Book Seller's Search Engines ...

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So Am@zon has been touting its new "advanced" search engine, that searches not only in the author/title fields, but actually within the texts of books. And I can see the value of having the ability to do just this, especially if one if researching a particular topic or looking for a book where one doesn't know the author or the title.

BUT ...

I find myself increasingly annoyed by the damn program. When I am looking for Melville's The Ventriloquist's Tale I don't want results about every book that contains these three words (and not even in conjunction with each other) - I want the search engine to look at the titles, period. Likewise, a search on Mariette in Ecstacy doesn't turn-up the book until the second page of results.

Am I missing something here, or is this new search engine more of a pain in the tuches than the original, limited search engine?

― I'm Passing Open Windows (Ms Laura), Monday, 2 February 2004 22:13 (twenty-one years ago)

It's a massive pain. It's a great idea in theory, but it's impractical. You can search more accurately by using the 'Advanced Search' feature but still, that's inconvenient when you just want to quickly find something. I've had problems where I've searched for the exact title of a book, and yeah, there it is two pages later. Stupid.

― writingstatic (writingstatic), Monday, 2 February 2004 23:48 (twenty-one years ago)

I sent a well-reasoned email to Am@zon customer service, suggesting that it would be most excellent if they'd revert to the older search engine and reserve the new one for advanced or thorough searching - they replied, suggesting that you put into quotes the EXACT title. Oh, and their reasoning for staying with the new search engine? (I'm paraphrasing here, but it's close) Because they want to be sure that their customers are offered all of the possible material to meet their interest. Didn't say anything about those of us who get so frustrated that we go elsewhere for our books. Ugh.

― I'm Passing Open Windows (Ms Laura), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 01:53 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, like a meatworld bookstore. Imagine the shame!

― writingstatic (writingstatic), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 03:31 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, like a meatworld bookstore. Imagine the shame!

um, well some people (like me!) don't have a choice.......

― zappi (joni), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 04:29 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh well - I've actually taken to ordering from Overstock, when they have what I'm looking for and I can't find it at a local (non-chain) bookstore - but I still have to look elsewhere for reviews and the whatnot.

― I'm Passing Open Windows (Ms Laura), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 07:40 (twenty-one years ago)

that explains a lot
i didn't even know they had done this,i was searching for something the other day and all the seemingly random results were wrecking my head...

― robin (robin), Wednesday, 4 February 2004 03:37 (twenty-one years ago)

*laughing* I had the same experience, Robin, when they first made the changes - I kept thinking that something was wrong with my brain, as obviously I wasn't entering the correct search string.

I do see where it can be helpful, though, having been able to find several favorite books from my childhood by entering what I kind of remembered as being the plot points. But I want it as an option, not as the only way to go.

― I'm Passing Open Windows (Ms Laura), Wednesday, 4 February 2004 07:05 (twenty-one years ago)

in my experience as a bookseller, people who know exactly what they want <<< people who just want "a picture book for my visiting relatives" or "something nice for my boss who likes oklahoma"

― vahid (vahid), Wednesday, 4 February 2004 17:10 (twenty-one years ago)

in other words, it makes financial sense to alienate customers like ourselves (pat yourself on the backs) in order to get the kid who types in "boba fett" - looking for "tales of the rogue jedi vol. 8" - to buy the boba fett technical manual, the comic book, the roleplaying game, the video game, etc...

― vahid (vahid), Wednesday, 4 February 2004 17:12 (twenty-one years ago)

Hmmm - an excellent example there, vahid. I don't know whether to laugh or be horrified. I know that when I put in my time selling books, I was at a new-agey sorta store, and I'd get people coming in and saying "Hey, my girlfriend's into crystals and pyramids, what do you have like that?", I was frequently sorely tempted to load them down with all sorts of delightful books and replicas and posters and notecards and so forth. Kinda figured that if they really didn't know what the gift receiver would like, then they deserved to buy all the additional crap (er, "treasures"). (Actually, since I wasn't [and still aren't] very new-agey, I was not the best employee, as I found myself arguing with the UFO theorists and thinking that lots of the customers were kooks - probably not a good attitude, in retrospect.)

― I'm Passing Open Windows (Ms Laura), Thursday, 5 February 2004 11:09 (twenty-one years ago)

Laura, you reminded me: I was in a bookshop recently and witnessed a woman dangling a big friggin' crystal on a chain over each of the tomes on the 'cookery' display, presumably trying to find by means of divination the best bunch of recipes for her. Should have stuck around to see what book managed to rattle her rock the most, but y'know, if you watch crazies for too long, you just start becoming one yourself...

― NickB (NickB), Thursday, 5 February 2004 11:29 (twenty-one years ago)

*shuddering* *shuddering some more*

I am so glad I left that job when I did! That pretty described our store's clientel to a "T", Nick - though ours also avoided bathing (northern California, mountain people types). My father used to go and pick up quartz crystals on his property (littered everywhere) and sell them to the new-agers, claiming that they had great powers, etc., etc., etc., - financed more than one Christmas that way, I must confess.

― I'm Passing Open Windows (Ms Laura), Thursday, 5 February 2004 12:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Haha!! Though, to be truthful, I think yer dad's probably taken a few karmic steps backward from Nirvana there...

― NickB (NickB), Thursday, 5 February 2004 14:21 (twenty-one years ago)

*laughing* Without a doubt, Nick. Though he did impress upon me, when I was little and discovered some Native American blue beads, that I needed to put them back and protect that land because it was sacred (the only spiritual think I think that he ever passed along to me, actually). Other than that, he thinks it all loads of bunk and that it's the duty of the rest of the world to take advantage of those with weak minds. (Charming outlook, eh?)

― I'm Passing Open Windows (Ms Laura), Friday, 6 February 2004 02:51 (twenty-one years ago)

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