EA has already officially stated that they will never add a search feature. Their reasoning behind it is because if they did, some items would never ever be seen because they will be snatched up so quickly that few people will ever have a chance to buy them. Vu Items for instance. They're already not sold very often, but when you see them, they already sell pretty quickly. At least this way, when someone does sell them, you at least have a chance.
The whole thing operates on supply and demand. The higher the supply and/or the lower the demand, you will see more of them on the market. That's just the way it's going to have to be.
I will suggest that it is more insidious than what you describe. The problem with "freemium" games is that the vendor will often introduce "challenges" that induce players to spend money in order to circumvent them. The items available in Trade HQ, not to mention the lag when buying, is an obvious attempt to confound players. There are some creative solutions but they also require some effort...
