How do I find a particular product on Ciao?
There are two main ways in which you can find products on Ciao.
1. Browse through the product categories and narrow down your search
according to product specifications, features and price range until you
reach a product which matches your requirements. 2. Carry out a
simple or an
advanced search using the exact product name or key search terms.
How does the search function work?
As soon as you have entered two or more characters, you can start the search.
If you have entered an invalid search keyword, this will be adjusted automatically. It doesn't matter if you've made a spelling or typing mistake or if you've entered a special character like %: we'll find "British" for you, if you accidentally entered "britsh".
Therefore, you can enter compound words as search keywords with or without hyphens, and you don't have to think about whether you are looking for "apologize", "apologise", or "apologises".
If you have entered a very popular search keyword for a certain product, we will send you directly to that product page instead of showing you the search results page. In this way, you find the product you're looking for even faster. If you prefer to see the usual search results page, just click on the "Show me search results for..." link on the product page.
If you want to do your search in a particularly clever way, you can exclude a search element that shouldn't appear in the results. To do this, you can just enter a space break, then a minus, and then the item you would like to exclude from your search. For example, the search results for "Apple -Ipod" would include everything about Apple except Ipods.
Not quite sure how your search element is spelled? Just enter the parts of the word that you know how to spell, and then add an asterisk (*). For example, with "mon*" you'll find all search elements that start with "mon".
What to do if ...
If you get too many results:
Restrict your search by specifying a category
Enter additional search keywords
Try to make your search keyword more specific; for example, "lime tree" instead of "tree".
Exclude search keywords that you don't want to find in the results. For this purpose, in the search field, you just add a blank space, a minus and the item that shouldn't be included in the results.
Instead of using * in your search, try replacing it with a full keyword.
If you don't get enough results:
Search in all categories
Check the spelling of your search keyword
Try a different search keyword, for example "baby" instead of "infant".
Reduce the number of search keywords
Formulate the search keyword in a more general way, for example "dog" instead of "poodle".
How does the Advanced Search function work?
With the advanced search function, you can find the appropriate products on our
website quickly and easily. Either you search through all categories, or restrict
your search to specific categories. To enter the actual search keywords, four input
boxes are available. None of them is mandatory. It is enough to use at least one
of them, by entering one or more characters.
How do I find a product in the category tree?
You can find the main product category names on the Ciao homepage. Choose the
general heading under which your desired product falls, for example, if you
are looking for a Canon LBP 810 laser printer, click on the Computer category.
Then, gradually click through the sub-categories to narrow down your search,
e.g. printers – Canon (manufacturer) – Laser (technology) – Windows 2000
(system requirements).
How do I narrow down my product selection?
Depending on the type of product sought, different criteria can be used to
narrow down the selection, for example, you could select a laser printer by
manufacturer, technology, media, price, system requirements etc, but your
selection of car could be directly by manufacturer, or by type.
What information does Ciao offer about individual products?
Ciao offers a wide range of technical and non-technical data about the products
included in its product catalogue. From the product overview page, users can access
detailed product specifications (via the "Product Information" tab), reviews
written by other members who own and/or use the product (via the "Reviews" tab),
a comparison of the price offers available in our online partner shops ("via
the Price Comparison" tab) and links to these retailers, a list of relevant
auctions currently running on eBay (via the "Auctions" tab) and links to other
potentially useful web resources (via the "Web Tips" tab).
How reliable is the information given about products?
Though all product specifications are based on official manufacturer data,
we cannot guarantee complete data accuracy as human error cannot be avoided
when transferring data on to the website. If you find an error in any of the
product specifications listed, please inform us of it and we will endeavour
to correct the error as soon as possible. Product reviews are written by other
members and are based on their own experiences. We cannot take responsibility
for the accuracy of the information they contain, or for the authenticity of
the experiences described.
Can I buy the products on Ciao?
No, Ciao does not sell the products listed in the catalogue itself. However,
we do work closely with a number of recommended online shops, and links to
their stores can be found in our price comparison tables. Should you wish
to buy a product second-hand, you can see current eBay auctions by clicking
on the "Auctions" tab from the product overview page.
