Question
I log in, I go to search, I am not logged in.
I perform a search, I am not logged in.
I click on an auction, I am suddenly logged in again!
Why am I not logged in, ---or why does it not say I am--- when I am on a search page or when I have just performed a search?
Answer
Do you need to log in if you search completed auctions? If not, you are still logged in, in spite of what it says. I find that I am having to log in more often now when searching completed auctions.....
Kevin
Answer
Kevin,
I can't say if this search issue is normal or not. What I can comment on is that a few auctions or about me or links off same have apparently been set up to do improper eBay sign in prompts off on a non-eBay website to phish the eBay ID and password. The only protection is to watch carefully that the site is always https://signin.ebay.com/... or to use the eBay Toolbar which I don't use, and it will flag the non-eBay sites when this happens supposedly.
I've seen this reported on another forum and not experienced it myself so I am reporting second hand on it.
There have been a number of repeat times that eBay asked me for signins where I had clicked the "keep me logged in on this PC" box.
Answer
I have never been able to stay signed in no matter how many boxes I check or what eBay says. I have been asked to sign in again and again when using the site. It seems each function has its own set of rules and sign in needs. You sign in to search, then sign in again for completed searches.
You sign in for My eBay, then sign in again to sell, and again to do feedback, and again and again to file payment disputes, or to see your invoice.
eBay has stated that it wants us sellers to list more, and us buyers to bid more.
Tell you what eBay, you cut down on the busywork signing in and finding my way through your thicket of links, and I will have enough time to do more of what I go to your site for.
The solution to getting more sales and bids is to make the site more functional and efficient, and respectful of the limited time buyers and sellers have at their disposal.
Larry
Answer
PG, Larry: What both of you are describing sounds like cookie-related problems
Instead of using a single cookie with domain-wide permissions,
eBay issues multiple cookies to your browser, each having the "scope" of a named server. For instance:
pages.ebay.com
search.ebay.com
You understand that eBay can't read a cookie set by yahoo.com, right?
The same security principle applies to "intra" domain cookies.
If the cookie is "set" for a restricted path
(will have a windows filename like "user*ebay.com/myebay/prefs/" in your cache)
or to a canonical/named server
(will have a windows filename like "user*search.ebay.com" in your cache)
that cookie cannot be requested/read by the webserver(s) when you're accessing a different part of the site.
^----- the forum software swapped asterisks for AT symbols, above
Ebay offers a LOT of personalization (call it spyware if you're so inclined)
everything from column visibility and sort order in myEbay
to "recently viewed items"
along with notations as to which banners ads your browser has received, etc.
Partly for "personalization" and partly for "tracking" reasons, the cookie-stored info really needs to be differentiated as to which server (which part of the site) it applies to. Even if eBay wanted to utilize a single cookie, they would be hard-pressed to do so because they store so MUCH info (browsers conventionally restrict cookie file length to 2048 bytes).
Another cookie issue is that there are 2 types: "session" cookies (these are erased when you close the browser window) and "persistent" cookies (these are written to your TempInternetFiles folder, or wherever, and are "valid" across multiple visits to the relevant site). The latter type is created when you login to a site and tick the "remember me" or "keep me logged in" checkbox. If you intend to switch between multiple ebay accounts, the presence of persisent login cookie can be equally frustrating (in the other direction // not being able to logout).
So, PG...
for whatever reason, it sounds like your browser isn't retaining the cookie for search.ebay.com or, said another way, I can't imagine what else would be causing the situation you've described. Maybe somewhere along the way you, or someone else using your PC, inadvertently disallowed cookie-setting permission for search.ebay.com?
To check whether this is the case (If you're using MSIE)
Tools }} InternetOptions }} Privacy(tab) }} Edit
and look for the named server "search.ebay.com"
Delete its entry from the list if you find it there.
and, Larry...
Clearly, your browser isn't "handling cookies properly", period.
Yep, every time you navigate between specific servers to access various eBay pages
your browser receives a request to supply the previously-stored cookie.
In the absence of receiving info from a previously-cookie, the webserver doesn't know "you are YOU".
First check your "blocked cookie" browser preferences as I described above. Also, regardless what you find in your browser settings, consider what else on your PC might be blocking the cookies (NortonInternetSecurity, "ad blocking" or "spyware blocking" utilities).