'Group Similar Listings' So when did this start on ebay.com?

[momcqueen]

Being a loyal and border-respecting Canadian seller, I don't often find myself on ebay.com but when I do, I tend to back out quickly because everything is weird and icky. Like 'Group Similar Listings'? When did this start? 

Can we trust the data that ebay has used to Group these similar listings?Could I instead have a filter that eliminated sellers from the Far East?

[momcqueen]

Can it be that I am the only seller on ebay Canada Community that is worried about how this will affect buyers' ability to find me? 

https://www.ecommercebytes.com/C/blog/blog.pl?/pl/2018/2/1519091217.html

https://www.ecommercebytes.com/C/blog/blog.pl?/pl/2018/2/1519051927.html

I think is going to be a sales-killer for me. Like, without a doubt. I cannot compete on price alone, and that's what the Seller Hub keeps telling sellers to list for: price. 

Here's a vision of the future:

ebay of the future looks a lot like The River of the present

[momcqueen]

Mon Feb 19 2018 09:52:07 Should eBay Be Restricting Search Results? By: Ina SteinerMon Feb 19 2018 09:52:07 Should eBay Be Restricting Search Results? By: Ina Steiner

[momcqueen]

Mon Feb 19 2018 20:46:57 eBay to Change Search to Collapse Complexity By: Ina SteinerMon Feb 19 2018 20:46:57 eBay to Change Search to Collapse Complexity By: Ina Steiner

[around_again_records]

OK, so I read the first article about Product Based Selling as opposed to item based selling.

So instead of 10,000 items showing up 4 will show up. What about all those other people that paid to list their items.

This just does not make sense to me. It's horrible for sellers, but what does eBay get out of it. How is this good for them. How long are they going to collect fees from 10,000 listings when only 4 are going to get shown. That's just not going to happen.

As I watch eBay change, it brings to mind the story of Research In Motion (Blackberry) First out with a product, leaders in their field. Then along came Apple and RIM ended up trying to copy them. When RIM went commercial they lost their customer base which was mainly Big business users. Business loved the Blackberry because of the security and the software. Then RIM had to try to copy Apple, OOOOOHhh different colours OOoohhhh a camera (just what every CEO wants in his boardrooms Ooohh Ahhhh - shareholders demanded it. I could go on, but the rest is history and the lesson is IF YOU HAVE A GOOD THING STICK WITH IT.

eBay was a unique place and now it's just becoming a copycat. Why do they want to do this - What do shareholders know anyway. I wish eBay management would keep the integrity of the place. Mr. Wenig seems to be good at the Baffle with your technique. I wish he would use it on the shareholders instead of on us.

It's very sad.

[pjcdn2005]

I don't like the way Amazon sets up their search results and this 'new' system seems to be based on that. Isn't this what they were doing in some of the media categories at one time? I haven't  seen any listings like that lately so I don't know if they still use that format but if they don't, they obviously had a reason for changing it back.

Other than the obvious problems of sellers not getting any visibility with this type of search, I  think that there will also be problems with the items actually matching what the buyer is looking for.   For example a seller might have the wrong upc code on their listing but if ebay is using that code to match items, then one that is totally different might show up as one of the 4.  If this type of search is solely based on the catalogue..we've all heard stories of how accurate the catalogue info is.  I guess I'll take a wait and see attitude but it does seem like a lot of their 'major changes' or based on another site. Wouldn't it be better for ebay to have its own unique look?

[around_again_records]

Yeah, I've only shopped on the River a couple times. I don't like it at all. I'm never really sure what I am going to get. I don't like the way they group things together with very little information from the seller about the item. OK for brand new stuff ( I guess ) but not really practical for second hand.

I do wish eBay would stick to its origins. They were the first, now they are playing copycat. Who needs more of the same over and over? I'm not impressed with some of eBays software glitches of late, but basically I like this site and the present format and variety.

[momcqueen]

You had written a reply here, I read it; it was valid and there was nothing wrong with it. I'm curious as to the reason you decided on hindsight to remove it? @sixscale 

[momcqueen]

Also: https://www.ecommercebytes.com/C/blog/blog.pl?/pl/2018/2/1519242048.html

And so what happens when Canadian and international UPCs don’t match the American ones? Is ebay Product Identifier Program smart enough to recognize that? I don’t think it is. I see this happening all the times in Toys, I raised it when structured data was first announced.