posted on June 21, 2007 11:11:41 AM new
eBay has always claimed that it was only a venue (... the Sites are a venue to allow anyone to offer, sell, and buy just about anything, at anytime, from anywhere, in a variety of pricing formats ... a place where buyer and seller came together to transact a sale. ...) This new thought regarding search challenges that claim.
The marketplace will now be manipulated by eBay, in that there will be unnamed search factors introduced to bring certain sellers to the forefront of a search.
Of course, eBay will claim that they have enhanced the marketplace, making it easier for buyer and seller to come together. Another side of that coin could view ebay's actions as market interference, which was enriching certain sellers at the expense of others, and that ebay was no longer functioning as a venue.
We'll have to wait to see the final search enhancement. I wonder if there will be a court challenge to this marketplace manipulation? There certainly should be one.
posted on June 21, 2007 01:13:48 PM new
There are so many things wrong with this that it is hard to say where to begin.
For starters, I have yet to be impressed with anyone's "intelligent search" and ebay's ranks right up there with the worst of them. I find ebay express to be a nightmare and refuse to shop there.
Perhaps I am a minority but when I do a search, I already know what I want. It is hard enough to find things on the site already. I do not want IS suggesting additional items that MIGHT be related because of some keyword. We are all aware that keywords are already abused to the max.
And did you catch the comment about using Paypal data to influence the search? One more rope to keep you tied to PayPal.
Maybe it is time to talk Pierre out of retirement and have him start ebay part deux.
I can see it now PezMarket.com, the place where real people sell stuff to real people.
