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Amazon is stuffing its search results pages with ads

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Re: Amazon is stuffing its search results pages with ads

#201

Post by mikestew »

maxxxxx wrote: post #75
AnIdiotOnTheNet wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed. It has been common practice for PC parts to use Newegg's search and buy from Amazon, but lately Amazon's price hasn't actually been lower so you can eliminate one step.

Unfortunately Newegg also seems to have gone downhill. Allowing third party sellers is a good way to boost revenues quickly but it also quickly makes the buying experience worse. I now prefer stores where they have the same item only once and not from dozens of sellers. Or I go to eBay.

When NewEgg started the 3rd-party sellers, I quit buying from them. I don't buy from Sears for the same reason. If I wanted a flea market, I'd go find an shut-down drive-in theater.

And that's the trick: I'd buy from NewEgg based on their reputation, not the reputation of some company I've never heard of. Back in the day, if I bought from Amazon I assumed (probably incorrectly) that it was somewhat curated. With 3rd-parties, NewEgg is no longer a trusted vendor, they're just a big ol' barrel of random shit that I have to try and fish through to find what I want. Amazon is just a big ol' barrel of random shit where I hope to not get tricked. Is that really the reputation you want, Amazon? That I wander down your virtual aisles constantly looking over my shoulder?

I "prefer" a vendor because they have demonstrated that they "carry good stuff". These days, hell, even they don't know what they carry.

Re: Amazon is stuffing its search results pages with ads

#202

Post by astura »

apersona wrote: post #102
ckastner wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Bezos is out to make an empire, everything else comes second. I share this sentiment. For comparison, I believe the amount of and methods with which Google collects data to be wrong, but I also believe that they don't believe they are doing something (outright) wrong. Amazon, however, must know that they have a counterfeit goods problem, but it seems that they couldn't care less about it. Same applies to gaming the…

How would you solve the counterfeit goods and preventing people from gaming the review system problems? It seems like a hard problem - eBay suffered from this too for their goods,Yelp with reviews. I doubt it's just a "I don't care" kind of thing.

Same way every other retailer (Walmart, Target, Sears, etc) prevent counterfeit goods?

Re: Amazon is stuffing its search results pages with ads

#203

Post by ashelmire »

>“Nobody is scrolling beyond the first page when they do a search,” Jason Goldberg, SVP of commerce at SapientRazorfish, a digital marketing agency, told Recode. “If you want to be discoverable, you have to find a way to show up in search results.”

Bullshit. Amazon search is sketchy and reviews (both number and quality) are often unreliable, so I spend far longer than I want to looking through reviews to spot the fakes and try to find products that are actually of good quality.

I've actually started buying important things from elsewhere again. Many companies on Amazon are in a race to the bottom in both price and quality. That's fine for some products, but not for anything that's going to get regular use.

Re: Amazon is stuffing its search results pages with ads

#204

Post by astura »

dawnerd wrote: post #194
apersona wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How would you solve the counterfeit goods and preventing people from gaming the review system problems? It seems like a hard problem - eBay suffered from this too for their goods,Yelp with reviews. I doubt it's just a "I don't care" kind of thing.

You don’t allow third party sellers and the problem goes away real fast.

You can still allow third party sellers, but just do some vetting of both their products and their operations first.

Re: Amazon is stuffing its search results pages with ads

#205

Post by toomuchtodo »

Gustomaximus wrote: post #164
cs702 wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Their basic underlying assumption appears to be that they're no longer in danger of losing customers and can now act accordingly. Speaking as a longtime customer, I agree: this is what Amazon's behavior feels like to me nowadays. Search no longer works well for me. Reviews and product ratings are no longer trustworthy. The authenticity of products in key categories (e.g., electronics) can no longer be taken for gra…

Does it though? 1) The day Amazon feel threatened they can become the cheapest in the market quickly again. 2) Given purchasing power scale and people like fast delivery there will only be a handful of companies that can complete with Amazon ever, so it seems unlikely there will be a 'started in the garage' business compete with them now the market is maturing. 3) With the extra profit Amazon are making vs a competit…

> The day Amazon feel threatened they can become the cheapest in the market quickly again.

> Given purchasing power scale and people like fast delivery there will only be a handful of companies that can complete with Amazon ever, so it seems unlikely there will be a 'started in the garage' business compete with them now the market is maturing.

I'd rather just walk into Target (same day pickup), Walmart (same day pickup), Best Buy (who price matches), B&H, Buy Buy Baby, Home Depot (same day pickup), Bed Bath & Beyond, or Kohls. I can't buy clothing online because I'm not willing for it to take a week to try something on, ship it back if it doesn't fit, get a different size in the mail, etc. The few bucks more at a physical store is worth it to have the size that fits today. I'm not willing to buy human consumables worried that they're counterfeit from an unscrupulous third party seller I will have no recourse against. I have to go to the Apple store for anything Apple related because I can't trust Amazon's reviews or their supply chain that what I'm receiving isn't a Chinese knock off that is out of spec. I buy SD cards and USB flash drives from Walmart because I don't trust I'll receive an authentic version from Amazon (having received many in the past that did not match advertised capacity).

I won't even buy baby formula from Amazon; I buy direct from the manufacturer, and it takes 3-4 days to get to us (cheaper than worrying its counterfeit). The horror of having to wait an extra day or two and plan ahead!

ashelmire's sibling comment hits the nail on the head: I do not trust Amazon anymore (without even touching on their labor practices). The UX is still great for me to track down products I might like or need and then go shop for them in person.

Re: Amazon is stuffing its search results pages with ads

#206

Post by balt_s »

fishbone wrote: post #83
arbuge wrote: post #19

Their basic underlying assumption appears to be that they're no longer in danger of losing customers and can now act accordingly. Now that they've captured 50%+ of US ecommerce, they've also raised many prices, to the point where they're far from the cheapest price in many cases. A random example... the cat litter I just purchased is $17.89 at Amazon, $13.49 at Walmart. Last week I bought a chair mat for $21.95 on Eb…

I almost ordered two pvc plumbing fittings from Amazon last week for $13.99. Thanks to some Hackernews skepticism I cancelled my shopping cart. I found the same fittings at my local hardware store for $8.99. My question is, how dynamic are Amazon’s prices? Do all users see the same prices or is it more like google search where results are “personalized”? It seems like they could dynamically change prices based on use…

You could try the browser addon "Keepa" which show some historical price data -- very useful.

Re: Amazon is stuffing its search results pages with ads

#207

Post by astura »

m3kw9 wrote: post #84
tfha wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is why I've been unhappy to see Bezos gaining steam. As his other products become more successful, you can expect a lot more of this. Alexa is not your friend, Alexa is a tool to make Amazon money. Amazon's move into media is not an effort to improve the media system, it's a recognition that there's a lot of money to be made by controlling the media that people consume. Same thing with the fire phone, it wasn't…

Xyz company is not your friend. Ok, like we didn’t know they are trying to make money off the other side? When is the last time a company trying to make a profit is our friend?

Companies like Costco and Wegmans are known for being socially responsible, so it's possible. Both have a strong and loyal customer base.

Re: Amazon is stuffing its search results pages with ads

#208

Post by specialist »

Raphmedia wrote: post #131
specialist wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also use camelcamelcamel to sanity check my recurring purchases. For example, the range for my preferred elderberry syrup is from $20 to $45. https://camelcamelcamel.com/Dr-Dünner-Sambu-Elderberry-Elder... I waited the price to drop back down and then restocked. YMMV

Out of curiosity, what use do you make of elderberry syrup?

Doctor's orders. I'm immune compromised. Dr says it's as effective as tamiflu. From my reading, elderberry doesn't prevent infections, but it does minimize the symptoms, which matches my experience.

Re: Amazon is stuffing its search results pages with ads

#210

Post by ashelmire »

Gustomaximus wrote: post #164
cs702 wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Their basic underlying assumption appears to be that they're no longer in danger of losing customers and can now act accordingly. Speaking as a longtime customer, I agree: this is what Amazon's behavior feels like to me nowadays. Search no longer works well for me. Reviews and product ratings are no longer trustworthy. The authenticity of products in key categories (e.g., electronics) can no longer be taken for gra…

Does it though? 1) The day Amazon feel threatened they can become the cheapest in the market quickly again. 2) Given purchasing power scale and people like fast delivery there will only be a handful of companies that can complete with Amazon ever, so it seems unlikely there will be a 'started in the garage' business compete with them now the market is maturing. 3) With the extra profit Amazon are making vs a competit…

>1) The day Amazon feel threatened they can become the cheapest in the market quickly again.

Can they? They aren't the ones selling those products, individual companies set their own prices - and they have to pay a cut to Amazon. Even if that cut goes to 0 (making Amazon lose lots of money), that only puts them at barely better than the rest of the market. Walmart sets its own prices.

>2) Given purchasing power scale and people like fast delivery there will only be a handful of companies that can complete with Amazon ever, so it seems unlikely there will be a 'started in the garage' business compete with them now the market is maturing.

I think this has been proven wrong time and again. There's always a way into the market.

>3) With the extra profit Amazon are making vs a competitors they can develop and buy technologies or business to keep a moat around them for a long time.

Just the same way every other company has maintained an iron grip on every market it's in...?

History repeats itself, companies rise and fall, and they gain and lose market share even when they have an endless supply of money.

The most important part of running a business like Amazon is consumer trust - and Amazon is playing a losing game right now.

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