Summary
FAB search engine is not working properly.
I’m certain that my sales have dropped because of it, since Fab launched.
I’ve been monitoring it’s search results and they are very weird. For example:
If you pick Unreal Engine, then Tools & Plugins category in the search, by default it will show you results sorted by “Relevance”, which to me has no logic behind,
you will see the items on top that usually have no ratings whatsoever and most of them are recently listed. Also if you change sorting option in the left corner from “Relvance” to “Newest” you will see the same results as in “Relevance” sorting. But if you check the first newest item, you’ll see that it’s been added later than 2nd or 3rd item.
If you select “Rating” in sorting options you will see that result ignore it completely, most of the top products have no rating at all.
I just keep seeing the same products listed on the top of the search results and products with 5 star ratings are buried way down.
Which means that best products are not getting the best placement. Which is bad for all parties, buyer, seller and Fab.
I hope it’s just a bug and will be fixed soon, and people in charge of this will take it very seriously.
What type of bug are you experiencing?
Search
URL where the bug was encountered
https://www.fab.com/channels/unreal-engine?listing_types=tool-and-plugin&sort_by=-relevance
Steps to Reproduce
Select Unreal Engine in search, pick Tools& Plugins category,
- Compare “Relevance” and “Newest” sorting results (there are same, relevance sorting has no relevance to the best product on the market).
- Check “Newest” results dates for items added (there are not sorted by dates)
- check “Rating” sorting results (most top items have no ratings at all)
Expected Result
“Relevance” sorting should display the best suitable products mainly considering their sales and ratings, (feedbacks, wishlists whould help too)
“Newest” should display newest items first
“Ratind” should display highest rating first (considering their sales too)
Observed Result
“Relevance” has no logic, displays the same results as “Newest” and “Newest” itself is not working properly, showing chaotic results
“Rating” not sorting correctly. Showing chaotic results.
Platform
Microsoft Edge
Operating System
Windows 11
Additional Notes
Here are my suggestions to improve Fab search engine:
I think “Relevance” sorting logic should pick the best product on the market by considering it’s
- Actual earnings (not downloads of free items, because if item sells that means a lot)
- Rating
- Customer reviews (hope they will be added, I even think that rating a product should be encouraged, and if customer rates a product he should explain in words (like google reviews for example), so the seller can act on it and dispute it in case if the feedback was unfair. Sellers should be able to defend themselves)
- Wishlists ( please add them back. It will let you (Fab) monitor how many people wish to buy this item, and what’s stopping them) Make them be seen to the sellers also. So they can adjust their pricing based on this information)
- Featured items on the first page should change frequently, giving other seller the opportunity to be seen. A lot of times good products need a little boost.