The online auction giant has started using “smart” searches to tell buyers what they want to see, rather than let them pick the best matches, one retailer says. He worries about possible negative effects on the coming holiday season.
Moving into the holiday shopping season, video-game seller Steve Grossberg would prefer eBay Inc. not tinker with the search technology on its site. “eBay is trying to use smart logic to tell the buyer what they want to see, rather than let them pick the best matches,” Grossberg said.
The feature, known as “Best Match,” aims to let buyers find products easier. The technology, now offered on eBay Express, bases search results on relevance, historical buyer behavior patterns, and other information like the listing title and description.
One eBay seller asked the auction site to keep the search as an optional tool, suggesting the “common everyday buyer” doesn’t understand they have options.
fundingfriend on October 13th, 2006 at 10:03 am
Just having a company put together a robot that will me information based on what they think I would like to see is offensive. I will decide what I want to look at, Thank you.