space inside parentheses changes what a search matches.

Stuck on one? Email us from Settings in the app and we will help you build it.