If you’re a savvy eBay user, then you likely already know that you can find some super deals on eBay by specifically searching for misspelled listings. For example, search eBay for “XBox Connect” instead of the video game console’s proper name (which is “XBox Kinect”). Lots of amazing items go unsold or sell at unusually low prices at eBay auctions simply because the item’s name is misspelled and thus doesn’t show up in the eBay search listings when a user searches for the correctly spelled item name. While you can manually search for different misspellings on eBay, there are several free online computer programs and mobile apps that make this process easier and much faster.

1. FatFingers


Compatibility

You can use the app on your computer (PC or Mac), without having to download anything, by visiting this site. If you want to take FatFingers with you on the go, there’s a free mobile app available for a variety of mobile platforms.

How to use it

The general instructions listed below are for using the FatFingers website, so the instructions for the app may differ slightly depending on which mobile platform you use.

  1. Click here to go to the FatFingers website.
  2. Click on the “Spelling Mistakes” tab at the top of the page. Choose your eBay country by selecting the appropriate flag for your country.
  3. In the search box, enter the correctly spelled version of the word or phrase you are looking for on Ebay. For example, if you want to search eBay for Louis Vuitton items, enter the correctly spelled version of the brand name (Louis Vuitton) in the search box. Note: While I used Louis Vuitton as my example in this search, I don’t recommend trying to buy well-known, high-end designer items (i.e., Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Christian Louboutin, etc.) on eBay because fakes and counterfeit items are frequently sold there.
  4. For additional search options, click on the link that says “Show Options.” Then click “Find.” If the next page doesn’t automatically pop up on your screen, you’ll have to change your security settings to allow pop-ups.

The results

  • FatFingers will automatically create a list of new search terms based on conditions such as an omitted character, a character typed twice, one or more characters swapped, and spacing problems.
  • For my “Louis Vuitton” search, FatFingers created and searched for all these additional “mispelled” terms: “Louis Cuitton, Louid Vuitton, Louis Viitton, Louis Vuiiton, Louis Vuittton, Louis Vuittton, Louis Vuiitton, Louis Vuitotn, Louis Viutton, Lousi Vuitton, Loius Vuitton, Louis Vuitto, Louis Vuiton, Louis Vuiton, Louis Vutton, Louis Vitton, Lous Vuitton, Lois Vuitton, Luis Vuitton, ouis Vuitton”. (The great thing about this automated feature is that I could have never come up with all these misspelled options on my own!)
  • When I did this FatFingers search, there were 114 products listed with spelling mistakes. Since these results won’t appear when searching the correctly spelled “Louis Vuitton” phrase on eBay, you could get an amazing deal since these results are “obscured” and will have less people bidding on the auctions.

 

  • For more advanced searching options, click on the “Advanced Search” tab at the top of your screen.

2. TypoHound

Compatibility

Unfortunately, there is no mobile app for TypoHound…yet. To use the program, simply visit the TypoHound website on your computer.

How to Use

TypoHound is easier to use than FatFingers, but it has less advanced search options. To use TypoHound, follow these simple instructions:

  1. Click here to go to the TypoHound website.
  2. Enter the correctly spelled term or phrase in the search box. For example, enter “Toshiba” in the search box. Then select your eBay country from the drop-down menu. For the U.S. version of eBay, select “eBay.com” from the drop-down menu.
  3. Then click on “Sniff” to have TypoHound search typos and misspellings of “Toshiba” for you on eBay. TypoHound automatically generates the following spelling errors: character typed twice, character omitted, characters swapped, keyboard key next to correct character hit, and keyboard key next to correct character and correct character hit.
  4. After clicking on “Sniff,” a purple link will appear under the search box saying how many typos were generated. For my search term “Toshiba,” the purple link reads: “(81 typos generated) click here to search eBay.” Click on the purple link to be redirected to eBay where you’ll see your TypoHound search results.

The results

  • For my “Toshiba” search, TypoHound created and searched for all these misspelled terms: “oshiba, tshiba, tohiba, tosiba, toshba, toshia, toshib, otshiba, tsohiba, tohsiba, tosihba, toshbia, toshiab, ttoshiba, tooshiba, tosshiba, toshhiba, toshiiba, toshibba, toshibaa, yoshiba, ytoshiba, tpshiba, tposhiba, todhiba, todshiba, tosjiba, tosjhiba, toshoba, toshoiba, toshina, toshinba, toshibs, toshibsa, roshiba, rtoshiba, tishiba, tioshiba, toahiba, toashiba, tosgiba, tosghiba, toshuba, toshuiba, toshiva, toshivba, goshiba, gtoshiba, tlshiba, tloshiba, toxhiba, toxshiba, tosniba, tosnhiba, toshkba, toshkiba, toshiga, toshigba, toshibz, toshibza, towhiba, towshiba, tosyiba, tosyhiba, toshibq, toshibqa, foshiba, ftoshiba, tkshiba, tkoshiba, tozhiba, tozshiba, tosbiba, tosbhiba, toshjba, toshjiba, toshiha, toshihba, toshibw, toshibwa”.
  • When I performed this search, there were 314 results for products listed with the above spelling mistakes.

 Other similar, free eBay misspelling programs to check out

Misspellings on eBay: The Secret to Scoring the Best Deals