reddeer
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posted on September 14, 2000 01:14:42 PM
Not to sure how y'all feel about this, but I don't like the idea of eBay spamming MY customers with other sellers items. This just in from eBay.
.............................................
eBay is exploring the possibility of introducing new search-by-example technology that we are calling the "Related Item
Finder" that will help buyers find items of interest. We believe this helps you, our valued sellers, by directing potential buyers to your items. The Related Item Finder helps buyers find your items by reviewing a buyer's bidding activity, and using related concepts,
recommends other items that are similar or related to items in which a buyer has already expressed interest.
We are exploring various ways to introduce the Related Item Finder to help buyers find your items, including:
1.Suggestions within MyeBay
2.Links on ended auction items - "Bidding is closed for this item. Show me more items like this!"
3.Unsuccessful auction emails - "Unfortunately, you did not win this item. However, we have found the following current
auctions for you that are similar to this item"
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millicent_roberts
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posted on September 14, 2000 01:18:46 PM
red-deer, they sold us down the river again.
Truth is, I'm fed up.
No service, no reliability, no nothin. Just $$$$$ signs in their eyes. Nuthin new there though.
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reddeer
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posted on September 14, 2000 02:14:30 PM
Hello Millicents, I suppose with all the frenzy over PayPal on all the boards, eBay figured this might be a good time to sneak a few new features in?
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reston_ray
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posted on September 14, 2000 02:23:34 PM
I guess this is wonderful news for somebody but I can't figure out who.
Not you and not me, then who could it be?
Well no worry. With the system working so well and the busy season just starting, I'm sure we will hardly notice the changes and added frills using up the system resources.
Hey maybe they can figure out how to show banner ads when the sites down. Then the customers can just go directly to the big store sites and never actually have to visit eBay at all.
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smw
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posted on September 14, 2000 02:25:09 PM
Hi Reddeer: Has eBay resurrected this fiasco? There is a long thread here on AW from a few weeks ago about this nonsense. I had thought when it disappeared from the Soap Box or Town Sq. (I don't remember which), eBay gave up the idea. Silly me... Susan
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shaani
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posted on September 14, 2000 02:31:51 PM
This has the potential of steering more bidders away from your auction than sending them to it. As a bidder I can do my own searches and as a seller this is one feature I can do without. Will this be connected to the "watch" feature?
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smw
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posted on September 14, 2000 02:36:16 PM
The thread from the end of July.
http://www.auctionwatch.com/mesg/read.html?num=2&thread=235707&id=235707
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reddeer
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posted on September 14, 2000 02:39:21 PM
Smw .... I just received this via PS email a few hours ago. I too had thought they had done away with this idea?
I guess not?
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amy
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posted on September 14, 2000 02:41:03 PM
I don't see it as an awful thing. Except for the myebay option, the other two are for ended auctions where the person looking for similar items was not the successful bidder. I don't see how that would be taking my customers away from my item.
I can see how it could help me though. Someone else has an item up like mine and their's just ended, the unsuccessful underbidder still wants one but someone else got this one..they click on the button and are given a list of other items like the one they lost out on and on that list is my item..they go to my item and place a bid...maybe this time a good high bid to make sure they win this one.
The bidder isn't the other seller's customer because the bidder didn't win the other seller's item.
The same thing can be said about end of auction notices to underbidders .
The myebay pages thing doesn't bother me either..that page works as a customized tool for each user. If the user wants to use a feature like this to customize his search parameters I don't see why it should be a concern of mine.
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smw
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posted on September 14, 2000 02:42:51 PM
Reddeer: Forgive me, but what is PS email? Sounds like shorthand for a female travail.
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millicent_roberts
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posted on September 14, 2000 02:45:40 PM
Power Seller?
And they dragged back up phone number and addresses? I'll pass. Thanks anyway.
Oh. It's contact another seller then? Nothing more than the unwanted spam everytime I lose the bid on an auction for myself. I see. I'll pass.
[ edited by millicent_roberts on Sep 14, 2000 02:47 PM ]
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smw
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posted on September 14, 2000 02:59:40 PM
MR: Thank you. Power Seller makes more sense than what I was thinking.
The telephone number and address nonsense too? Why not!!
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reddeer
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posted on September 14, 2000 03:07:18 PM
Smw .... Power Seller email.
Amy
Except for the myebay option, the other two are for ended auctions where the person looking for similar items was not the successful bidder.I don't see how that would be taking my customers away from my item.
Sorry, I should have said *potential* customers.
First off, who in the hell does eBay think they are to try & decide for bidders what a similar item is? I think eBay should quit worrying about sticking their noses into what buyers want, & spend more time on fixing the search problems they already have.
Can't buyers decide for themselves what's "similar" and do their own search? At the top of each & every eBay page is a Search link, and the same goes for every Category page. Adding eBay's version of similar items to the EOA email is asinine IMO & may very well lead to buyers depending on this twisted Search version that eBay hands them.
No thanks!
[ edited by reddeer on Sep 14, 2000 03:09 PM ]
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smw
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posted on September 14, 2000 03:13:46 PM
From Dynaptics:
This technology also has the capability to "direct users" to information and route support questions. "As an added benefit, the company realizes a cost-savings anytime a customer can be assisted without human intervention."
It is also of note that Dynaptics announced it has acquired a new company who is a leader in "data mining".
This search by example, (which by the way is a what Dynaptics calls the feature), is the tip of the iceberg.
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selecto
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posted on September 14, 2000 03:19:18 PM
Yawn, Yawn. Yet another ghizmo that won't work half the time. Can't keep regular search accurate and up-to-date, so why not add another one?
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Shoshanah
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posted on September 14, 2000 03:57:22 PM
Oh! Brother!... ...Looks like Ebay has entered a "Who's Da Stuppidest" contest...
and they ARE winning...
********************
Shosh
http://www.oldandsold.com/cgi-bin/auction.cgi?justdisp&Rifkah
http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/rifkah/
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amy
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posted on September 14, 2000 05:52:47 PM
Reddeer..you said
"who in the hell does eBay think they are to try & decide for bidders what a similar item is?"
and
"Can't buyers decide for themselves what's "similar" and do their own search?"
The button on an ended auction would have to be activated by a user...it would be the user's choice to use this form of search. It could be asked of you (to use YOUR words)
"Who the hell are you to try & decide for another user that they must use the regular search function?"
I can see that there may be plenty of users who would find this function useful...why should another user decide for them that they should not have access to this function?
The PS newsletter wasn't clear on the email option whether it would be sent to every underbidder on every sale or if it would be a service a user would opt in for...my guess is that it would be something a user would have to sign up for. So again, if someone wants to use a service like this who are you to try and decide for that user he should use the search function instead.
As for potential customers...your potential customers are also mine...why should you have exclusive rights to that potential customer?
You also are worried that a user will become dependant on this form of search..again, how is it your business if someone does become dependant on it?
Now I would agree with the bash ebay IF they had suggested putting the same "want to see similar items" in ACTIVE auctions, but that isn't what they are proposing.
The only question I have about it is just how similar will the items be? If it doesn't give similar enough items then it will probably not be used.
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reddeer
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posted on September 14, 2000 07:44:31 PM
I can see that there may be plenty of users who would find this function useful
Really, how can you see that Amy?
Perhaps you can also see how plenty of users would find your phone number & street address being supplied in the EOA email "useful"
Can't buyers decide for themselves what's "similar" and do their own search?
You also are worried that a user will become dependant on this form of search..again, how is it your business if someone does become dependant on it?
Well gee, IMO *anything* that eBay does that might affect my customers searching/bidding habits is my business.
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twelvepole
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posted on September 14, 2000 07:51:48 PM
I like it and hope it gets implemented soon.
Ain't Life Grand... 
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reddeer
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posted on September 14, 2000 08:21:34 PM
Ya, I assumed you would, then again you also like getting spam from scum sucking bottom feeders.
Amy - FYI this idea was brought up on the eBay dreaded threaded boards a few months back & the vast majority of buyers & sellers were against the idea. The last I heard they [eBay] decided it wasn't such a great idea after all & were scrapping it.
Isn't this what "Personal Shopper" was designed to do? Why the sudden need to add it in the EOA email?
Dumb-dumb-dumb
[ edited by reddeer on Sep 14, 2000 08:22 PM ]
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shaani
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posted on September 14, 2000 09:05:57 PM
Thanks reddeer, smw and bhearsch for the information. I missed the original threads on this and there is a lot more to this than I realized.
[ edited by shaani on Sep 14, 2000 11:38 PM ]
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twelvepole
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posted on September 14, 2000 10:39:42 PM
I have never received an e-mail from you reddeer, at least not that I know of.
So please stop saying you send me e-mail.
Probably another nice feature never to be allowed to start... too bad the competition may of made things interesting.
Ain't Life Grand...
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reddeer
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posted on September 14, 2000 11:20:17 PM
You might want to read up a bit on what this is really all about?
http://www.auctionwatch.com/mesg/read.html?num=2&thread=235707&id=235707
Thanks for the link Smw!
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twelvepole
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posted on September 15, 2000 06:38:53 AM
I still like the idea, but then again I am only a bidder.
Ain't Life Grand...
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reddeer
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posted on September 15, 2000 07:02:16 AM
When the thread on this subject was up on the Soapbox, the bidders that tried the beta test found it to be worthless.
One of the eBay Voices members I know, who is also, a major bidder [who has never sold anything] also said it was a worthless feature. I guess eBay decided not to listen to their Voices on this?
Whatta surprise.
He not only found this feature to be worthless, he also said it was going to cost eBay a fistful of $$$$$.
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twelvepole
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posted on September 15, 2000 02:49:06 PM
Well reddeer on that angle, that the majority said the feature is worthless, then I would have to agree and eBay should not implement it.
Voices are there for a reason, I hope.
Ain't Life Grand...
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reddeer
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posted on September 15, 2000 03:57:11 PM
Why not give it a go yourself, and see what you think of it?
http://208.185.233.199/dynaptics_sign_in2.htm
Most people that have, have found that the "related items", aren't in the least bit related to what they were searching for.
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hamburgler
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posted on September 16, 2000 05:37:20 AM
NEATO....Everytime Ebay adds new NEATO features they seem forget that their systems CRASH. Stop messing with something that works and get the dollar signs out of your eyes and start making your system more reliable. Good Grief......I'm getting tied of this crap this last few weeks with PayPal and their crap and Ebay with the opinion of giving out my number when theyfight you not to get theirs and now these new features...this isnt the only one. They are going to do the setup like Yahoo where you will have to scroll through a number of Featured auctions. Anyone heard of TYTRADE and if that is going to be any good. Any price starting bid for .50 a pop. With a big backer like TY I would hope to think it might be good. AW have any plans to get it added to your system (boards) etc?
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