What are the dumbest recs Amazon is giving you currently? Things that make no sense that you’d like X because you want or bought Y.
WWE: Summerslam - The Complete Anthology, Vol. 2 1993-1997 Recommended because you added Atlantic 35435725 Media Tower Elite Large 837 CD or 630 BluRay to your Wish List
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Vol. 4 Recommended because you purchased Sansa Clip 4gb MP3 player
Black & Decker AF-100-3ZP 30-Feet 0.065-Inch Line String Trimmer Replacement Spool, 3-Pack Recommended because you added Benzara 93744 Classic Metal Wall Decor with Intricate Bird and Tree Motifs to your Wish List
Clean Machine Doormat Flair, 24 by 36-Inch, Spruce Green Recommended because you added ACE Neoprene Elbow Support to your Wish List
I used to work writing the software that generates those recommendations, although not for Amazon. The algorithms are based on purchasing histories, there’s not too much editorializing going on. It’s mostly correlations between purchase records, so if a lot of people bought two items there’s a connection that generates a recommendations. For items with limited purchase histories you often get oddball recommendations unless you set limits on correlations without sufficient data.
I have never shopped for shoes, or any other clothing item on Amazon. My shoe size is nearly impossible to find at retail stores, and the fit is not always correct even when sized correctly. Buying online does not allow me to try them on first, and shoe shopping on line is not likely to be successful.
I get ads in my email at least three times a week from Amazon telling me that boots and shoes are on sale…
My personal favorite (which I believe I have posted before) was when I got a recommendation for a booklet on abortion when I purchased an electric garden tiller. What the hell did they think I was going to do with that thing? Or even worse what have other people done with that thing?
“Wet Look Booty Shorts by Coquette.” Umm… okay. I can’t think of what I looked at that would be similar. Too revealing for me, and also my wardrobe tends… male. Part of the problem is that I get random “haha look at that” links from here or other websites, and so now it might think I really want Tuscan Whole Milk.
Also “Vita Vibe BD96 Prodigy Series Portable Double Freestanding Ballet Barre, Stretch/Dance Bar, 8-Feet.” I’m not even sure how I’d use that.
Yes, it does. Returns are free. Having a reason is unnecesary. As long as you don’t need shoes right now, IMHO it beats going to an actual store if the price is right. Most online shoe and many clothing retailers work this way.
I get a sidebar with all the Top Rated Men’s Down Jackets and another with Top 5 Mind-Bending Apps.
I live on a tropical island and do not own a smart phone.
But all of the You Might Like X because you searched for Y sort of recommendations are based on stuff I looked at because it was linked from some SDMB page. Mostly kitchen gadget stuff.
I bought a little support peg for my refrigerator to replace one that I broke, and now Amazon’s recommending water filters for models of fridge that I don’t have.
Also, I bought a little penlight, and now I’m getting recs for tweezers and other wholly unrelated stuff. Same thing for the grill parts I bought; now I’m getting recs for things like hose fittings (?) as a result.
Recently, the “customers also bought” for some kitchen thing or another: Bully sticks.
As I posted on Facebook at the time,
Well, it’s reassuring to know they’re not selling fake bull penises, and that they truly ARE from Redbarn. I mean, when you’re buying bovine reproductive parts, you can’t be too careful.
and just what on EARTH are people DOING with those cooking gadgets??? (on second thought, I’m not sure I want to know…)
Their search results can be pretty offbeat as well. My favorite (or something) was when I was looking for crafting supplies for Girl Scouts - specifically red pony beads.
I really don’t think GSA would approve of me bringing a bright red butt plug with tail in any of several natural human hair colors to meetings.
Sadly, the search that brought that up (“pony beads red”) no longer returns quite the same level of hilarity.
I got caught on that. I needed a new sweatshirt, so I ordered one drunk and distracted, without noticing I had a couple other things sitting in my cart, that I had decided not to get earlier(just ran to Menards for the mop), but hadn’t removed from the cart. :smack:
I never get “creative” recommendations. Just “shotgun” one.
Say I bought a battery for my laptop. So the recommendations are for laptop batteries, and different laptops. Why would they think I want a new laptop if I just bought a battery for my old one?
When I bought the DVD for Snake & Mongoose, the recommendations were for the special edition DVD of the same movie that comes with a T-shirt. I just bought the DVD! I don’t want another one.
All my recommendations are like that. No actual smart profiling. If I buy Starsky and Hutch DVD, I get recommendations for every 70s TV show. Not just cop shows. Everything.
Apparently more than one person who bought a Lady Remington electric shaver/trimmer/groomer also bought JIF peanut butter with added Omega3. (“Frequently purchased together?” Really?)
My sister’s greatest frustration is that there isn’t a bit of code that accounts for kids growing up. From the time my son was born my sister was determined to be the book buyingest aunt, and has not let him down. He’s seventeen now but she still gets recommendations based on bicture books she bought him years and years ago.
It’s great that people who bought Click, Clack, Moo also buy Cynthia Rylant books, but he’s reading Terry Pratchett now.
I just looked at my own link for the pet treats listed above and found the following:
Hey, it really is 12 inches long! (Seriously. The package says 7 inches but the vendor felt compelled to show it as if it were being held by a mannequin, and lists the size of the product INCLUDING THE PACKAGE, as 12 inches, in one of the pictures.
… and A new kind of cock rings?? The “list price” on that is rather hilarious as well. Good to know they may be obtained at a 92% discount!
Heh. It wasn’t a rec, but a category search a few weeks ago: I clicked on the “bathroom accessories” category and the second item listed was a pretty nice looking log rack. I know I’d keep more firewood in my bathroom if only there was a better way to stack it in there.
Just noticed this today. A biography of Abraham Lincoln, because I have a book about building and cooking on grills/BBQs. Umm, do you want sauce with that?
So my company recently rolled out a new bonus points system for our customers that lets us see correlations between purchases that we never could before. People regularly buy the same “I can’t see why these items are connected” items. It’s weird but it’s data.
For instance - most commonly purchased additional item when customer purchases a certain wood floor cleaning product… windshield wipers. NO idea why these two seems to go together, but they do. Regularly enough to be of statistical note. There are many oddities like this coming up.