5 ms·

I always wondered why Amazon never launched a search engine. The only thing I could think of was a fear of invoking regulation.

siglesias 12y ago
They do have the world's best search engine for products.
- korzun 12y ago
  Not if you are looking for something outside the typical scope. I buy tons of wierd automotive parts that are not 'well known' and usually end up using Google to find products on Amazon. Their search engine is actually pretty limiting in some ways.
  - bagels 12y ago
    There's truth in this. Generally, I search for part numbers on google or rockauto, and then you can find them on amazon. The UX for finding parts that fit your car on amazon is either confusing or broken, I'm not sure which.
    - jethro_tell 12y ago
      Both. This may because of the existing parts distribution system already in place. It doesn't see to be a place they have been putting much effort into. There wasn't even auto part search until recently.
- chx 12y ago
  Really? I thought they have the worst. Check https://twitter.com/chx/status/360508662227292160 https://twitter.com/chx/status/360508662227292160 this for example.
  - anonymoushn 12y ago
    I tried to reproduce this result. After searching "Nexus 7 bluetooth keyboard case", I got a page full of relevant results. I could get to a page full of awful results by first selecting a department, then sorting by average rating.
- cylinder 12y ago
  Not really, almost every search requires me to apply filters. I wouldn't say it's very smart at all.
- PhasmaFelis 12y ago
  Last I checked, it's impossible to do a useful "sort by price" for many items. I was looking for...I think it was a 3.5mm audio splitter, and I wanted to find the cheapest one. Searching by relevance mostly returned 3.5mm audio splitters, but dozens and dozens in no particular order. Searching by price returned every single thing in the database with "splitter," "audio," or "3.5mm" in the name or description. Frustrating.
bdarnell 12y ago
They did launch a meta-search site, a9.com, in 2004 and discontinued it in 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A9.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A9.com
- nostrademons 12y ago
  I think A9 still exists as a search subsidiary, it's just that the consumer-facing portions were discontinued. A lot of A9 alumni now hold leadership positions in Google Search.

siglesias 12y ago

They do have the world's best search engine for products.

korzun 12y ago
Not if you are looking for something outside the typical scope. I buy tons of wierd automotive parts that are not 'well known' and usually end up using Google to find products on Amazon. Their search engine is actually pretty limiting in some ways.
- bagels 12y ago
  There's truth in this. Generally, I search for part numbers on google or rockauto, and then you can find them on amazon. The UX for finding parts that fit your car on amazon is either confusing or broken, I'm not sure which.
  - jethro_tell 12y ago
    Both. This may because of the existing parts distribution system already in place. It doesn't see to be a place they have been putting much effort into. There wasn't even auto part search until recently.
chx 12y ago
Really? I thought they have the worst. Check https://twitter.com/chx/status/360508662227292160 https://twitter.com/chx/status/360508662227292160 this for example.
- anonymoushn 12y ago
  I tried to reproduce this result. After searching "Nexus 7 bluetooth keyboard case", I got a page full of relevant results. I could get to a page full of awful results by first selecting a department, then sorting by average rating.
cylinder 12y ago
Not really, almost every search requires me to apply filters. I wouldn't say it's very smart at all.
PhasmaFelis 12y ago
Last I checked, it's impossible to do a useful "sort by price" for many items. I was looking for...I think it was a 3.5mm audio splitter, and I wanted to find the cheapest one. Searching by relevance mostly returned 3.5mm audio splitters, but dozens and dozens in no particular order. Searching by price returned every single thing in the database with "splitter," "audio," or "3.5mm" in the name or description. Frustrating.

bdarnell 12y ago

They did launch a meta-search site, a9.com, in 2004 and discontinued it in 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A9.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A9.com

nostrademons 12y ago
I think A9 still exists as a search subsidiary, it's just that the consumer-facing portions were discontinued. A lot of A9 alumni now hold leadership positions in Google Search.