I have realised that eBay runs the same kind of algorithms that social media does.
They are tracking and personalizing the feed for you....but it's even worse than just normal tracking
eBay is whale hunting.....
They are committing a crime and actively using their algorithms to hunt out whales and to extract as much money as possible from them without being noticed.
They are committed a major crime and fraud should be investigated because they are hiding posts which have the same items for lower value to extract higher fees from the purchase based on machine learning.
They track and spy on your budgetary allowance and then they hide anything too cheap which is lower than they think you may pay even if a cheaper option is available...then they will artificially raise the prices and manipulate the listings for 'discounts' which are still higher than other available options.
They are not just doing it based on your purchase history but also when you look at a product it gets priced and that price affects your window ....
Try this out......look up something you normally would buy for cheaper prices that you know the fair value on.....then look for the pricier listings and click them and click only the pricey stuff and nothing in y The normal price range...add to your cart and then watch as you suddenly are inundated with more eand more expensive items beyond the fair price that are 'competive' with the very high priced item you added to you cart.
I don't think there's a conspiracy here, I think this is just how business is conducted everywhere in 2023. I have not really noticed the type of algorithmic behavior you're talking about because I always spend a little bit of time to filter my search results. Of course the promoted/advertised store-type sellers are absolutely always at the top of the list. Hence, after I search for the widget I want I always go down to the lower left and select the "Used" option and I put in my max price, also select one or two other options to narrow things down to the exact item I want, that gets rid of half of the spam and irrelevant items, and shows me the reasonably priced items. I hardly buy anything new off of eBay. eBay is still better than these spammy phone apps like OfferUp or LetGo - those are spammed with even worse commercial scams. Never had luck buying or selling even one thing on there. Don't even get me started on Facebook marketplace, it's such a waste of time. People who aren't serious about buying or selling aren't using eBay.
Is this item still available?
Is this item still available?
Is this item still available?
I still like and use Craigslist :)