SpoorObjecten Posted October 31, 2016 Author Share Posted October 31, 2016 Hey Autocoach, This is not implemented just yet. Product Facets are now available for ShopOwners so people can place their products in the right groups. Next week we'll launch this for shoppers so you can filter down on the trains page. It will look something like this: So to filter down to your example (trains, ho scale, 1945-1960, passenger, USA). Hopefully next week when launched. You'll take the following steps: 1. you go to shapeways.com 2. you go to the miniatures -> trains section (https://www.shapeways.com/marketplace/miniatures/trains/) 3. on the left side of the page you'll see "refine by". (note: it's not there right now as it hasnt been released yet) 4. you select the scale HO, Passenger, Era 1945-1960 and country USA. 5. we will now show you all products that are in those filters. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rue_d_etropal Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Problem is that shop owners won't put items in 'right groups' ,. Sorry but for those like me , it is not practical, as I have far too many items, and more importantly many of my items fit many categories( so it can't be done automatically). I don't think it just effects me as I know others with large shops. I know it is hard for those searching for specific items, but assuming designers use meaningful item names or have good descriptions, a proper 'inclusive' word search system should pick out the right items. I thought the tag system should have done that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rue_d_etropal Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 I have been giving this some thought. When I started in IT over 30 years ago, I studied data design, and it is not easy. It is easy to define a structure which makessence until someone says, what if. I think that is what has happened here. It is all very well changing the system to make it easier to find specific types of items but categories in modelling(not just model railways) is very complex. There is a lot of cross pollination between different modelling hobbies, and unless you enable an item to be under more than one category, some items will get missed in searches. The data design need turning round. Instead of having items , in effect under different modelling categories, put all under one modelling category and have info under each item to show which sub category the designer wants it to be, and allow more than one choice. Then any search will still pick upo specify sub category, without missing those items categorised under another name. ITEM Categories TYPES-T1-trains y/n T2-track y/ T3-buildings y/n T4-vehicles y/n, etc SCALES- list of possible scales each can be set y/n OTHER options colour, period etc If this was actually set up as an alternative index file, then searching it would be faster than seaching whole database. Obviously designers could still use wrong settings, but at least they can maximise the searchability. The horse might have already bolted, but I think my idea would work well for both buyers and designers. Remember they are both customers of shapeways. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpoorObjecten Posted November 4, 2016 Author Share Posted November 4, 2016 Hi all, This is the current version which will soon go live (currently only visible for designers). We are aware that not all categories are as populated as we want but as time passes designers will add facets to their products. In addition we expect to be able to build a bulk edit tool which will allow the bigger shops to be able to set facets. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rue_d_etropal Posted November 4, 2016 Share Posted November 4, 2016 Up to a couple of years ago there was the ability to put an item in more than one category. I can understand if there were database design issues which meant this had to be dropped, but it is not just the large number of items I have, but that many would come under several different categories, and that way they can be targetted at different interest groups. By pigeon holing in one limited category, it will mean some people searching might not see some items which would be of interest to them. They would not be aware of this though. I was going through some of my items yesterday, as I had a small change to make to some to reduce chances of rejection, and noticed a couple of my items(tram style track) had slipped into 'scenery/industrial'. . Other similar items were unchanged, but I don't think of track as scenery. I assume one reason part releasing new categories is so that designers can see them,and comment on any potential problems, a sort of user testing,and as such any problems or issues could be looked at before continuing. From a business/marketing point of view i think I have some concerns. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
autocoach Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 Up to a couple of years ago there was the ability to put an item in more than one category. I can understand if there were database design issues which meant this had to be dropped, but it is not just the large number of items I have, but that many would come under several different categories, and that way they can be targetted at different interest groups. By pigeon holing in one limited category, it will mean some people searching might not see some items which would be of interest to them. They would not be aware of this though. I was going through some of my items yesterday, as I had a small change to make to some to reduce chances of rejection, and noticed a couple of my items(tram style track) had slipped into 'scenery/industrial'. . Other similar items were unchanged, but I don't think of track as scenery. I assume one reason part releasing new categories is so that designers can see them,and comment on any potential problems, a sort of user testing,and as such any problems or issues could be looked at before continuing. From a business/marketing point of view i think I have some concerns. Marketplace filters are still unusable. Anything beyond scale looses the scale filter. When will cascading filters really appear in the marketplace so I won't have to browse 1600 pages. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpoorObjecten Posted November 16, 2016 Author Share Posted November 16, 2016 The marketplace filters have been launched. https://www.shapeways.com/marketplace/miniatures/trains/ Don't forget to check out scenery as well for facets (and the other miniature sections). Of course not all models have a facet yet, but we do hope that shopowners will be adding facets to their models in the upcoming weeks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.