There are four tools to find what you're looking for on hobbyDB using search. You can combine all four to get better results faster.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Basic Search
hobbyDB is comprised of five main sections: Database Items, Subjects, the Marketplace, Directories (divided into Members and Local), and the Blog. Type your search terms in the text box, then click the New button if you want to search the currently selected section, or click a section label to initiate a new search in that section. You can also click the New button or one of the section labels without a search query to see the main page for the selected section.
The search is pre-set to the section of the site you are currently viewing. For example, if you are viewing a Database Item the search will default to Database Items, and if you're on a Subject page, the search will default to Subjects. Your Showcase is part of the Members section, so the search defaults to Members there.
You can search for almost any attribute of the item you're looking for. This search query contains the Brand, Series, Character, and Reference number...
Star Wars Black Series Han Solo 09
...and finds this Database Item. The search query becomes one of the Filters, as highlighted below.
It's often better to start with broader terms, especially if you don't know exactly how the Item Name or other information was formatted. Searching just parts of the Series and Item names plus the reference number works in this case as well:
Black Solo 09
Since this shorter search is more broad, other items are shown as well. This can be especially helpful to find out if there might be more than one version of the item you're looking for.
Boolean Search
The hobbyDB search supports Boolean search operators to allow narrowing your search query.
You can use the following:
- Quotation Marks:
Searching Hot Toys without quotation marks will find all items with the words Hot and Toys anywhere in their information. Searching "Hot Toys" with quotation marks will only find items that have the two words together in that order (helpful if you are looking for items made by Hot Toys). - The Minus Sign:
Porsche -Cayenne will only show you Porsche items that do not include the word Cayenne. The minus and the word to be excluded have to be written together without a space. You can combine as many of these exclusions as you like, for example, Porsche -Cayenne -Boxster -928.
Filters
There are several filters available on the left-hand side that can be used to narrow down search results, or even be used on their own to build a completely filter-based search.
You can combine as many different filters as you want, including additional search terms (just enter them in the search box and click Add to add the additional terms to your filters).
Sorting
You can sort your search results by selecting one of the options in the drop-down menu at the top right (Added: Newest is the default)
NOTE: We still need to work on sorting by Reference # as it currently sorts literally (i.e. it would sort like this 1, 12, 189, 2, A, AB).
Additional Tips
- We've configured dozens of Equivalent Search Terms, meaning that we can teach the search to tread certain pairs of terms as if they are the same. For example, VW and Volkswagen are set as Equivalent Search Terms, as well as two-digit and four-digit years, so searching for '57 Chevy will also return search results for items named 1957 Chevy. If you have suggestions for additional Equivalent Search Terms, please contact us.
- The search disregards Special Characters such as dashes and other punctuation, so Mercedes Benz and Mercedes-Benz will get you the same results (the dash, however, can be used as a minus sign for your search string as explained above).
- Search terms are not case-sensitive. Searching McDonald's will return the same results as searching mcdonald's.
- If you can't find what you're looking for, try broadening your search terms, check your spelling, and clear any filters that are currently set.