[BUG-234050] Marketplace is broken

[sl-service-account]

What just happened?

MP has become unsearchable, returns irrelevant items, filters don't work, etc. It is unusable and the algorithm changes make no sense. When my store finally pops up I only see very old hairs, not at all what I am capable of making now. Mp sales were 50% off my income and the last 2 months my MP sales dropped to 5% or less! Not good for me and also not good for Linden Lab!

What were you doing when it happened?

Checking my MP sales in my vendor system

What were you expecting to happen instead?

Not this huge drop in sales!

Other information

Please fix MP! My RL depends on it.

Attachments

• sales drop01.jpg 2023-06-27 12:25:42

Original Jira Fields

| Field | Value | | ------------- | ------------- | | Issue | BUG-234050 | | Summary | Marketplace is broken | | Type | Bug | | Priority | Unset | | Status | Closed | | Resolution | Accepted | | Reporter | Mina Nakamura (mina.nakamura) | | Created at | 2023-06-27T16:31:20Z | | Updated at | 2023-07-10T19:32:13Z | ``` { 'Build Id': 'unset', 'Business Unit': ['Platform'], 'Date of First Response': '2023-06-27T11:51:33.596-0500', "Is there anything you'd like to add?": 'Please fix MP! My RL depends on it. ', 'ReOpened Count': 0.0, 'Severity': 'Unset', 'System': 'Website', 'Target Viewer Version': 'viewer-development', 'What just happened?': "MP has become unsearchable, returns irrelevant items, filters don't work, etc. It is unusable and the algorithm changes make no sense. When my store finally pops up I only see very old hairs, not at all what I am capable of making now.\r\nMp sales were 50% off my income and the last 2 months my MP sales dropped to 5% or less! Not good for me and also not good for Linden Lab!", 'What were you doing when it happened?': 'Checking my MP sales in my vendor system', 'What were you expecting to happen instead?': 'Not this huge drop in sales!', } ```

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AkiraKiyoi commented at 2023-06-27T16:51:34Z

A lot of established designers who make high quality content told me just the same.. We have expereinced this in our brandsa as well. This is such a pity and makes some people wonder if we can consider SL as a reliable source of income anymore since such updates can just kill our income and we have almost zero communication with LL when we raise these questions... 

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sintikliasims commented at 2023-06-27T17:03:57Z

I agree, after breaking search in marketplace all designers have same problem. Marketplace was earlier good platform for selling and searching products, for customers&creators it was much more easier to sell, put tags or buy by easier search products by description. Now it is broken and does not attract with its search when customers see old works done 10+ years ago, which are not qualitative for today and are high complaxity, done for old bodies and actually done with old technology. 

And I agree with AkiraKiyoi as well.

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JIRAUSER342171 commented at 2023-06-28T17:36:50Z

Its a hot damn mess, ive opened so many jiras, tickets, to no evail. Get same answer, TY for your report, we are working on it, and dont have an ETA. This has been going on since February, and we have heard from LL 1x in all this ,explaining for us how to search for blue shirt. Even that search doesn't work. Sales are just well, pitiful .I have had to lay off employees, next will be land. This is trickling down and causing serious damage. My sales graph resembles that as above listed. I have gone from a million L month business to barley scraping 400. How long must we hold on? i have my doubts now at this point , this will never be fixed. This is the new normal. and we can only guess, as we get get no answers. If i was CFO, heads be rolling. Fix MP already !

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Cube Republic commented at 2023-06-28T18:09:06Z

I've also noticed a considerable drop in sales, pretty worrying tbh. 

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msdarksecret commented at 2023-06-29T10:20:23Z

LL, this is costing you a fortune in commission, and is probably one of your better ways of income if you want to make money. I therefor find it strange that there is no communication or fixes? As a creator we can't live on Second Life and make it worth our time without a fully functioning Marketplace. And neither can you!

 

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JIRAUSER332780 commented at 2023-06-29T10:55:53Z, updated at 2023-06-29T11:01:48Z

I wanted to express my wholehearted agreement with the concerns raised in this thread regarding the current state of the Second Life Marketplace. As a seller and customer on the platform, I have been experiencing similar frustrations and obstacles that have significantly impacted my overall experience. As already stated, the search functionality has become unreliable, returning irrelevant items and making it incredibly challenging to find what I'm looking for. This has made it exceedingly difficult for me to locate products as a customer and showcase my creations as a seller. The recent changes to the algorithm have only added to the confusion, as they seem to prioritize outdated listings rather than promoting the most relevant and up-to-date offerings. The drastic drop in sales on the Marketplace is alarming. These sales decline not only affects our financial well-being but also raises concerns about the overall health and vitality of the platform. It is crucial that the Second Life Marketplace remains a thriving marketplace for sellers alike to sustain our businesses and contribute to this economy. I sincerely urge Linden Lab to take immediate action in addressing these issues. The Second Life Marketplace plays a pivotal role in the success of many users and businesses, and its current state is inhibiting our ability to operate effectively. I implore the support team to investigate and rectify these problems promptly, ensuring that the Marketplace regains its functionality and reliability. Thank you for your attention to this matter. I join others in hoping for a swift resolution and an improved experience on the Second Life Marketplace!

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Melody Martian commented at 2023-06-29T23:00:35Z

I absolutely agree with this. Not only can I not search for items anymore no matter how many ANDs and other antiquated search logic they implemented, but I'm unable to find my own items.

When doing a normal search, old and I mean OLD (non-mesh, closed stores, etc) marketplace items come up for very simple search terms like "t-shirt", "home" or "Interactive". One word searches barley create the environment to find anything and I find myself using Flickr or other social media platforms to find new brands rather than Marketplace which was not the case prior to this change. It's hard to find brands that I'm familiar with and know are doing well "Apple Fall, Blueberry, etc." with basic searches as well. 

My own store has had a significant hit in sales on Marketplace according to my Casper sales. The only way I'm able to stay within stable sale numbers is with enhancements which in 5 years I've never relied on, they were exactly what they're called, an enhancement. I'm no longer able to search my own store in Marketplace and have my own items come up even with very specific search terms and titles, which was not the case prior to the change. For hard numbers, I've experienced a 22% decrease in MP sales as compared to last year which had 0 listing enhancements. 

I've also noticed that Marketplace's statistics regarding views/clicks for enhancements are questionable as well. Getting say an average of 60,000 views, 13 clicks and yet relatively high sale numbers on enhanced items makes me truly question the reliability and honesty of a service myself and many other designers are paying quite a good amount of L$ (25k this year so far for me) for. 

I truly hope LL looks into this issue and helps in facilitating a solution that can help creators and customers alike. 

[sl-service-account]

Shrike Linden commented at 2023-07-10T19:32:13Z

Thank you for the report! We're continuing to update Marketplace search to return better results; it should be improved since this issue was reported, but there's still a few more bugs to iron out! I'm sorry for the inconvenience!