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35 replies

Are Searches Useful? Poll

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S steveExpertSniper
Basrah asks, "Out of interest, could some of the (majority it would appear) people who don't use AS searches tell us why?"

I have an eBay search pattern or two that work very well for my interests -- and eBay searches all markets. The latter is important to me because a fair number of my purchases are made in the UK. And ingrained habit, I suppose, is also a factor. Smile
rickrickMember
quote:
Originally posted by star_trkr:
AS is Sniping Service Not a Search Engine

I may upset some of you, but AS is a sniping service and not a search engine. The search is just a added FREE benefit that you don't even pay for. You pay for the Sniping service.

And I have researched other sniping sites -- no searches offered by any that I could find.

Thank you, Kgutzke, for letting everyone know that the tech staff IS aware of the problem and that they ARE working on it.

In the meantime, let's try to keep things in perspective -- AS's priority is to SNIPE. AS is not a search engine. And quite frankly, you can run as many searches, as detailed as you want, right from eBay! So you don't have to miss out on anything.


That's got my vote.
rickrickMember
quote:
Originally post be Sniper Sara B:
New features to try out

Ok, here are the links for the new services coming out next week. You're getting the links to them here early:

My Wins:
http://www.auctionsniper.com/mywinsinfo.aspx
This new service helps you track your wins with the sellers email, when you made payment, when you received the item, and whether you've left and received feedback, etc.

My Searches:
http://www.auctionsniper.com/mysearches.aspx
This feature lets you easily setup complex searches and save them. You may review the results on our site, or elect to have them emailed to you.

All features but the the auto-emailing work. It's working here internally but we didn't have time to move it to the real servers yet. However, running the search on the web page does work.

The interface will change, and it'll be more clear and such... Please provide feedback, bugs you might encounter, etc.

Pricing is still up in the air. There may be a small fee such as 10 cents per item for win tracking. Searches done from our site would be free, emailed searches would be about 10 cents a day, a little more if you wish us to create a thumbnail of each auction in the search result. This would give you a thumbnail for every item in the search results. Something not available from eBays search.

They're all free for now though, so use all you want as much as you want. It'll probably be like this for at least a month or so.

Thank you
rickrickMember
quote:
Originally posted by bashra:
AS is Sniping Service Not a Search Engine - Pah!

Hey star_trkr - what sort of comment is that? To most of us, AS is a package that compliments Ebay and I make big use of the AS searches to find items which I can then snipe.

Therefore, the Search facility is a value added item that helps us find things (more easily than on Ebay) and helps AS to make more money! More fool other sniping sites if they haven't realised this potential...

To this end, investment by AS to make them work properly should result in them making more money. Charging for them could negate that benefit...

Kevin, when will the Search Now feature be fixed as this is my preferred method whilst I'm stuck abroad in sunny Basrah?

Thanks
.
rickrickMember
quote:
Originally posted by bashra:
Searches = My Dad's Big Pants!

The searches have never worked properly, IMHO. I have submitted a number of support 'calls' and had to battle to convince the support guys that there is a problem.

Lately, the searches have started bringing up no results when run manually - I've noticed that pressing refresh can sometimes make them bring up results when before there were none.

AS is a great product (hmmm, if so, why can I not get logged on tonight?) but the searches let it down, again IMHO...
.
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rickrickMember
Two points:
1) If AS ever does charge for the searches, how many people will use them? It seems like the majority (if not everyone) said they wouldn't pay for them. Maybe AS has changed it's mind about charging.
2) I can't recall a compliment about the searches, but I remember several complaints. I'm of the opinion that the search feature causes AS more harm then good.

P.S. 9 responses is very good for a Poll. They usually only get a couple of hits.
B basrahMember
Rick, further to your point (up above) - I've now revisited the Ebay searches and they're brilliant! They work and I can use "Snipe It Now" to link the two products.

I've decided to give up on the AS searches completely unless they improve dramatically. Obviously AS support aren't too bothered about making them work so that's that as far as I'm concerned! I can see why they're not bothered - there was only me and one or two others making use of them (as borne out by the Poll).

Thanks for everyone who has contributed to the poll/threads.

[That said, I'm still hoping that AS will invest some time in making their searches better than Ebay's!]
V velcrodogMember
Searches are not working properly - that is to say they are not working the way they used to work and the way they are supposed to work. The fact that Sara could even suggest charging for them is patently absurd.

They are limited to 50 items,regardless of how many items are available on ebay. If I use the same search in ebay as I do in AS, I get 400+ items in ebay and 50, no more no less, in AS. AS used to work fine. And I used it to snipe on the fly. That made extra wins for me and money for AS But I cannot use it any more - the items are not there - just the first or last 50 items. What makes it so bad is that functionality which AS used to have has gone away. If you cannot fix it, just get rid of it. Stop teasing us.

Oh, and I see some of the graemlins have gone away too. Tired of looking at that really wierd guy, were you? Razz
W warriornunMember
I use eBay to do my searches...I've had them set up for a long time and they work just fine and I am not charged for them. So, unless AS offered something extraordinary, I see no reason to change my current habits.

Besides, as I mentioned in another post...I'd like to see AS keep it simple; too many extra bells and whistles and I would be worried that the core of the service might suffer.

WarriorNun

"If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning"
M marleneMember
i agree the searches are not working properly.
and even if they do i do not think i would pay for them cause you can do the same on ebay for free.

The main problem i have is that i cannot see which ot the items i found are available to the Netherlands, like i can on ebay.
Also a lot of the times they do not work . i get a report that soemthing went wrong.
Now they do not work at all.
to bad.

chaotic
V velcrodogMember
I opened an actual support case with AS regarding the searches not working. Michael in Support confirmed that they are not currently working.

I recommended that when some feature like Searches, which is still being actively advertised on the My Snipes tab, is not working an announcement to that effect should be posted on the "News and Update" board of Forum.

No response to that recommendation and nothing on the News and Updates board. Last thing entered there was in May. Is anyone awake out there at AS? Confused Sara, where are you? Roll Eyes
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rickrickMember
quote:
Originally posted by basrah:
I've decided to give up on the AS searches completely unless they improve dramatically. Obviously AS support aren't too bothered about making them work so that's that as far as I'm concerned! I can see why they're not bothered - there was only me and one or two others making use of them (as borne out by the Poll).


Has this changed? Confused

P.S. 14 responses to a Poll must be a record.
Last edited {1}
S steveExpertSniper
Poll or no poll, it's quite obvious that AS isn't doing much to get its search program re-started. The lack of input from Sniper Support staff reinforces my notion that they're undecided about what to do with the program. Until a decision is made by the AS powers that be, we won't hear anything one way or another. Meanwhile, eBay has a perfectly usable search program in case anyone has forgotten. Roll Eyes
W warriornunMember
quote:
basrah posted:
In the meantime I'm having a great time fine tuning my Ebay searches in Ebay so that I exclude all the chaff and just get the wheat


Basrah, I did that myself...went through all my favorite searches and was oh-so-pleased with how customized I had made them. There were so few times that I came up with non-sensical items; but then one day, when I was bored, I made my search less specific and while it came back with about a trillion more items (yes, many not truly fitting my category), I also found some things that my 'customized' searches had passed over. I realized I had made my searches *too* focused.

So, anyway, what I do now is to keep using my wonderful fine-tuned searches...but then I will also check out the more general searches, however, I only look at the auctions that are ending in the next hour, or day, or whatever...so that I am not going through piles of trash. But then, I also do not miss anything!

Just a lil ol' thought from lil ol' me!

WarriorNun (who, clearly, sometimes has farrr too much time on her hands!)

"If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning"
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F fred4christMember
I have three searches set up in ebay.

I tried setting the same searches up in AS. Thought it might integrate better or something.

the search results are different between ebay and AS. I thought it might have something to do with AS not showing past search results or something. maybe it is even, although I tried to figure it out and AS search results just seem to be wrong.

So, I don't trust AS search. If it worked I would think it a nice integration feature and it would give me a reason to use AS instead of a competitor site. I would not pay extra for this service though.

--- me
S serendipityMember
I really liked the searches, but they haven't worked in over a week. I've written three times to support, and was told that they were being worked on, but still I've received no emailed search results in over a week. I'm really frustrated, because leaving something inoperable for a week, and not sending an update about it isn't the best support, obviously.
B basrahMember
Although I'm not using the AS searches (Rick please note!) I still have them switched on. And yes, I've not received any for a while then a whole lot arrived this morning.

What is going on? Why are Support being so quiet on this subject? A simple 'We know it's broken and we're working on it' would be nice but all we get is tumbleweed.

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