www.auctionsieve.com

wickmesh · Posted: Wed Apr 03, 2013 12:23 pm Post subject: Ebay Search Drift

Hi Nev,

I've been noticing "drift" in many of my sieve results recently. It's as if the search results being provided back to AS are being altered by ebay.

Any ideas please?

Thanks
Andrew

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For example, take this search:

Use - UK - ebay.co.uk
Search term - meizu (m3, m6, "mini player", miniplayer, musiccard, musicard, "music card")
Options - Search title and description, Available to Any Country

If I search on ebay (Include Description and Worldwide ticked), I get 41 results, with about 50% junk (one chinese seller selling irrelevant USB-HDMI cables) - the other results make sense.

With AS, I currently get only 36 results, but also I sometimes (but not consistently!) get results for the other Meizu products, e.g. items 140946535511, 360624063168, 251253830366.

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Let's look at another one:

Use - UK - ebay.co.uk
Search term - ikea (shelf, bookcase) (light, lamp)
Options - Max price 15

On ebay, 5 results. All make sense - they have the words light or lamp in the description (even though many are talking about the wood colour not an electrical device).

Using AS, 11 results - and 10 of them are rubbish (9 do not have the words light or lamp in the title anywhere, one does not have shelf or bookcase). All of the rubbish results do have those words in the description - but I'm not searching the description! And only one item overlaps to the ebay search.

wickmesh · Posted: Fri Apr 05, 2013 11:45 am Post subject:

The search below is consistently getting more than 200 pages of (rubbish) results (with the expected error message from AS) but only when I perform it for the first time after starting AS. However redoing the search after that, it returns only 45 (good) results!

Use - UK - ebay.co.uk
Search term - (evoque, defender, "land rover") (usb, memory) (stick, drive) -imation -kanguru
Options - Search title and description, Located in Any Country

(Aside - just noticed there's a difference between Available to and Located in Any Country...)

wickmesh · Posted: Fri Apr 05, 2013 10:14 pm Post subject:

I think I might have sussed this, if so it's nasty.

Take this search again:
Use - UK - ebay.co.uk
Search term - ikea (shelf, bookcase) (light, lamp)
Options - Max price 15

The previous search in my sieve has Search Title and Description ticked. It seems that the extra drift (rubbish results) are coming through also on an ebay web search if I click on Include Description - but I'm seeing these rubbish items appear in AS WITHOUT Search Title and Description ticked!!!

Either there's a bug in AS, or (more likely, given the hassle the ebay search was giving me tonight) ebay is not properly updating the search status between different searches. To test the searches in my AS sieves I've been updating an ebay web search - e.g. the search term and unclicking Include Description - but when I click the search button, I find Include Description (and other similar options) is (are) ticked again!

Guess what - the previous search in the sieve before another search giving me a problem also has Search Title and Description ticked!
Use - UK - ebay.co.uk
Search term - (evoque, defender, "land rover") (usb, memory) (stick, drive) -imation -kanguru
Options - Located in Any Country

(My mistake before, it's definitely not ticked in this search, but is in the one before in the sieve.)

I think it may only last for the first page of results for each search, then it reverts to the proper (desired) search - but by then the damage is done.

wickmesh · Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 1:07 pm Post subject:

Hi Nev,

Any thoughts on this issue please?

It's making optimising sieves a pain, and it's taking away one of the main AS advantages (I'm having to sift through all the rubbish results again)...

Andrew

nev · Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 1:43 pm Post subject:

Sorry - been really short on time lately.
I'll get to it...

wickmesh · Posted: Thu May 23, 2013 9:34 am Post subject:

Nev,

Today it seems to be worse than ever - for example, a search for "golf dog guard" has ignored the word "golf" and is pulling in results for "guard dog"...

I know you are busy - but it's getting to the point that Auctionsieve will soon be unusable and I'll be forced to look elsewhere...

Am I the only AS user still persevering?

Andrew

nev · Posted: Fri May 24, 2013 12:22 am Post subject:

Sorry about the delay. Hopefully this weekend.

nev · Posted: Sat May 25, 2013 1:48 pm Post subject:

I'm having trouble replicating this.
Best way for me to solve it is for you to zip up your AuctionSieve directory and send it to me and let me know which sieves exhibit the problem.

wickmesh · Posted: Thu May 30, 2013 3:33 pm Post subject:

Hi Nev,

I have emailed you my zipped Auctionsieve directory, fingers crossed you get the email OK!

Thanks and Kind Regards
Andrew

wickmesh · Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 11:19 am Post subject:

Hi Nev,

Just checking - did you receive my email OK?

I'm now convinced the "More items related to [your search]" issue is the problem, as I described in the email.

Thanks
Andrew

wickmesh · Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 12:33 pm Post subject:

As a picture says a thousand words...

nev · Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2013 5:36 am Post subject:

Hi Andrew,

Yep, got your email.
Unfortunately things have been a bit hectic here.
Won't be able to get to look at it until I get back from Europe in 6 weeks time. Sorry about the delay.

Nev

wickmesh · Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2013 6:58 am Post subject:

No problem - whereabouts in Europe are you?

nev · Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2013 10:35 pm Post subject:

Currently Vienna
Will be in Warwick in July

nev · Posted: Fri Sep 13, 2013 1:24 pm Post subject:

New beta is out.
Does it fix all the issues?