Amazon Prime video search results DUMBED DOWN STUPIDITY that hides information

[MrMobodies]

A few years ago they had this thing I think named video explorer which I thought was rubbish for what I want it for.
Anyway I wanted the list view so I can see the information and dates:
FROM THIS:

Notice Indiana Jones and the Raiders of The Lost Ark (1981) and they removed the date filters (on the left pane) last year to only show "2000" "2009", and now just "2020 & newer" as if they were discouraging people from finding videos from those era's.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=Indiana+Jones&i=instant-video&rh=n%3A3046737031%2Cp_n_theme_browse-bin%3A3046740031&dc&ds=v1%3At9Ysp%2FnifJ5H9Or3MrZb65YMrGIqMZMpNIE6NhT3o4M&qid=1740190236&rnid=3046739031&ref=sr_nr_p_n_theme_browse-bin_1

The URL seems to show that page when not signed in.

Shocked to find just now when I opened the browser and home page this rubbish kept on coming up with this crap with the URL redirected to:


When signed in with the filter URL above I get redirected to this stupid thing:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/video/storefront/ref=av_null_search

TO THIS:

Storefront  The storefronts I knew I could read the information of the packaging from the shop window.
Noticehow I have to HOVER to see the information for it to popout and ENLARGE.

So it doesn't do it when I am not signed in. No design changes should affect it but as soon as I sign in and they have someone working there trying to dictating and force how I view things that I am paying for,  the extra increase not to see the "adverts" and now they are calling it "FREE TO ME". Take that option away from video explorer, force it upon & ram it in their faces and deliberately make it so when they signed in they see it.

Look how STUPID the design of the filter dialogue is compared the other (left):

BIG, BLOATED and lots of clicking and scrolling and inconvenience to set things that get hidden away from when menus collapse.

It makes Youtube's filter dialogue look better:

Where I can set the filters in one place.

Another argument for Monday on the phone to them and I think this time this might be the final nail in the coffin. All about them or what their web designers want not the user.

If they changed the design completely it wouldn't have been as bad. I'd still be disappointed but the fact they seem to force it upon when signed to see that tiled crap which  tells me BUGGER ALL unless I hover over the tiles that jumps out, enlarges and gets in the way of the other titles and after that the information hide inconveniencing me further.

When I am searching for something I don't want information hidden and to show it I have to make things POP OUT.

I noticed filters from the 60,70,80,90's were removed late last year. Only 2020 and newer but there are videos with those dates on so I then have to scroll through many pages. That was something I complained about before Christmas along with the fixed header which they changed a little to hide but it auto focus which is not what i want. If I hide the script like in 2023 I find i can't pay for things. Looks like they have buggered it up even more.

I shouldn't have to sign out to find things or do a whole load of messing about with different browser profiles to find things and then drag over the URLs from the one not signed in to the one that is.

Absolutely furious, very disappointed and can't use it like that.

I remembered Google tried this late last year with their Video search:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/dodgy-technology/google-now-removing-uploader-name-and-upload-date-from-video-search-results/msg5755401/#msg5755401

and it looks like they have reverted.

What do you think?

[Haenk]

It is quite a misunderstanding.
Amazon "search" is not a search per se, but a method to sell you things (Amazon pushes the most likely sells as top result).
Obviously the same with the videos. Amazon has *zero* interest in offering you a video for free. Go elsewhere or *buy* something. For advertisement reasons, they still offer you free videos, but don't expect them to ease the finding of "free beer".

[Ian.M]

Same for Amazon product searches.  Anny common search term will show you thousands of 'recommended' results by default but if you have the audacity to sort by price the number of items found will drop by an order of magnitude or two!

[Analog Kid]

Another argument for Monday on the phone to them and I think this time this might be the final nail in the coffin. All about them or what their web designers want not the user.

What do you think?

What do I think?
I think you're like Don Quixote, getting ready to do battle against windmills.
Do you actually call places like Amazon and complain about their web designs? Really?
And if so, do you really think they give 1/10,000 of one shit?
Do you really think they accept input on how their web searches should work from random callers?
"Thank you very much for sharing that with us."
(This is what my dear departed dad would call the equivalent of a "TS letter".)

I think your expectations of what the web should offer and how it should work are extremely unrealistic.

[MrMobodies]

What do I think?
I think you're like Don Quixote, getting ready to do battle against windmills.
1. Do you actually call places like Amazon and complain about their web designs? Really?
2. And if so, do you really think they give 1/10,000 of one shit?
3. Do you really think they accept input on how their web searches should work from random callers?
"Thank you very much for sharing that with us."
(This is what my dear departed dad would call the equivalent of a "TS letter".)

* I think your expectations of what the web should offer and how it should work are extremely.

1. Yes. Ebay in 2020 Ebay put this fixed header up. I complained, 2 weeks later it reverted and I noticed they changed the ebay logo red for a while and wonder what it represented.

2. They may do or they may not. Sometimes it works. It worked with their fixed header when I complained at Christmas. I was told the next changes were coming in 4 days now I see it hide in scroll down. It seems to be linked with how fast I scroll up and it slides so I believe they must be trying to accommodate for phone and tablet users.

3. I expect them to as that's what feedback is for. Random callers? I pay for the membership with them. I thought these things were built for what the user's want to find things and it worked perfectly fine before they started removing the date filters and now redirect video searches to this tile thing.

If you don't ask you certainly don't get was what I was told. If I don't say anything nobody will ever know not even the ones who are willing to make adjustments.

Despite the many changes I didn't find it a problem until last decade ago starting from when Google removed the option to disable suggestions, then came along the fixed headers and everything else not linked to the content but in the form of decorations that do nothing useful but get in the way, annoy and slow the web page load down.

[Analog Kid]

It worked with their fixed header when I complained at Christmas. I was told the next changes were coming in 4 days now I see it hide in scroll down. It seems to be linked with how fast I scroll up and it slides so I believe they must be trying to accommodate for phone and tablet users.

You can bet that they're not "trying to accomodate" phone & tablet users: they're catering to them.
Us old farts who still use desktop computahs are like dinosaurs to them.

[AVGresponding]

It worked with their fixed header when I complained at Christmas. I was told the next changes were coming in 4 days now I see it hide in scroll down. It seems to be linked with how fast I scroll up and it slides so I believe they must be trying to accommodate for phone and tablet users.

You can bet that they're not "trying to accomodate" phone & tablet users: they're catering to them.
Us old farts who still use desktop computahs are like dinosaurs to them.

Utter rubbish. The majority of serious gamers use desktops over laptops, and they're mostly gens Y and Z

[tszaboo]

Wait until you find out how IMDB ratings get absolutely manipulated by Amazon. Deleting bad reviews for their shows. Easy -2 ratings for anything on other platforms.
But that's OK.
Youtube also found that you are less likely to click on older videos, so let's just not show that.

[artag]

Why is it that when a search completes a page of what appears to be moderately useful results appeared, followed about a second later by redrawing the page with the matches on the top line removed and replaced by some inferior matches. It's hard to find the top line matches again. Sometimes some of them can be found scattered further down the page.

If they don't want to sell me those why display them at all ?

[MrMobodies]

Wait until you find out how IMDB ratings get absolutely manipulated by Amazon. Deleting bad reviews for their shows. Easy -2 ratings for anything on other platforms.
But that's OK.
Youtube also found that you are less likely to click on older videos, so let's just not show that.

In the Amazon reviews for products, when clicking the star ratings to filter the reviews which I do for the "1 star" it now requires sign in.
Manipulating guests to create an account and sign in to

The sign in don't bother me for now but I wonder what are they afraid of.... this is how it appears to me when wondering why.
I suppose if I didn't have an account with Amazon that'd put me off outright but how far are they going to go with this before they start driving away their membership subscriptions along with their members.

They already manipulated the video search results on sign in to redirect to that tile storefront thing.

What they could have done is use the storefront in another way, so when I find and see video's I like on the previous normal Amazon prime video search results page I could click a little symbol "add to storefront" so I can find them again in the store front but I'd want to see title and date under it or they could even add a little option ontop to show or hide details if they are appealing for appearances.

[Analog Kid]

It worked with their fixed header when I complained at Christmas. I was told the next changes were coming in 4 days now I see it hide in scroll down. It seems to be linked with how fast I scroll up and it slides so I believe they must be trying to accommodate for phone and tablet users.

You can bet that they're not "trying to accomodate" phone & tablet users: they're catering to them.
Us old farts who still use desktop computahs are like dinosaurs to them.

Utter rubbish. The majority of serious gamers use desktops over laptops, and they're mostly gens Y and Z

But what proportion of Amazon users (i.e., actual buyers of stuff) are gamers? Is it even significant?

[Analog Kid]

Youtube also found that you are less likely to click on older videos, so let's just not show that.

Maybe they're doing that for the same reason Facebook (Meta) is: they're running out of server space.
Those videos don't exist as pixie-dust clouds.

[MrMobodies]

Maybe they're doing that for the same reason Facebook (Meta) is: they're running out of server space.

... and they want to keep me paying for the Prime Membership and that advert fee's (not to see adverts) every month whilst serving up crap (* see below) and ruining my experience trying to find things that appeal to me from a few decades ago.

* I remember looking at a few videos from 2022 and 2023 and was put off with what looked to me like the scenes were filmed from a camera on the phone or I see jagged edges (poor quality cgi) and a search would tell 1 or 2 star on IMDB on quite a few so I had been avoiding them.

There was this mythical drama on the BBC a few years ago, I cannot remember what it was called, it just happen to come on after something after a program ended on what looked to me like this mythical setting, a bit like the from Addams Family, with teachers and children, magic and witches sort of theme. As soon as I saw a picture frame on the wall that the children were staring at with the picture moving and I could see what looks like pixels. I thought right that's enough piss piss poor editing from BBC and it has stooped to a new low. It was suppose to look like a picture in a frame that reflected that mythical setting not a conspicuous tablet display behind it.

[tszaboo]

Youtube also found that you are less likely to click on older videos, so let's just not show that.

Maybe they're doing that for the same reason Facebook (Meta) is: they're running out of server space.
Those videos don't exist as pixie-dust clouds.

Maybe I don't know why you are obtuse and arrogant at the same time in your replies.

[MrMobodies]

Maybe I don't know why you are obtuse and arrogant at the same time in your replies.

The real obtrusion and arrogance I find is not with him but with what happened to video searches on Amazon.

He told me what he thought, no matter how it may appear, he could have had a bad experience where nobody listened or helped him or was told nobody is going to care etc.

I am trying to raise awareness of these things as they seem to becoming excessive so if you could all help by posting stuff that causes inconvenience and annoyance and share your element hiding rules if you found a way that'd be great.

I just realized, I thought I posted this in the Bad/Bloated web design thread but now see I started another thread when I was trying to go back a few pages oops.
Going to see if one of the moderators can do this.