Amazon Changed Search Algorithm in Ways That Boost Its Own Products

Post by Bayart » Tue, Sep 17, 2019, 3:31 PM UTC

gambiting wrote: post #205

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 can only guess you are American) - American experiences with Amazon are so different to mine over here in the UK it's incredible. I buy tonnes of different stuff from Amazon(multiple hundred orders last year) and I have never ever gotten anything counterfeit or had any issues. In fact every time when their 1-day delivery arrives late they just extend my prime by a month, no questions asked. And yet every time I go…

Post by okmokmz » Tue, Sep 17, 2019, 5:15 PM UTC

MaupitiBlue wrote: post #368

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…

Why do you need to trust Amazon? Just look at the reviews. Most AmazonBasics stuff has thousands of 4+ star reviews. It’s clearly distinguishable from the products with 15 questionable reviews.

Post by okmokmz » Tue, Sep 17, 2019, 5:22 PM UTC

jshowa3 wrote: post #108

benologist wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amazon take egregious shortcuts on oversight for counterfeit goods, which they are compelled by law to not sell, so expecting them to suddenly practice due diligence on stuff coming out of a factory in China is just laughable.

Most US goods come manufactured from China. While China has a large counterfeit market, it's mostly restricted to inside the country.

Post by okmokmz » Tue, Sep 17, 2019, 5:30 PM UTC

chatmasta wrote: post #396

opportune wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I posted a negative review on a FBA product (~$100) that arrived super late and damaged. I got called to offer me $20 to take the review down. Didn’t respond, they somehow got my review taken down anyway. That was the first time I realized how bad Amazon was getting. Kind of surprised this is something Amazon does too though; I figured only crappy dropshippers would engage in that

What is wrong with Amazon (or any vendor) following up on a bad review? If they’re offering incentives to take it down, of course that’s a problem. But engaging with the customer and identifying faults in detail seems like a plainly good, consumer-friendly and win/win behavior that every brand should practice. That said, I’m not sure a third party seller can get my contact info as easily as Amazon can, so that part s…

Post by okmokmz » Tue, Sep 17, 2019, 5:41 PM UTC

momokoko wrote: post #150

VRay wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amazon used to have the best service, best quality products, and best prices, so practically every HN user loved them. Now they're wavering on all three of those fronts, and I guess that fact really bothers most of us

I'm not disagreeing with the premise that Amazon has issues. But I do not see a similar pattern with other companies and services. Of course, this is anecdotal, but it does seem significantly higher with Amazon itself. It is possibly that most HN users purchase a lot via Amazon? Is it a small but vocal group of HN users that have a grudge because they had an unsuccessful drop shipping operation that was harmed via Am…