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I really, really like Facebook Marketplace's fuzzy searching. Random people listing stuff on local classified sites don't always use the correct keywords, and

I really, really like Facebook Marketplace's fuzzy searching. Random people listing stuff on local classified sites don't always use the correct keywords, and it's in everyone's best interest for these listings to actually get a good amount of views. I suspect this "fuzzier" algorithm accounts for the far lower amount of spam too. A search for "heat pump dryer" on Gumtree will return 25 listings in a row from the same shop in Oakleigh, whereas Facebook will show different products from different sellers (some businesses, but mostly randos) - not to mention the people selling their heat pump dryer without including those magical two words in the title. It's uncanny how good this algorithm is at returning what the buyer is actually looking for.

NikolaNovak 4y ago
I think it depends how specific your buying is. If I'm searching for Scooter, it may be good that it returns also mopeds and motorcycles. But if I'm searching for Nikon d850, and get first 10 entries for Nikon d750, Nikon d610, canon 5dMkii, Sony rx100, and then finally a d850, then its really really annoying; and that's 80 percent of my experience. For the other 20 percent, When I do want to search for something generic like bicycle or synthesizer, I frequently want to see new entries since the last time I searched - I don't want to see same synthesizer (or heat pump dryer:) day after day after day. Instead, Facebook's fuzzy algorithm fill cheerfully show me what it thinks is the best answer day after day and week after week, even though its a crappy casio that shouldn't even be listed as a synthesizer and it's been there for 7 weeks and is actually sold; it will refuse to show me chronological list so I can see what's new and added. It will then cheerfully ignore geographic distance and get me excited about something 4 hrs away. So for me at least it's a lose lose scenario - our experiences clearly differ radically, and it may be simply down to how specific of a thing we want to. I typically want something specific, and if I want generic, then I'd like a category please, something which Facebook also sucks at as others have pointed out :). (and I lied in my example to give FB a chance... In reality shen I search for "scooter" , I get motor scooters, electric scooters, the Segway wannabes, and six other types of things I don't want, so even then fuzzy search fails me :)
- AussieWog93 4y ago
  Maybe that's a personal difference. I tend not to get my heart set on a specific product, and will generally go with whatever happens to be well-priced on the market at the time. Especially so on Marketplace. If I search for Nikon D850, and some of the search results are (for example), Nikon D750s at a significantly lower price[1], then at least for me personally I'm happy to be shown that result. This isn't a hypothetical - I bought a Canon 1000D after searching for 1200Ds and 1300Ds and finding it for a crazy-low price locally. I understand not everyone is like this, though, and they should at least properly support the option for less fuzzy or no-fuzzy searches. [1] I don't know cameras well, but I've assumed the 750 is the previous year's or slightly lower specced model of the 850.
  - IIAOPSW 4y ago
    Ok, what happens when a small mechanical component on your Nikon D850 breaks and the camera has been out of production for like a decade and what you actually need isn't a camera in general but a specific replacement part that will fit your specific model number? Or do you just throw out the camera entirely and buy that Nikon D750 that fuzzy search dug up?
    - AussieWog93 4y ago
      Generally I'd look on eBay or AliExpress if I were after a specific component. But even then, Marketplace will heavily bias you towards D850 parts if you type in "D850". It's not like it autocorrects your search term to "camera" - it instead just inserts a few generic listinga into your results.
  - retcore 4y ago
    The difference between the Nikon D750 and D850 happens to be one of the most considerable and well defined product differentiation achieved in modern photography :~) The D850 is a seminal state of the art camera that internally is identical to the contemporary flagship the D5 in every way except for major improvements like high resolution and exceptional sensor which is arguably not surpassed almost six years later. Whilst the D750 is a cost engineering marvel. The D750 is a very fine camera, but nothing in the league of the D850. If you are actually considering purchasing a D750 I'd strongly recommend that you investigate the D780 which only appears to be much the same, but includes the majority of the successor mirrorless technology developments including excellent video giving live view operating far better than any other DSLRS from Nikon including the flagships. Nikon managed some exemplary product differentiation in the last range of DSLR cameras. Unfortunately for everyone Nikon can't seem to be anything like as clear and focussed with the Z series mirrorless range. Edit: the D850 compared with the contemporary flagship D5, is capable of only slower rates of shooting, has a smaller battery, no extended grip and dual orientation controls and the sensor can't -quite- perform in low light like a D5. In every non sports shooting environment the D850 would be regarded as a flagship, but for historical reasons and the attachment rate of D3/4/5/6 users buying proportionately many more elite lenses, it's the lower resolution action and low light big pro cameras that get the flagship accolade. Single digit pro cameras also optimize photo processing in camera for JPEG output as is big agency wont and urgency the need for finished product out of the box without any processing. In case you're looking into this, JPEG output from the D5/6 is incredibly good. "Merely" 20MP sensors in these cameras are far better than any specification can indicate, being developed to produce the cleanest pixel level signal, which really is visible in the output. A hardly used very good condition D5 can be had for $1500 lenses dumped en masse for Z upgrades are bargains. If you can deal with the bulk of these cameras, you'll very unlikely i've dissatisfied. And de facto unbeaten autofocus with a major feature omitted from new designs Group Priority AF which glues the focus to your selected nearest subject without any deviation that happens in the Z bodies because of the omission of this professional feature. Novices are apparently buying the Z9 mirrorless flagship because it's not got AF compromises to frustrating degree. But you can have a complete kit for the same money in the DSLR line.
pkamb 4y ago
That's how it should work. In reality, 50% of the items FBM shows for a search are non-local "ships to you" items that you'll never buy. But that juices someone's OKR somewhere.
- AussieWog93 4y ago
  That might be a regional thing. Here in Australia, FB marketplace is (if not enforced, then de-facto) local-only.

NikolaNovak 4y ago

I think it depends how specific your buying is. If I'm searching for Scooter, it may be good that it returns also mopeds and motorcycles. But if I'm searching for Nikon d850, and get first 10 entries for Nikon d750, Nikon d610, canon 5dMkii, Sony rx100, and then finally a d850, then its really really annoying; and that's 80 percent of my experience. For the other 20 percent, When I do want to search for something generic like bicycle or synthesizer, I frequently want to see new entries since the last time I searched - I don't want to see same synthesizer (or heat pump dryer:) day after day after day. Instead, Facebook's fuzzy algorithm fill cheerfully show me what it thinks is the best answer day after day and week after week, even though its a crappy casio that shouldn't even be listed as a synthesizer and it's been there for 7 weeks and is actually sold; it will refuse to show me chronological list so I can see what's new and added. It will then cheerfully ignore geographic distance and get me excited about something 4 hrs away. So for me at least it's a lose lose scenario - our experiences clearly differ radically, and it may be simply down to how specific of a thing we want to. I typically want something specific, and if I want generic, then I'd like a category please, something which Facebook also sucks at as others have pointed out :). (and I lied in my example to give FB a chance... In reality shen I search for "scooter" , I get motor scooters, electric scooters, the Segway wannabes, and six other types of things I don't want, so even then fuzzy search fails me :)

AussieWog93 4y ago
Maybe that's a personal difference. I tend not to get my heart set on a specific product, and will generally go with whatever happens to be well-priced on the market at the time. Especially so on Marketplace. If I search for Nikon D850, and some of the search results are (for example), Nikon D750s at a significantly lower price[1], then at least for me personally I'm happy to be shown that result. This isn't a hypothetical - I bought a Canon 1000D after searching for 1200Ds and 1300Ds and finding it for a crazy-low price locally. I understand not everyone is like this, though, and they should at least properly support the option for less fuzzy or no-fuzzy searches. [1] I don't know cameras well, but I've assumed the 750 is the previous year's or slightly lower specced model of the 850.
- IIAOPSW 4y ago
  Ok, what happens when a small mechanical component on your Nikon D850 breaks and the camera has been out of production for like a decade and what you actually need isn't a camera in general but a specific replacement part that will fit your specific model number? Or do you just throw out the camera entirely and buy that Nikon D750 that fuzzy search dug up?
  - AussieWog93 4y ago
    Generally I'd look on eBay or AliExpress if I were after a specific component. But even then, Marketplace will heavily bias you towards D850 parts if you type in "D850". It's not like it autocorrects your search term to "camera" - it instead just inserts a few generic listinga into your results.
- retcore 4y ago
  The difference between the Nikon D750 and D850 happens to be one of the most considerable and well defined product differentiation achieved in modern photography :~) The D850 is a seminal state of the art camera that internally is identical to the contemporary flagship the D5 in every way except for major improvements like high resolution and exceptional sensor which is arguably not surpassed almost six years later. Whilst the D750 is a cost engineering marvel. The D750 is a very fine camera, but nothing in the league of the D850. If you are actually considering purchasing a D750 I'd strongly recommend that you investigate the D780 which only appears to be much the same, but includes the majority of the successor mirrorless technology developments including excellent video giving live view operating far better than any other DSLRS from Nikon including the flagships. Nikon managed some exemplary product differentiation in the last range of DSLR cameras. Unfortunately for everyone Nikon can't seem to be anything like as clear and focussed with the Z series mirrorless range. Edit: the D850 compared with the contemporary flagship D5, is capable of only slower rates of shooting, has a smaller battery, no extended grip and dual orientation controls and the sensor can't -quite- perform in low light like a D5. In every non sports shooting environment the D850 would be regarded as a flagship, but for historical reasons and the attachment rate of D3/4/5/6 users buying proportionately many more elite lenses, it's the lower resolution action and low light big pro cameras that get the flagship accolade. Single digit pro cameras also optimize photo processing in camera for JPEG output as is big agency wont and urgency the need for finished product out of the box without any processing. In case you're looking into this, JPEG output from the D5/6 is incredibly good. "Merely" 20MP sensors in these cameras are far better than any specification can indicate, being developed to produce the cleanest pixel level signal, which really is visible in the output. A hardly used very good condition D5 can be had for $1500 lenses dumped en masse for Z upgrades are bargains. If you can deal with the bulk of these cameras, you'll very unlikely i've dissatisfied. And de facto unbeaten autofocus with a major feature omitted from new designs Group Priority AF which glues the focus to your selected nearest subject without any deviation that happens in the Z bodies because of the omission of this professional feature. Novices are apparently buying the Z9 mirrorless flagship because it's not got AF compromises to frustrating degree. But you can have a complete kit for the same money in the DSLR line.

pkamb 4y ago

That's how it should work. In reality, 50% of the items FBM shows for a search are non-local "ships to you" items that you'll never buy. But that juices someone's OKR somewhere.

AussieWog93 4y ago
That might be a regional thing. Here in Australia, FB marketplace is (if not enforced, then de-facto) local-only.