# Lateral Thinking Puzzles - third time is best! **URL:** \ **Category:** Thread Games\ **Created:** [July 18, 2023, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214 "2023-07-18T13:39:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 35
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/681 "2023-08-23T16:02:30Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Were customers turned off by the idea of auctions?. **Not at all.** ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/682 "2023-08-23T17:14:35Z")
Did they do some sort of cost analysis to determine that advertising wasn’t needed because they had already become synonymous with online auctions, like Kleenex became synonymous with tissue? ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/683 "2023-08-23T17:29:52Z")
So, any advertising for eBay was considered potentially detrimental to the business? Did ads make customers think about other online retailers? Did ads make customers dislike eBay? Were the ads thought to be disruptive or annoying to customers? Did ads make their sellers upset? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/684 "2023-08-23T17:30:18Z")
Clarification requested. Is the puzzle WHY eBay stopped advertising or is it HOW eBay stopping advertising resulted in growth. ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/685 "2023-08-23T18:25:51Z")
Did more traffic through the site have a deleterious effect in how the auctions played out? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/686 "2023-08-23T19:00:25Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > Did they do some sort of cost analysis to determine that advertising wasn’t needed because they had already become synonymous with online auctions, like Kleenex became synonymous with tissue? **No, not at all.** > [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Did ads make customers think about other online retailers? > Did ads make customers dislike eBay? > Were the ads thought to be disruptive or annoying to customers? > Did ads make their sellers upset? **NO** > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Is the puzzle WHY eBay stopped advertising or is it HOW eBay stopping advertising resulted in growth. **I think those are both the same thing. One leads to the other?** > [@dirtball](#): > > Did more traffic through the site have a deleterious effect in how the auctions played out? **NO** ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/687 "2023-08-23T19:16:22Z")
Did suspending ads result in a specific type of improvement in sales? Did it increase the number of things sold? Increase the average price of things sold? Change the way things were being sold on the site? Did it change selling behavior or buying behavior? Did it change how eBay was managing it’s business? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/688 "2023-08-23T19:27:38Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Did suspending ads result in a specific type of improvement in sales? > > Did it increase the number of things sold? Increase the average price of things sold? Change the way things were being sold on the site? > > Did it change selling behavior or buying behavior? > > Did it change how eBay was managing it’s business?. NO to everything here, I think. Hint: This stoppage of ads was not recent. It was around 1998-1999 or so. Think about that. ---
**Author:** ![Rhodes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhodes/32/273_2.png) [@Rhodes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhodes)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/689 "2023-08-23T21:24:15Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Hint: This stoppage of ads was not recent. It was around 1998-1999 or so. Think about that. Was the stoppage of ads related to the rise of Amazon as a competitor? Was it related to Internet Explorer becoming the default browser? Was it related to the rise of Google as the ubiquitous search engine? If I was shopping for a hard-to-find VHS movie in 1999, my first stop would be eBay. But if someone entered “Willow VHS” into a 1999 search engine, they probably got eBay as a top result regardless of ads. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/690 "2023-08-23T21:27:43Z")
> [@Rhodes](#): > > Was the stoppage of ads related to the rise of Amazon as a competitor? > > Was it related to Internet Explorer becoming the default browser? > > Was it related to the rise of Google as the ubiquitous search engine? If I was shopping for a hard-to-find VHS movie in 1999, my first stop would be eBay. But if someone entered “Willow VHS” into a 1999 search engine, they probably got eBay as a top result regardless of ads **No, but I love the way people are guessing and the questions being asked.** ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/691 "2023-08-23T21:30:35Z")
Did it have anything to do with bandwidth? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/692 "2023-08-23T21:45:55Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > Did it have anything to do with bandwidth?. Nope. ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/693 "2023-08-23T21:47:57Z")
Was any kind of technical consideration the basis for the decision? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/694 "2023-08-23T21:54:06Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > Was any kind of technical consideration the basis for the decision?. Nope. ---
**Author:** ![Rhodes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhodes/32/273_2.png) [@Rhodes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhodes)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/695 "2023-08-23T22:20:10Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > **A new business is growing strongly. In order to ensure success, the owners stop all advertising and marketing. Perhaps surprisingly, this works. Why?** Okay, I had read this as “stop all advertising and marketing _for the new growing business_.” But do I recall correctly that there used to be ads for other companies on eBay’s web page? So if I searched eBay for a product, I’d see eBay results but also ads for the product from other stores. Makes sense to shut that down. Or did eBay stop offering to advertise and market on behalf of the sellers, like Amazon does with their “sponsored results”? Was the growing popularity of ad-blocking browser plugins relevant? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/696 "2023-08-23T22:42:56Z")
> [@Rhodes](#): > > But do I recall correctly that there used to be ads for other companies on eBay’s web page? So if I searched eBay for a product, I’d see eBay results but also ads for the product from other stores. Makes sense to shut that down. > > Or did eBay stop offering to advertise and market on behalf of the sellers, like Amazon does with their “sponsored results”? > > Was the growing popularity of ad-blocking browser plugins relevant? It’s **NO** to everything. I can post the answer later tonight. Everyone is around the right solution, but just can’t quite get the actual answer. ---
**Author:** ![Ana\_Byrd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ana\_Byrd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ana_Byrd)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/697 "2023-08-23T22:49:37Z")
One step back from that, though: were the ads for EBay? ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/698 "2023-08-23T23:01:46Z")
Were the ads somehow directing people to a rival business? Was it something to do with a name change? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/699 "2023-08-23T23:09:29Z")
> [@Ana\_Byrd](#): > > One step back from that, though: were the ads for EBay? Yeah. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/700 "2023-08-23T23:10:27Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > Were the ads somehow directing people to a rival business? > > **Well, no…but can you think of something kind of close to this?** > > Was it something to do with a name change? > > Nope, not at all. We’re close. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=34) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=36)