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Amazon Changed Search Algorithm in Ways That Boost Its Own Products

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Re: Amazon Changed Search Algorithm in Ways That Boost Its Own Products

#91

Post by dclusin »

monitron wrote: post #6

I would compare this to a supermarket allocating shelf space to maximize its profits, either by placing its own brands front and center or by featuring brands that have made a deal for prime shelf placement. I don't see this as scandalous or even new. Coincidentally, Amazon brand products are usually pretty good in my experience, so this might not be a terrible outcome for users who have already decided to come shop…

It's also understood by all who pass by store isles that the store is giving its own products prominence. Tweaking an algorithm that historically featured products based on users purchasing behavior to instead favor its own products without disclosing it is doing so is misleading.

Re: Amazon Changed Search Algorithm in Ways That Boost Its Own Products

#92

Post by ikeboy »

VBprogrammer wrote: post #78
ikeboy wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They recalled a quarter million power banks because they were catching fire. Everybody uses the same factories and Amazon doesn't have better quality control than anyone else.

To be fair, Samsung had to scrap a whole phone model because of battery problems. The Boeing 787 suffered with problems of batteries catching fire (and according to some reports still does). It's a tricky problem to avoid.

Anecdotally I've spoken to people who compete with Amazon private label in electronics and they tell me Amazon doesn't care about quality, and that the factories they were buying from were known to be lower quality.

I've also heard the opposite about Anker - that they always get the best quality.

Re: Amazon Changed Search Algorithm in Ways That Boost Its Own Products

#93

Post by cptskippy »

MisterTea wrote: post #79
Pxtl wrote: post #34

Considering how shopping at Amazon now feels like shopping at an electronics bazaar in Singapore with giant bins of random knock-off products of suspicious quality, tweaking the algo to push name-brand options (even if it's their own name-brand) would be a welcome move to me as a buyer. Obviously it's grossly unfair to their vendors, but from a strictly user-centric view it's an improvement. Otherwise, Amazon feels l…

Amazon's reputation is pretty damaged in my eyes. I have rarely used them for electronics anymore as you can't trust anything. Even at work we used prime to buy certain items and I stopped it. Example: Last week two symbol barcode scanners used in the erp system died. I look up the same model on newegg and see that sold and shipped by newegg it was about $120. Amazon had multiple listing in the $60 range and checking…

Sadly Newegg is following in Amazon's footsteps with it's affiliate program. You have to choose Newegg as the seller or you run into the same issues.

As soon as Newegg starts mingling stock like Amazon does, then we'll have to go back to big box retailers to ensure we're getting the item we're paying for.

Re: Amazon Changed Search Algorithm in Ways That Boost Its Own Products

#94

Post by jandrese »

ikeboy wrote: post #70
jastanton wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The one difference is that the Amazon Basics products seem to have a quality bar higher than the other random re-labeled products.

They recalled a quarter million power banks because they were catching fire. Everybody uses the same factories and Amazon doesn't have better quality control than anyone else.

The other vendors who bought from that factory and rebranded them had the same problem did not issue a recall.

Re: Amazon Changed Search Algorithm in Ways That Boost Its Own Products

#95

Post by liveoneggs »

ikeboy wrote: post #70
jastanton wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The one difference is that the Amazon Basics products seem to have a quality bar higher than the other random re-labeled products.

They recalled a quarter million power banks because they were catching fire. Everybody uses the same factories and Amazon doesn't have better quality control than anyone else.

actually having an entity to do the recall is quite an improvement!

Re: Amazon Changed Search Algorithm in Ways That Boost Its Own Products

#97

Post by TazeTSchnitzel »

jjohansson wrote: post #74

If you’re a manufacturer without a strong brand, it’s incredibly risky selling through Amazon. They will take your sales data to evaluate ROI of building it themselves , and then undercut you. Similar if you’re a retailer. This is why Shopify’s new model is better for D2C and retail (but very difficult for them to pull off).

Also, a factory can produce a counterfeit of your product and sell it on Amazon on the same listing as your genuine product, with no way the customer can tell which they're buying.

Re: Amazon Changed Search Algorithm in Ways That Boost Its Own Products

#98

Post by mattmcknight »

Pxtl wrote: post #34

Considering how shopping at Amazon now feels like shopping at an electronics bazaar in Singapore with giant bins of random knock-off products of suspicious quality, tweaking the algo to push name-brand options (even if it's their own name-brand) would be a welcome move to me as a buyer. Obviously it's grossly unfair to their vendors, but from a strictly user-centric view it's an improvement. Otherwise, Amazon feels l…

I'm done with buying stuff from third party sellers on Amazon. If the seller is not amazon.com, I am not buying from Amazon. Fulfilled by Amazon is not good enough. Unfortunately, the only way to get a seller option is to pick an item department. I wonder why they would bury such a useful feature. It should be a box you can tick for the whole site.
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