Comparison sites cry foul over Google Shopping service

Re: dissenting opinion

Upvote for standing up.

However I do find that comparison sites can be useful in narrowing down the field: typically I check several of them out, draw up a shortlist, and then visit each vendor individually. Never buy through them though (except once when a site was running an exclusive bargain offer from my chosen vendor).

Re: dissenting opinion

Lets not forget what happened back before F'em was F'ed.

Comparison and metasearch sites were a real PITA on Google and other search engines as you couldn't search for any product without the pages being full of sites offering to search for that same product for you using a site of varying quality.

So any site that was a metasearch engine - i.e. it was links from an original search through to another search engine got penalised in Google search - and the web was genuinely better for it.

Then F'em with some backers in 'Fair Search' claimed that Google didn't want search competition and so were penalising them unfairly - yes, they were actually saying they were a search engine competitor whose business model relied on their competitor to promote them and they started their lawsuit, very much backed by a few journalists who had a grudge against Google.

Then Google's shopping comparison site started showing on the search results and the whole thing took a new turn with that now being an EU attack vector and a lot of lobbying on both side proceeded.

The F'ems want completely free adverts to be available on the Google search site (yes they have said they want them free) and every other company in the world who isn't a meta search must pay for their adverts, anything less is allowing Google to make money out of them.

Back in the real world companies that want to succeed will spend their time an efforts on their site and brand to become know as the best place to go for their products, whereas F'em is a site that is a pretty crap site that is stuck in the past that devotes nearly all its site real estate to attacking Google - as though that is its new business model(!?). Their hotel comparison page and flight page just complains about Google and yet I'm sure everyone has their favourite engine they usually go to compare these and it won't be Google.

I'm all for stopping the abuse of a monopoly, but not so much about supporting companies who whinge that life is not fair and they should be given a free ride.

Re: dissenting opinion

Can't upvote enough. Online sites vary in actual accuracy and ability to deliver.

I will admit that buying US made goods in the EU often it's cheaper to buy from the UK and pay the extra shipping, which I hadn't noticed except for certain price comparison sites. Which I found through google shopping.

For most stuff I buy, paying an extra 10-20 quid so I buy it and get it once, and don't have to return or replace it or chase up the supplier it's worth it.

Re: dissenting opinion

By itself, comparing prices is useless.

Concur. This is not local government procurement, I am neither obliged, nor have the intention to use the cheapest service.

I will pay a reasonable premium if I know that the goods will turn up in time, will be what they are supposed to be and most importantly will be accepted back if there are dead-on-arrival or warranty issues.

I have long learned that real-time application of local optimization leads to a sub-optmial global optimization solution. In fact optimal control theory says exactly this for a large class of problems.

Sites which live off the fact that stupid people are incapable of comprehending that bit of math are not welcome. Good bye, good riddance and Google should follow them too.

"This doesn't make sense. If Google outbids everybody else for a slot, they are losing out what the second bidder would have given them. It's like saying that somebody selling a house can unfairly outbid all buyers by deciding not to sell it."

You don't get it. Google never wanted to sell the house. So it values it as eleventy quadrillion pounds, then gets no bidders. Oh well, guess I will just have to run this shopping channel on my own then, says Google. Competition eliminated.

Re: No better than spammers

Amen to that. I remember when these poor, hard-done-by comparison sites were given free reign to pollute Google search results. No matter what term you searched for, the first page would be a morass of links offering "Buy $SEARCHTERM here! Best prices on $SEARCHTERM!".

Good riddance.

Usual Brussels approach, though... if it's successful, tax and regulate it. If it's failing, subsidize it.

Re: Good riddance

Microsoft were one of the early members of Fairsearch giving them a lot of funding. Although they have now left and left it to the likes of others to carry it on, they may have stirred such a hornets nest to make Google less useful that their original aim of getting more people to use Bing may still be working.