The future of eBay and Cassini algorithms

[Anonymous]

I am old school,  I believe in the one price system. I find that having the best price and offering that price to every buyer is the honorable and honest way to sell. No one deserves a better price than anyone else as for my vision that would be favoritism. There is already enough prejudice where one group gets a better deal and already enough dishonesty in business practices. There is no need for selling one person an item for one price then selling another person the same item for a different price. I already commented on what has become “the culture” of eBay. eBay is moving towards a tire kicking flea market. Everyone thinks that anything listed on eBay has a “make offer status”. If an item does not have “make an offer” I have progressively had now 500 times eBay messages making me offers than I had when I started 23 1/2 years ago as a seller. I rarely if ever got offers on items until relatively recently. So after much research I am beginning to understand why. 

   Cassini algorithms  one must understand how search engines work which is another discussion. 
Basically Cassini takes the most searched after words and creates an algorithm. Or the most specific word or combination of words. It would take a great deal of time to explain but by using the best words you are likely to get the most hits or views of an item. There are many deeply hidden items on eBay as most have no idea how 

Cassini works. Read about Cassini algorithms and you may be enlightened but what this has turned into is a real mess which I will try and guide you through but please be patient with me because like playing chess it may take many moves to screw things up and believe me eBay is taking many moves and it is screwing things up. 

More to add. 
‘eBay uses Cassini algorithms and now uses search words to allow sellers to send offers to searchers who do not search the sellers listings but the listings have the same algorithm. In other words If I am looking at a list of the highest price Superman comics. eBay assumes I am a buyer for high end Superman comics and adds that information they get from Cassini algorithms to items that match my search. eBay then provides my information to sellers that have items which they can now send me offers on .  This is crazy when you might get 15 offers for Superman comics that  you as a seller have zero interest in.  As a buyer I would be sent offers that I have no idea where they even come from. Searching should be personal, I  do not need my search habits given to sellers.  As a seller I do not want to annoy buyers or sellers with offers. I do not need tons of offers for things I have no interest in.  I am up 400% on buyers asking to cancel a sale because they are being offered similar items that had the Cassini algorithm they used to buy an item. This is since Covid. I get many asks to cancel a sale which I rarely ever received in the past. eBay has changed the “culture” of buying to a literal tire kicking flea market. I use this as it is the truth of where eBay is going. There is no longer privacy in doing a search your info is given to any seller that might benefit from giving you an offer.  eBay thinks this promotes business and helps promote sales. eBay is only interested in commission and privacy has gone out the window along with the idea that everyone should get the same price. I find it an invasion of privacy that my search habits are given to those who do not know me,  and I find it abusive that Cassini algorithms are used to provide other sellers the ability to make offers on anything eBay thinks I might be interested in. 

    Does eBay tell us the truth. we are told that eBay does not provide others with personal information. 
My question is are my search habits personal information? Do I have a right to go after eBay for providing others with my search habits? 

    The end of the chess game does not go well for honest sellers.

If you start to look at the end of Cassini algorithms you will begin to see exactly what is in the future. Anyone who can produce a product can copy someone else’s product then use the algorithm that sells that product. 
our world is riddled with fakes and copies and it is getting worse by the minute. 
websites like Alibaba have more copies than authentic items for sale and crazy reduced prices.

these items are all over eBay and selling is becoming hit  and miss. The real problem is buyers are shopping places like eBay for the lowest price but they are not aware that eBay has done little to protect consumers from being gouged, cheated and scammed. In fact I’ve been sent ridiculous low offers on high end microphones that I know are impossible. I look at the reputable music stores who provide warranties and protection then look at what else is listed and find fake after fake with no warranties and no returns. I’ ve even bought one item thinking it was too good to be true and guess what, it was too good to be true a top rated seller but a fake microphone copy sent from China. I am not blaming China here but that is where it posted from. Likely bought on one of the many websites that sell copies and fakes. Then my name and address sent to whatever site had the cheaper listing. 
  Search engines can only search words. This is the big issue I have with Cassini it was never made to protect anyone and it is structured to find an algorithm. Algorithms are not  relevant as only words are searched. 
just like using Google lens to find a match for a Coach pocketbook my wife has a genuine Coach pocketbook she did a Google lens search and found a new one for $46 which just is not possible knowing it cost $300 ! 
so much for algorithms and the end play of what is going to be the future of eBay. Yes a tire-kicking flea market is in our future and after 23 1/2 years I fully intend to find a world that does not need word searches to define objects.

Algorithms do not guarantee a product and you will have a hell of a time returning a fake on eBay as you need to provide proof. Proof is costly one must send the items to the real manufacturer and get a response stating it is a fake.  eBay does not just take your word for it.  not as described means “not as described”  eBay has gotten tighter about returns as they want Their “commission” and they make you provide evidence which is timely and can be expensive.    I have jumped thru that hoop and leaned it can be a costly and time consuming one.

[luckythewinner]

Does eBay tell us the truth. we are told that eBay does not provide others with personal information.

eBay's Privacy notice explains in great detail exactly what information they collect and share.
https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/member-behavior-policies/user-privacy-notice?id=4260

My question is are my search habits personal information?

When you agreed to eBay's Privacy Notice as part of the User Agreement, eBay told you that your search habits would be collected and you agreed that would be allowed.

4.2 Personal data we collect automatically when you use our Services or create an eBay account

Data that is generated through your other actions when you use our Services and which is linked to your eBay account (e.g. eBay account numbers, your currency preference, when you place items in your shopping cart, place items on the watchlist, save sellers, searches or interests, follow users, or seek to use the services of third-party partners for payments or otherwise).

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/member-behavior-policies/user-privacy-notice?id=4260

Do I have a right to go after eBay for providing others with my search habits?

An "old school" person like you would not go back on your agreement with eBay, would you?

[broto_64]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Well I guess you will find out once a top rated seller swears something is authentic when it isn’t eBay has asked me for proof and I had to send a microphone to Shure to verify it was fake.  Yes I got a refund but it was costly and  if I could not get proof I was not getting a refund.  

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The heck you say, I just open a return for "Item Not As Described" and it is a done deal.
No need to complicate matters, Money Back Guarantee overrides any seller's claims.
I have never in all my time on ebay had to send something through Shure or anyplace else for "verification," I can only think... See at first I thought "Shure" was someplace that verified authenticity of products, however it turns out Shure actually makes microphones so I have no idea what transpired here but rest assured I have dealt with some highly uncooperative sellers on ebay (and I'm talking the kind who are going completely against ebay policy but do so with a straight talk that can derail all but the most tenacious or experienced ebay buyers) and I have never had a product fail the MBG path of return for refund.

You have to know your stuff here, with uncooperative sellers you have to know what to do and how to go through the process and don't let anything they tell you take you off the path or you will be up a creek with these individuals. Many are actual store owners who have their own policies and thus anyone you deal with is trained in their own policies and they apparently don't care if ebay policy is inline with theirs or not. But rest assured, ebay policy always overrides any seller's policies, no matter what that seller tells you to do, follow the ebay path and you can't go wrong.

I have had sellers tell me all sorts of stories before, the latest one is where the seller is "out of stock" so they send the buyer a message to the effect and ask the buyer if the buyer thinks the seller should cancel the order or would they like to wait (or something to that effect) and then when the buyer states it's ok to cancel the seller cancels for reason "buyer asked" and skirts the defect they would have received had they cancelled for reason "out of stock."

So it's not always ebay's fault, in fact I believe in most cases there are always those certain sellers who love to take advantage of every loophole they can find, that may have been what you ran into here but on ebay for both buyers and sellers the absolute best defense is to be and stay as informed and up to date as possible on ebay policies.

As for the search engine disaster, only time will tell how it will all work out but rest assured it's not just Cassini.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

Search based shopping has always been inefficient and marginally effective.

Starting with Amazon's A9 search, attempts have been made to make searches better marketing tools.

The A9 search drove sellers crazy and its successors still do because they provide a higher weight to what sellers who did that search in the past bought than they do to matching words.

They and other sites, including Ebay, have used a variety of techniques, some of which you identify as Cassini algorithms to reduce the time to make a purchase, and most of these techniques work.

Unlike the early days of the Internet, buyer are spending less time shopping and buying more. Might not be more of what you or I are selling but finding what they wish to buy in a short time is a key to retaining buyers and it lowers costs to marketplaces.

It is essential that marketplaces do this, and is unfair to some portion of the seller population but there are far too many sellers for many items especially the high demand items.

As for fakes, Ebay and most other marketplaces react in a manner which is aimed at minimizing costs as well as risks. With too many sellers to be supported by demand the optimal solution for the marketplace is to eliminate sellers who are accused whether they are guilty or innocent. At this point in time, most are only forced to take merchandise back, with a few required to prove authenticity. Obviously, the way many sellers source make proof of authenticity using paper proof impossible and a risk/reward analysis does not favor the seller.

[gurlcat]

Yeah the only guess I have is the OP just doesn't know how to do a return, and wrote to the seller, thinking that was the way, then the seller b.s.'d about having to prove the item was inauthentic and so the OP believed it.   But it's pretty unfathomable, with almost 5000 feedbacks as a buyer (never mind over 17,000 as a seller!  AND a TRS themselves!) ..... how could they not know that if you want to return an item all you have to do is click a button and choose the INAD reason?  

[simply-the-best-for-you]

<< My question is are my search habits personal information? Do I have a right to go after eBay for providing others with my search habits? >> 

I'm short on time right now, so can't read the whole thread.  Perhaps someone has told you already, since I saw that you later saw you say that eBay is providing your search behavior to sellers by userid.  eBay is NOT providing your behavior to sellers via userid OR location.  All we get is a list of anonymized ID's that we can send offers to.  We have no idea who we're sending the offers to.  The exception being if you're smart & the buyer also sends you an ASQ, you can make an educated guess b/c the FB number is after the anonymized ID.   That's the only occasion that we may know who you are, but since you contacted us, you clearly have no problem with us knowing you're interested in the item. 

Also, your statement about it not being possible to find a new $46 Coach purse is incorrect.  There are numerous ways it can happen, the most obvious being someone rec'd a gift they didn't like & sold it.  

Also, the entire paragraph about fakes & NAD's is incorrect.  eBay DOES take the buyer's word for it & it hasn't tightened, it has loosed over the 26 or so years I've been here.  

ETA:  It is also my understanding that Cassini is not the search engine in use anymore.  I can't independently verify if that's true or not & I personally believe that the back end may still be Cassini or Cassini-based, but it may not.  It's certainly not info that is out in the general public since as I'm sure you know, they software is proprietary. 

[mountainmommie]

If you're truly "old school" you are incapable of seeing the future of eBay.

It is literally not possible.

Love,

All the Ni-doms of the world.

[chapeau-noir]

I'm pretty sure it's still Cassini - back- and front-end. I follow SEO and general optimization trade press and hadn't read of any change, and a new search engine or massive search changes for a large website would definitely be in their headlines. Not to mention wreak havoc on all of us.

[simply-the-best-for-you]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I am old school,  I believe in the one price system. I find that having the best price and offering that price to every buyer is the honorable and honest way to sell. No one deserves a better price than anyone else as for my vision that would be favoritism. There is already enough prejudice where one group gets a better deal and already enough dishonesty in business practices. There is no need for selling one person an item for one price then selling another person the same item for a different price. I already commented on what has become “the culture” of eBay. eBay is moving towards a tire kicking flea market. Everyone thinks that anything listed on eBay has a “make offer status”. If an item does not have “make an offer” I have progressively had now 500 times eBay messages making me offers than I had when I started 23 1/2 years ago as a seller. I rarely if ever got offers on items until relatively recently. So after much research I am beginning to understand why. 

   Cassini algorithms  one must understand how search engines work which is another discussion. 
Basically Cassini takes the most searched after words and creates an algorithm. Or the most specific word or combination of words. It would take a great deal of time to explain but by using the best words you are likely to get the most hits or views of an item. There are many deeply hidden items on eBay as most have no idea how 

Cassini works. Read about Cassini algorithms and you may be enlightened but what this has turned into is a real mess which I will try and guide you through but please be patient with me because like playing chess it may take many moves to screw things up and believe me eBay is taking many moves and it is screwing things up. 

More to add. 
‘eBay uses Cassini algorithms and now uses search words to allow sellers to send offers to searchers who do not search the sellers listings but the listings have the same algorithm. In other words If I am looking at a list of the highest price Superman comics. eBay assumes I am a buyer for high end Superman comics and adds that information they get from Cassini algorithms to items that match my search. eBay then provides my information to sellers that have items which they can now send me offers on .  This is crazy when you might get 15 offers for Superman comics that  you as a seller have zero interest in.  As a buyer I would be sent offers that I have no idea where they even come from. Searching should be personal, I  do not need my search habits given to sellers.  As a seller I do not want to annoy buyers or sellers with offers. I do not need tons of offers for things I have no interest in.  I am up 400% on buyers asking to cancel a sale because they are being offered similar items that had the Cassini algorithm they used to buy an item. This is since Covid. I get many asks to cancel a sale which I rarely ever received in the past. eBay has changed the “culture” of buying to a literal tire kicking flea market. I use this as it is the truth of where eBay is going. There is no longer privacy in doing a search your info is given to any seller that might benefit from giving you an offer.  eBay thinks this promotes business and helps promote sales. eBay is only interested in commission and privacy has gone out the window along with the idea that everyone should get the same price. I find it an invasion of privacy that my search habits are given to those who do not know me,  and I find it abusive that Cassini algorithms are used to provide other sellers the ability to make offers on anything eBay thinks I might be interested in. 

    Does eBay tell us the truth. we are told that eBay does not provide others with personal information. 
My question is are my search habits personal information? Do I have a right to go after eBay for providing others with my search habits? 

    The end of the chess game does not go well for honest sellers.

If you start to look at the end of Cassini algorithms you will begin to see exactly what is in the future. Anyone who can produce a product can copy someone else’s product then use the algorithm that sells that product. 
our world is riddled with fakes and copies and it is getting worse by the minute. 
websites like Alibaba have more copies than authentic items for sale and crazy reduced prices.

these items are all over eBay and selling is becoming hit  and miss. The real problem is buyers are shopping places like eBay for the lowest price but they are not aware that eBay has done little to protect consumers from being gouged, cheated and scammed. In fact I’ve been sent ridiculous low offers on high end microphones that I know are impossible. I look at the reputable music stores who provide warranties and protection then look at what else is listed and find fake after fake with no warranties and no returns. I’ ve even bought one item thinking it was too good to be true and guess what, it was too good to be true a top rated seller but a fake microphone copy sent from China. I am not blaming China here but that is where it posted from. Likely bought on one of the many websites that sell copies and fakes. Then my name and address sent to whatever site had the cheaper listing. 
  Search engines can only search words. This is the big issue I have with Cassini it was never made to protect anyone and it is structured to find an algorithm. Algorithms are not  relevant as only words are searched. 
just like using Google lens to find a match for a Coach pocketbook my wife has a genuine Coach pocketbook she did a Google lens search and found a new one for $46 which just is not possible knowing it cost $300 ! 
so much for algorithms and the end play of what is going to be the future of eBay. Yes a tire-kicking flea market is in our future and after 23 1/2 years I fully intend to find a world that does not need word searches to define objects.

Algorithms do not guarantee a product and you will have a hell of a time returning a fake on eBay as you need to provide proof. Proof is costly one must send the items to the real manufacturer and get a response stating it is a fake.  eBay does not just take your word for it.  not as described means “not as described”  eBay has gotten tighter about returns as they want Their “commission” and they make you provide evidence which is timely and can be expensive.    I have jumped thru that hoop and leaned it can be a costly and time consuming one.

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I thought so too Chap, but there are some highly respected sellers in here who have had high level comms with eBay & have told me otherwise.   I'm not going to out any of them, if they'd like to chime in, we're all ears.  But I will say that a couple I have communicated with over quite a few years & do believe they know what they're talking about.  That said, I do not believe it's been completely replaced.