Search Optimization
Prospector's search and filtering capabilities add to what's available on eBay and there often are multiple ways of accomplishing the same task.
To the extent possible, it is best to have as much filtering as possible done on eBay. This results in less data that needs to be transferred over the network, which means faster response times. In general, it is best if your eBay query is as specific as possible. For example, a search for a Superbit DVD version of the movie Gattaca would best have "gattaca superbit" as the eBay query rather than just "gattaca" and then having "superbit" in Prospector's Title-must-have.
Search Limits
Prospector will display a maximum number of items per search. This is done for responsiveness and also for good eBay and network citizenry - some general searches can have many thousands of hits - if someone saved "CD" or "guitar" for example. You can adjust this limit through the Options dialog / Search tab / Max items to fetch.
Whenever this limit is hit, Prospector will show you the Warning
icon (
) in the Search Tree and also place a
warning message on the results page.
Hidden Items
Items can be hidden from all future results by individually hiding them, or by using the "Hide all on Page" menu item in the tab page's context menu (which appears when you right-click on a tab).
Hidden items are taken off the Hide List automatically when the auction ends.
An alternative to hiding it to use the Latest Listings feature where Prospector shows you just the items listed since your last search update.