Site Search & Filter

How about adding some search & filtering capability, especially in the laptops & computer areas on the site.

It’s been discussed many times before, but between the ever changing inventory of closeout items and the resources granted by the parent company, it’s not happening anytime soon.

(Note that I am not staff. I just volunteer to help out on the forums.)

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Etsy and other Amazon affiliates sell more by having such function. It is considered essential on competing sites. Call it what it is. Lack of contracting programmers for a basic ecommerce function. No need to defend their inadequacy.

To show how bass ackwards it is, you can search forums for an item but you cannot search for item.

I don’t want a search function. It would ruin the surprise.

(Please Note: I’m not employed by Woot, but I volunteer to help in the forums.)

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It would be there for those who seek to use it and promote sales for items found.
Those that want surprise would not need to use it. That’s fine.

  • However, many have asked for this.
  • For them it is about search efficiency using an expected ecommerce tool.

My pointing out the forums can be searched by key words shows the technology and components of database search ability already exist. For product searching the specifically item key word string should be parsed with boolean logic currently being being sold.

Not defending; just explaining.

As I’ve always seen it, Woot was never intended as a primary site for folks to look for what they need. Woot is a site for stuff that folks didn’t know they needed, but could use, and at a discount.

Understood. I am approaching it purely from a business model.
At end of the day, it’s purely how much money did Woot make for owners and employees who might like a raise. Everything else is fluff.

Well, I guess you could do that for Woot. I’m sure they’d appreciate it.

Don’t know any employees who do not want a raise. ThunderThighs certainly deserves a raise.

My CEO is the only person I know who has declined raises and expects managers to earn less than staff that generate revenue. The latter (professional degreed workers) are expected to generate the typical 3x their salary to support other employees.

But Woot is not a nonprofit or a charity. And even the latter are businesses. Raises come from net profit.

And they’ve been in business for a couple of years now. I’m sure if they thought the price of a search was worth it, they’d implement it. But that’s their business.

If profit were all they were concerned about we wouldn’t be offered wtf deals or bocs.

If they lose money selling an item, just make it up in volume, right? :smiley_cat:

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My BOC was not worth the money. YMMV. Some score. Many others say, disappointment was promised as if that justifies another purchase.

As veterans here, we know prices on Woot are sometimes good. Not always. Condition of items not always even in saleable shape. Which is why ThunderThighs deserves a raise and much praise.

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Oh you know they’ll be back in the black after the next going-out-of-business sale. Er, woot-off.

Jeff Bezos I think wisely said you cannot build a business losing money on each sale.
If you did, then high volume (losses) would accelerate dissolution.
You can make it on volume if you accept 10-15% less profit than competitors but it still needs to be typically 50% more than your cost if bricks and mortar retail. If your ecommerce site has lower overhead due to less need for display areas, then great.

Search ability is purely designed to enhance sales volume.
[Those that do not want to use it are under no pressure to use it]

We all use to look forward to Woot Offs. But with the new model of sales, Woot Off Prices do not seem discounted.

If no discount, the Off in Woot Offs seems to have been lost.

Of course; that’s basic math. The old Woot CEO, OTOH …

Sometimes Rutledge would sell crap so cheaply that it didn’t make sense—except that he wanted to see how quickly he could sell out.
source

Just as it was when Amazon bought Woot for $110 million, their business “logic” still contradicts standard business models.

For illustration

ETSY


At the top of landing page and each clicked on page.

Yearly revenue growth

Being in the midst of a pandemic and with complicated supply chain issues, I personally think they’re doing pretty well. Prices are going up and the selection is limited for most retailers. That the events are still being held is pretty impressive.

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Credit where due, sure. But independently, I encourage you to compare Etsy and Woot. They started about the same level. You may be very surprised…

That’s pretty much like comparing a flea market to a Wal-Mart. They’re not the same thing at all.