[bug] findAllListingActive not returning correct results for sort_on=score

[Graeme Grant]

When requesting keyword searches with findAllListingActive method by sort_on=price with sort_order=up/down, the results mirror those of the website for Lowest/Highest Price; sort_on=created with sort_order=down also mirror results with those of the website for Most Recent.
 
However, sort_on=score with sort_order=down look nothing like the website for Relevancy. I've posted this on GITHUB including the request/responses + screenshot of the website - both the API and website searches were performed at the same time to ensure that there was no discrepancy.
 
There are at least 2 websites (other than ourselves) who have sellers relying on the accuracy of this information and as you can see it is clearly delivering incorrect results.
 
How quickly can this be resolved?
 
Thanks,
 
G.

[Graeme Grant]

Hi Guys,
 
It has been several days ... is it possible to have an update please?
 
I would like to expand the request to:

1. The actual search result count and not the capped count returned? 50,100 looks like a 3rd-party app/website error when actual count is 81,163
   
2. sort_on=score use the actual website algorithm and not the old (pre-Relevancy Search change) scoring algorithm?
   

 
Here are two examples of why the API needs to match the Etsy Website search results as Etsy users see it as a bug:

1. Etsy iPhone app search does not match Etsy website search: https://www.etsy.com/au/teams/7720/bugs/discuss/13355262
   
2. Signed in/out of Etsy website yields different search results: https://www.etsy.com/teams/7720/bugs/discuss/13370740
   

 
Etsy users who see data variations as bugs and tend not to trust the app/websites and not return. We end up with bug reports and explaining why.
 
Thanks,
 
G.

 

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From: grag...@hotmail.com
To: etsy-...@googlegroups.com
CC: deve...@etsy.com
Subject: [bug] findAllListingActive not returning correct results for sort_on=score
Date: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 21:23:11 +1100

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[Matt Graham]

Hi Graeme,

Please see the comment on Github.

Thanks,

Matt

[Graeme Grant]

Hi Matt,

Your comment on Github was "User's locale settings or search parameters may cause results to be different though. We are also not in a position to define web search and API search to return identical results." Forgive me, as I am not quite seeing it. Please let me explain...

1. Search Results
 

Whilst I can understand and agree with this statement, the results for a generic website search (no "shop location" & no "Delivers to" aka https://www.etsy.com/search?q=scarf&order=[date_desc/price_asc/price_desc]&view_type=gallery&ship_to=ZZ) returns exactly the same results for generic findAllListingActive API method with score_on=created/price with sort_order=up/down. Only website relevancy search ("&order=most_relevant") is wildly different (not even close!) to findAllListingActive API method with score_on=score.

If I was to take "User's locale settings" into consideration, my understanding of what you are saying is that the website Regional settings (found in website footer) has an influence over the results returned.  Here is how I'm setting up the call to match the website:

• Website "Delivers To" field ("&ship_to=US" = United States can be changed > not a field for findAllListingActive API method
• Website "Shop Location" field ("&locationQuery=6252001" = United States) can be changed > I assume this is the region="us", location(??), & geo_level=country fields for findAllListingActive API method
• then the "User's locale settings" would be the website Region settings (Region = United States) > lat="37.09024" & lon="-95.712891" (for the US) fields for findAllListingActive API method
• Website Sort by: Relevancy field > sort_on=score for findAllListingActive API method

I have found that passing a value in the API "location" field yields 0 (zero) results. There is no documentation on what type of data can be passed or how it is used in general.

2. Search Results Item Count

When searching the website, basic keyword searches can yield item counts over 50,000 yet when we call findAllListingActive API method, the resultcount field returns counts capped at 50,100 and not the true search count.

 
3. Questions
 

3-1. How does one use the location field for findAllListingActive API method? Can the documentation be updated to reflect this?
 
3-2. For generic API searches, what do you recommend to pass for generic (global location) search for near results for website & API?
 
3-3. How do I get the actual item result count (like the website) and not the capped result count (50,100) returned by the API?

3-4-1. How is it possible that some websites, claiming to be using the Etsy API, are able to achieve identical search results to Etsy website relevancy search (when the API clearly does not match) and can report the correct item count (which is clearly not available via the API), and not the capped count?

3-4-2. Etsy's TOUs (ref: https://www.etsy.com/developers/terms-of-use) state: "The API is the only supported method for users to access data programmatically from Etsy. [...trimmed...] For example, you agree not to: 'Screen scrape' pages on the Etsy Website, even if such data is not available in the Etsy API". How are they able to do this with out scraping and being in breech of Etsy's TOUs???

G.

 

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Date: Sat, 16 Nov 2013 17:29:14 -0500
Subject: Re: [bug] findAllListingActive not returning correct results for sort_on=score
From: mgr...@etsy.com
To: etsy-...@googlegroups.com

[mel.t...@gmail.com]

I agree with everything said. Some sites can do the search with correct matching.

 

Any answer about? any way of performing the queries?

[Matt Graham]

Hi,
There is not an intentional difference between the API search and site search. That said, we do not specify API search and web search to be identical, so if there are any differences it is not something we would consider a bug. We will look at building in better matching for the v3 listing search when we add that in the future.

Thanks,
Matt

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[david olick]

Should we expect to have that matching slowly fall out of sync with Etsy's web search over time in v3?

--

David Olick

Oriku Inc.

[Matt Graham]

Hi David,

On Tue, Apr 22, 2014 at 7:04 PM, david olick <david...@gmail.com> wrote:

Should we expect to have that matching slowly fall out of sync with Etsy's web search over time in v3?

​No. If we were to rebuild the API and site search to be sync with each other, the expectation would be that they should stay in sync. However, note that it would be a signficant project for us an we have no near term plans to do it.

​

 

[Sarah Jordan]

Hi Graeme,

Were these issues from nearly 3 years ago ever resolved or answered to your satisfaction?  I've been teaching myself Python and trying to learn the Etsy API at the same time and I just encountered the same problems that you listed here.  I've googled everything I can think of to find solutions that may have been posted in the 3 years since this conversation occurred but to no avail.  I'm about ready to give up on the Etsy API altogether as every time I think I'm making progress, I hit a wall that I can't get past.  How in the world is Etsy Gadget getting the correct number of search results and I can't?  ARGH.