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Because they don't know if you bought it or not. They are gambling that you didn't and are trying to capture a sale for the ad buyer. Presumably that is somewha

Because they don't know if you bought it or not. They are gambling that you didn't and are trying to capture a sale for the ad buyer. Presumably that is somewhat effective since it's so common.

tyingq 3y ago
Amazon still re-shows toaster ads when they know for certain you've bought one. Maybe the likelihood you're buying one for someone else as a gift is higher than their guess of what else you might buy?
- Bad_CRC 3y ago
  Some items on amazon shows on a "buy it again" list, I've some appliances appear there after a couple of years...
- thejohnconway 3y ago
  I’ve always thought it was because you’re more likely that you’ll buy another toaster than something in any other individual category. More likely that your next purchase will be another toaster than a pitchfork, for example. Still stupid though.
  - NoZebra120vClip 3y ago
    I always opt for the toaster-pitchfork bundle with monthly subscription from Prime, because a toaster would be nothing without its accompanying pitchfork!
- havnagiggle 3y ago
  Maybe, but I'll suggest an alternative view that's probably unpopular: big ad companies walk a fine line between what knowledge they can share even from _inside_ the same company. Ad sellers cannot have perfect information for probably several reasons: auditing, privacy, safety, and legal. Evidence of this is that ads are reported as being encrypted between business units (e.g. if you work on ranking product listings, you may no idea what ad is injected at the top). Obviously the result looks stupid to us as consumers which is quite memorable. I suggest it is a by-product of intentional choices. IMO this is a better explanation than "oh this company is just too stupid to do it right, but also they are all knowing about everything you do and are just so doggone evil." Maybe they are that evil, but I am sure they have learned how not to overturn their apple cart and this is an obvious result of that.
  - tyingq 3y ago
    I see language in Amazon's ad seller pages like: "We will always automatically exclude recent past purchasers of your promoted products." So there's some notion of this data being available, at least internally.
    - havnagiggle 3y ago
      My hot take may be 100% wrong. Thanks!
- anon____ 3y ago
  It doesn't make much sense in case of a toaster, but if you bought a pen (or socks, SSDs, lightbulbs, etc.), you may buy some more after you tried it and liked it, or maybe you will try another brand.
  - tyingq 3y ago
    That's a good point. Now I'm curious if they have some internal tagging that differentiates between these two kinds of products.
    - anon____ 3y ago
      I guess it's more like a continuum than two discrete categories. On one end of the spectrum there's a family house, on the other, there's toilet paper. That's why they repeat ads even for a toaster.
      - tyingq 3y ago
        I suppose I'm wrong because it appears not to exist. But, I can't get past the idea that there's just a lot of things very few people have more than one of. Many of them being big ticket items too, where the cost (or opportunity cost) for a wasted low-conversion-rate ad is high. Like bbq grills, most types of power tools, air compressors, automotive battery chargers, refrigerators, washer/dryer, dishwasher, lawnmowers, etc. And many of those have obvious companion items that would be a better use of the ad space than trying to sell someone a second bbq grill, for example.
- baq 3y ago
  you might still return it.
- hotnfresh 3y ago
  One explanation is that targeted ads are so bad at what they claim to be good at, that they can’t use the added information that you bought a toaster to do any better than some tiny increase in likelihood of buying a toaster if you just bought one. As shit as showing you ads for the thing you just bought is, it may be the best ROI they can manage. Which is pretty damning for the whole enterprise.

Because they don't know if you bought it or not. They are gambling that you didn't and are trying to capture a sale for the ad buyer. Presumably that is somewhat effective since it's so common.

tyingq 3y ago

Amazon still re-shows toaster ads when they know for certain you've bought one. Maybe the likelihood you're buying one for someone else as a gift is higher than their guess of what else you might buy?

Bad_CRC 3y ago
Some items on amazon shows on a "buy it again" list, I've some appliances appear there after a couple of years...
thejohnconway 3y ago
I’ve always thought it was because you’re more likely that you’ll buy another toaster than something in any other individual category. More likely that your next purchase will be another toaster than a pitchfork, for example. Still stupid though.
- NoZebra120vClip 3y ago
  I always opt for the toaster-pitchfork bundle with monthly subscription from Prime, because a toaster would be nothing without its accompanying pitchfork!
havnagiggle 3y ago
Maybe, but I'll suggest an alternative view that's probably unpopular: big ad companies walk a fine line between what knowledge they can share even from _inside_ the same company. Ad sellers cannot have perfect information for probably several reasons: auditing, privacy, safety, and legal. Evidence of this is that ads are reported as being encrypted between business units (e.g. if you work on ranking product listings, you may no idea what ad is injected at the top). Obviously the result looks stupid to us as consumers which is quite memorable. I suggest it is a by-product of intentional choices. IMO this is a better explanation than "oh this company is just too stupid to do it right, but also they are all knowing about everything you do and are just so doggone evil." Maybe they are that evil, but I am sure they have learned how not to overturn their apple cart and this is an obvious result of that.
- tyingq 3y ago
  I see language in Amazon's ad seller pages like: "We will always automatically exclude recent past purchasers of your promoted products." So there's some notion of this data being available, at least internally.
  - havnagiggle 3y ago
    My hot take may be 100% wrong. Thanks!
anon____ 3y ago
It doesn't make much sense in case of a toaster, but if you bought a pen (or socks, SSDs, lightbulbs, etc.), you may buy some more after you tried it and liked it, or maybe you will try another brand.
- tyingq 3y ago
  That's a good point. Now I'm curious if they have some internal tagging that differentiates between these two kinds of products.
  - anon____ 3y ago
    I guess it's more like a continuum than two discrete categories. On one end of the spectrum there's a family house, on the other, there's toilet paper. That's why they repeat ads even for a toaster.
    - tyingq 3y ago
      I suppose I'm wrong because it appears not to exist. But, I can't get past the idea that there's just a lot of things very few people have more than one of. Many of them being big ticket items too, where the cost (or opportunity cost) for a wasted low-conversion-rate ad is high. Like bbq grills, most types of power tools, air compressors, automotive battery chargers, refrigerators, washer/dryer, dishwasher, lawnmowers, etc. And many of those have obvious companion items that would be a better use of the ad space than trying to sell someone a second bbq grill, for example.
baq 3y ago
you might still return it.
hotnfresh 3y ago
One explanation is that targeted ads are so bad at what they claim to be good at, that they can’t use the added information that you bought a toaster to do any better than some tiny increase in likelihood of buying a toaster if you just bought one. As shit as showing you ads for the thing you just bought is, it may be the best ROI they can manage. Which is pretty damning for the whole enterprise.