Marketplace Release Notes: April 26, 2011

[Brooke Linden]

We delayed the release that was planned for this morning to address the delivery delays. Since this release includes a fix that would have helped to prevent the problem we were seeing, we re-scheduled the release and deployed this afternoon.

Here are the items included in the release.

• Scalability fix to improve performance of the process that manages deliveries
• Join button is shown to users who are not logged in
• Additional search options (see below)

As you’ll see on the Marketplace home page, there are now additional search methods.

• Item search: The original search capability, unchanged.
• Merchant/Store search: Allows users to find Merchants and Stores whose names match the search keyword.  Search results include the Merchant name, Store name, and the first 3 General products in the store.
  
• Search within store: Shown only when viewing a Store, this method allows users to restrict their keyword searches to products within that store.

Please let us know if you see any issues by submitting a JIRA or a Customer Support ticket. Feedback is welcome on the Search changes as well--please respond to this thread.

Thanks!
Brooke

[Pamela Galli]

Oh this is terrific!  Greatly increases functionality!  Thanks very much!

 

ETA: I don't see how to search within a store. Anyone?

I do wish item search excluded merchant and store name tho.

 

 

[Ciaran Laval]

 

---

Pamela Galli wrote:

Oh this is terrific!  Greatly increases functionality!  Thanks very much!

 

ETA: I don't see how to search within a store. Anyone?

I do wish item search excluded merchant and store name tho.

 

 

---

There's a search this store tab, it works fine. When you click on a store name, the default search seems to be search this store.

 

[Pamela Galli]

Yes, you have to click on the store name; mine was bookmarked and did not trigger that tab.

This is a great improvement. I would advise my customers to avoid the marketplace if possible, but when it is able to deliver things reliably it will be a great advantage to be able to search your things. Such a basic thing.

[Catwise Yoshikawa]

 

---

Brooke Linden wrote:

 

As you’ll see on the Marketplace home page, there are now additional search methods.

• Item search: The original search capability, unchanged.
• Merchant/Store search: Allows users to find Merchants and Stores whose names match the search keyword.  Search results include the Merchant name, Store name, and the first 3 General products in the store.
  
  
• Search within store: Shown only when viewing a Store, this method allows users to restrict
  
  

---

Really nice, I did try it and works great ^^ 

 

[Teagan Parnas]

Instead of bringing out new things, why not concentrate on fixing old problems that have been ongoing since the market place started, I mean does it really matter if there is a join button when someone is not logged in when items are not being delivered.

It is impossible to find anything when search is trouble and the market place is so cluttered with freebie items.

I cancelled half my featured items recently because the market place is so broken its not worth the money anymore.

[Sassy Romano]

My response is that while searching on storefront/merchant is welcome, it would be far more sensible and logical to present thumbnails of products that were the merchants top selling ones.  I can see no logic whatsoever behind the selected ones of mine.

[Suella Ember]

Just wanted to add my big thumbs up for the new search features.

They rock more than a rock band sitting in a rocking chair perched on a big rock while eating rock in Blackpool!

:smileyhappy:

[Hollee Dion]

Excellent work on the new search features.  Really glad to see things being added to the marketplace.  I know you're working on storefront listings too thanks to you  weekly updates and it will be even better when we can order our products for the store search images.

 

Possible improvements, you list stores alphabetically and you might want to arrange it such that non-alphabet characters are ignored.  I'm guilty of this myself (I just like the look) but if you add in   *  {  [  &  style text decorations you get listed at the top.  That's sure to be gamed pretty quickly.

 

Some stores are currently empty by the looks of it.  (search Hollee)  If you could check this and not list that would be handy.

Again though really happy to see some great new features coming to the marketplace and not just behind the scenes stuff.

[Torley Linden]

I've already found the new merchant/store search to come in handy when I couldn't find something in inworld search — but it was listed on the Marketplace!

[Paulyta Miles]

all these features are from xstreetsl.com but you created a new problematic marketplace and removed many good features of the really great xstreetsl.com

[Madeliefste Oh]

 

---

Brooke Linden wrote:

 

 

• Merchant/Store search: Allows users to find Merchants and Stores whose names match the search keyword.  Search results include the Merchant name, Store name, and the first 3 General products in the store.
  
  
• Search within store: Shown only when viewing a Store, this method allows users to restrict their keyword searches to products within that store.

---

 

Hello Brook,

For me as a seller with 3 different stores these both options don't work for me. You can find me by my merchant name, and then you will see the items of my 3 stores, and not of 1 store. When you try to find only óne of my stores, this is not possible.

Search within store doesn't work either, because you simply cannot approach just one store.

This whole marketplace is build on the assumption 'one merchant = one store'. This might be the case for the majority but there are exeptions. I would  have been much better when the marketplace team would have taken this in consideration before the marketplace was build.

There are stores who are driven by several merchants. They still don't have the possibility to offer their merchandise in one single store on the marketplace.
There are merchants who have several stores. And those still don't have the possibility to offer their merchandise in separeted stores.

In the time Grand and Brodesky were working on the marketplace they promised that splitting up merchandise per brand in separate stores would be a future feature of the marketplace.

When I had to relist all my merchandise with the transfer for xstreet to marketplace, I had the choice to use alt accounts as sellers for the different brands, though I prefer to operate only with one account, this would have been more clear for the buyers on the marketplace, it could have saved me and the shoppers from a store where all my 3 brands are cluthered together.  But with the promise of Grand in mind I choose not do so, but to wait for this 'future feature'. Though Grand never stated a date, I had the idea (or hope) that it would take maybe half a year or such before this feature would arrive. 

Now we are almost one year further, and still nothing has changed for merchants who don't fit in the formula '1 merchant = 1 store'. Contrary: the situation has become worse now. All 1 store merchants are searchable by store now, but everybody who doesn't fit in your formula cannot let it's potential buyers profit from this change.

Now my burning question is: is the idea to let one merchant have more then one store front still in the plans? And if yes, when can we expect this to arrive?

 

 

 

 

[Toysoldier Thor]

---

Madeliefste Oh wrote:

 

---

Brooke Linden wrote:

 

 

• Merchant/Store search: Allows users to find Merchants and Stores whose names match the search keyword.  Search results include the Merchant name, Store name, and the first 3 General products in the store.
• Search within store: Shown only when viewing a Store, this method allows users to restrict their keyword searches to products within that store.

---

 

Hello Brook,

For me as a seller with 3 different stores these both options don't work for me. You can find me by my merchant name, and then you will see the items of my 3 stores, and not of 1 store. When you try to find only óne of my stores, this is not possible.

Search within store doesn't work either, because you simply cannot approach just one store.

This whole marketplace is build on the

assumption 'one merchant = one store'. This might be the case for the majority but there are exeptions. I would  have been much better when the marketplace team would have taken this in consideration before the marketplace was build.

There are stores who are driven by several merchants. They still don't have the possibility to offer their merchandise in one single store on the marketplace.

There are merchants who have several stores. And those still don't have the possibility to offer their merchandise in separeted stores.

In the time Grand and Brodesky were working on the marketplace they promised that splitting up merchandise per brand in separate stores would be a future feature of the marketplace.

When I had to relist all my merchandise with the transfer for xstreet to marketplace, I had the choice to use alt accounts as sellers for the different brands, though I prefer to operate only with one account, this would have been more clear for the buyers on the marketplace, it could have saved me and the shoppers from a store where all my 3 brands are cluthered together.  But with the promise of Grand in mind I choose not do so, but to wait for this 'future feature'. Though Grand never stated a date, I had the idea (or hope) that it would take maybe half a year or such before this feature would arrive. 

Now we are almost one year further, and still nothing has changed for merchants who don't fit in the formula '1 merchant = 1 store'. Contrary: the situation has become worse now. All 1 store merchants are searchable by store now, but everybody who doesn't fit in your formula cannot let it's potential buyers profit from this change.

Now my burning question is: is the idea to let one merchant have more then one store front still in the plans?

And if yes, when can we expect this to arrive? 

---

Hey Mdae... you post said something which I think should be mentioned as a prophetic point for the up-coming DIRECT DELIVERY function / service they likely have pretty much canned and put to bed in terms of development (except for bug fixing)...

 I would  have been much better when the marketplace team would have taken this in consideration before the marketplace was build.

LL is always historically become known as a group of software developers that DEVELOP TACTICALLY.  i.e. they focus all their solution efforts to simply solving the immediate problems in front of them or to satisfy LL's internal needs only or the immediate needs / problems of the majority.  Their solutions are rarely DEVELOPED STRATEGICALLY.

That lack of consideration that LL Develpers had for needs that they deemed to be a "future" feature is what burn them and moreso US each time.  The problem with their tactical solutioning practice is that many of these "future" and "we'll get to that in an up-coming release" features/services need to be thought of during the development / design of the foundation of the application, service, function.  Why?  Because critical data structures and/or system design points have to be in place as this time.

It would be like a office building architect/builder coming up with a design for a new 10 story home and some of the users requirements telling them that it would be nice if the building has 3 sets of elevators or two basement levels... and the builder tells you "yes I can see that might be a good / needed feature - we will consider adding these in some future release".  I dont think I have to tell you all how easy it would be for the builder to go back to the building and "retrofit" an additional basement level or an additional elevator shaft in the building.

The reason I am pointing this out is because for the exact reasons you pointed this out about how LL didnt properly think through multi-store merchant models (nor will it be easy to properly fix now), the same scenario is happening eith the DIRECT DELIVERY.

Its now May1 and Brooke Linden has broken her promise from the last Office Hours meeting where she said she would release a blog posting to explain in detail how DIRECT DELIVERY works and looks like (since we all can safely assume that the Beta program will not allow for any major changes in its design - no matter how good an idea).... so we have to assume its how we have heard it works.

The up-coming DD has not/will not be designed to allow for a FLEXIBLE and CONFIGURABLE SLM Source.  This smart strategic design component for DD would have offered increased Merchant security, transition simplicity to DD, and been able to immediately address abilities like Multiple Merchant / Alternate Merchant store operations.

BUT... as per common LL development practice, the new DD will ONLY take its source from the SLM Store Merchant's personal inventory.

The LL Development and Commerce Team will sooner or later say...   "That is a great design idea and one we will likely look at in future releases of DD"   but we all know that will likley not happen as it will likely involve complex retrofitting and LL will not want to do it.

[Sassy Romano]

Actually, I can see that with Direct Delivery, it would be quite straightforward to build in the ability to have a common store front across multiple creators.

Lets say they all wanted to create bunnies that they could sell, lets call the shop "Magic Bunnies".  If each had say a folder called "Magic Bunnies" within their "Marketplace" folder, the one the would be the source for direct delivery.  Then a simple web UI for "share this folder with store <insert name>"  so Magic Bunnies.

They could have other folders that they could choose to share with another store independent of Magic Bunnies.

They *could* also do the same for any item that was uploaded via magic box, it would only need an option in the web UI to choose which store the product was to be associated with.

My partner and I do this for our own vending system, we each have our own products in our own servers but can configure, choose and manage the items that make up our combined inworld shopping experience.

The implementation of Direct Delivery doesn't change their ability to do multiple storefronts or shared merchandising, the source of the products is of no consequence, it's the continuing inability to follow even the most basic project management methodology of engaging with the major stakeholders that prevents any sensible input around this and other highly valuable features that are of benefit to merchants.  I do agree though that they would have better a chance at building this from the beginning with all the stakeholder requirements in place and actually understood.

It is beyond my comprehension as to the continued practice of developing a solution with (apparent) utter contempt for those who use it, especially in the face of such rich feedback.