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Google Base To Replace Froogle

An anonymous reader writes "Google plans to introduce a new shopping feature in time for the holiday season. Soon products on Google Base will be searchable via the regular search box. Simultaneously, Google intends to de-emphasize its own Froogle shopping search engine; Google intends for Froogle to no longer be a standalone Web site." From the article: "When people search for products on Google.com, the system will present them with another search box so that they can refine their query, according to Bear Stearns & Co analysts. After people refine their query, Google takes them to a second page populated with product results from the Google Base listings service. 'Ranking will be determined by the attributes that the sellers listed for the product as well as by relevancy,' the analysts wrote. Currently, Google has no plans to monetise this product-search capability with display ads or listing fees, but that could change, they wrote. "

6 of 68 comments (clear)

  1. It's a sad day... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    ... when Kermit the Frog is de-emphasized by Google. Will Pigs in Space be able to save us now?!

  2. Re:Oblig. by CrazyJim1 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    No need to apologize. You saved me from posting the same inane garbage. And yes I own a ferret Captain, and an exferret Cats. My exgf named them.

  3. awesome 7p by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
  4. Re:It's about time! by Urza9814 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    I got my first iPod for $15 actually. 15GB 3rd gen.

  5. someone missed a point by AI0867 · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    mod parent back up, 'the base' is the literal translation of Al-Qaeda.

  6. www.StaticIce.com.au works better in Oz by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    The Subj URL gets me to a site that does the job better here in Oz,
    at least for ICT stuff.

    When shopping for broadband ([A]DSL, cable, {1 or 2 way} satellite
    or wireless) service plans, http://bc.whirlpool.net.au/ is the place
    to look. ISPs fill-in their plans' details & shoppers search.
    Eg, go & check-out Chariot's wireless plans (20 or 40 GB / month!)
    - too bad they got it shot down after [more expensive] competitors
    complained to ACMA about "interference" (no new services available
    now...)

    One big service, for the world (eg, Froogle) sux, but following the
    Whirlpool "Broadband Choice" (where vendors just fill-in their pro-
    duct / service details & prices, and the site's custom db search
    features connect would-be buyers to what they're after, at a price
    they'd be happy to pay, that's cool & effective.

    StaticIce is too simple, eg, doesn't give any hint of shipping costs;
    now that electronics vendors in China put up eBay auction offering
    "fraudulently" low prices & try to make-up the rest in "exorbitant"
    shipping & "required insurance" fees, any site that leaves out the
    shipping fees is setting shoppers up for time-consuming, wasted calls
    (that hopefully leave an overcharing would-be vendor with "No Sale")

    There ought to be a "blacklisting" site that lists vendors who play
    such games (at least on eBay), and another Froogle-like site that
    optionally BLOCKS access to blacklisted vendors when one is searching.

    ---

    Disclosure: I recently "won" an nice Kenwood radio (on an eBay auction)
    only to have the vendor unduly -ADD- more than the cost of the item
    to the total demanded for the item.

    Ie, the total should have been (item_price + shipping), an amount I would
    have been quite happy to pay.

    However, after vendor's action - which they justified by "the winning bid
    was too low for us to make any profit"), the total became:

        (item_price + shipping + extra_amt_MORE_than_item_price)

    Of course, I declined to pay more than the item's listing prepared me for;
    vendor reported me (!!!) for non-payment, which eBay accepted on face value
    (at first; ie, until advised of the fraudulent adding of extra cost)

    Now, I may be harboring an unfavorable feeling about such vendors (in my
    experience, only from China... that's the reason for my present bias... &
    this disclosure)

    Oh, the vendor has since changed their way of doing business on eBay,
    but has never agreed to accept the correct price for the item,
    in my case. Lots of time wasted... never again! ;-/