How to find a product online when you don't know the name
Searching for items without knowing exact brand names or part numbers often returns irrelevant results or dead ends. This makes it nearly impossible to locate specific items like rare car parts or niche apparel, leaving shoppers stuck with no clear way forward.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Using AI search tools
- 2Checking previous purchase history pages
- 3Using image search with screenshots
- 4Asking custom creators to make a replica
- 5Measure the shaft diameter and outer diameter to find a compatible alternative at a bearing supply shop.
- 6Searching on Google images
- 7Sending a picture to school maintenance to check storage
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I have a bunch of those little hook things that go on the top of the whiteboard. I use them for pictures, but I can’t get more since I don’t know what they’re called!”source ↗
“I have tried every search on the planet, including AI and all that ever comes up is the house divided shirts.”source ↗
“I've looked online, so far I can only find pumps without the pulley, and the local junk yard doesn't have my car. What are my options or am I out of them?”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 9How to figure out what product to sell online
- 4Mystery part fell out during car repair — what is it?
- 8Why is there no CRM with native AI insights out of the box?
- 3How to figure out what an unknown bug in your house is
- 20How to identify a random car part that fell off
- 16How to know which replacement part code to buy