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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

#341

Post by aeternum »

zaidf wrote: post #286
rock_hard wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is amazon a monopoly? Last time I checked there was a ocean of e-commerce stores on the internet all selling the same stuff

When Microsoft got busted for being anti-competitive, you could still download Netscape Navigator and use it.

Amazon still has quite a ways to go. Consider that Microsoft had:

- 96% of worldwide OS marketshare. Even Amazon doesn't come close to this level of domination in retail or cloud.

- Forcing OEMs to purchase Windows licenses for all PCs sold regardless of whether or not customers wanted a PC without Windows.

- Not only pre-installed IE, but provided IE with inaccessible and undocumented Windows OS APIs to give it functionality that just wasn't possible for Netscape to implement (like ActiveX).

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

#342

Post by TylerE »

throwaway_law wrote: post #185
VBprogrammer wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

>It's a tricky problem to avoid. Its really not though, its just that between insurance and the courts its currently cheaper to enter products into the stream of commerce that will catch fire x% of times and hurt Y people costing $z, than it is to manufacture/supply/distribute/retail a product that won't catch fire in 100% of cases. Hell even when z exceeds the cost of proper manufacturing, these companies are signif…

You’re assuming nothing bad ever happens with the “name brand” product, which is patently bullshit. Every consumer product I. The shelves is cost engineered to death.

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

#343

Post by lleolin »

spike021 wrote: post #214

Honestly, what's the big deal? Google prioritizes certain websites/results when I enter queries too, it doesn't mean I'm required to click on them. What ever happened to people spending a few extra minutes looking for the result they want? If the first few aren't correct for you then move on. Unless you're spending an extra 30+ minutes because the search doesn't work correctly at all then there's no issue here.

>Google prioritizes certain websites/results when I enter queries too, it doesn't mean I'm required to click on them.

I would like to call this "an appeal to free will". It's true that individuals can choose what they click, but there is also going to be a statistical reality of what people "choose" to click more/most often.

Because of this, imo the big deal is absolutely gargantuan. Google for example handles several billions of searches per day. To your point of continuing to hunt for the right results, just adding a few seconds per search increases the amount of aggregate time spent searching on a scale of centuries per day. I would argue it's a similar case with Amazon; the service is so large that a minute changes can have tremendous impacts.

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

#344

Post by bongobongo »

cptaj wrote: post #299

We definitely need platform legislation for the web. After a certain size, they should be regulated as public utilities. So many companies completely depend on Amazon's platform for their business and they're all easy prey for the behemoth. I did some work for a company that sells batteries on Amazon. A simple dispute got them suspended across the board. A decision made by a third rate employee from god knows where,…

You’re describing a monopoly and the proper tool to deal with it is anti-trust, not entrenching it by pretending it’s a public utility.

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

#345

Post by dpau »

gumby wrote: post #330
partialrecall wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Presumably it was humans who signed off on the premise of Amazon's Choice in the first place. If Amazon is so careless with their brand in that case, as a consumer I'd feel like a sucker if I trusted there brand to mean much when their employees are evaluating products rather than algorithms. Maybe the algorithm seemed like a good idea at the time but later turned sour. If that's the case, why hasn't Amazon yanked th…

> Presumably it was humans who signed off on the premise of Amazon's Choice in the first place. On the premise, sure. But on the individual items, I've always assumed "Amazon's Choice" meant "Best for Amazon", i.e. high margin, low number of returns (which would reduce margin). Not necessarily what I would choose.

excellent point, it's Amazon's choice, not yours

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

#349

Post by LegitShady »

learc83 wrote: post #8
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…

Grocery stores don't operate as a "marketplace" though. Grocery stores curate their offerings, vet vendors, deal with returns etc... Amazon is more like shopping mall that decides to start operating their own stores and competing with their tenants.

>Amazon is more like shopping mall that decides to start operating their own stores and competing with their tenants.

more like a big box store that allows other stores to operate in them so long as they get a cut.

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

#350

Post by m463 »

avgDev wrote: post #294
nacs wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except its not just the lower prices that are important -- the quick order processing and shipping are a huge reason why Amazon is succeeding. Living near a metro area, I can get items from Amazon items within 24-48 hours (with Prime). Sometimes it even arrives later the same day. Plus the whole free shipping (as long as you're Prime) thing..

The free shipping is weird....I recently noticed that my father was looking up something he wanted me to order for him....his price was less, same item and amazon seller. I logged in and boom my price was $3 higher on a 20 dollar item. So, I'm not sure how "free" the shipping is anymore. I do agree that fast shipping is a big part of amazon but I think another big player could match the processing speed.

I've been told that amazon might do "personalized pricing". Friends have told me their friends come up with lower prices in other locations.

Target was caught doing this. People with location services turned on using the target app would find pricing for an item jump up as they approached their local store.

search for "The Target app price switch: What you need to know"

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