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Epinions.com site status
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Sitewide: Latest Member Center Post:
Epinions Site Update
Eroyalties System: August 8, 2008: July Member Income Share and Advisor Income Share Bonus have both been deposited into your Earnings Summary balance.
MPR/MPA has also been updated.
If you earned a 10 for 10 bonus for July, those credits should be in your account.
For more information:
Site Status Details
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Frequently Asked Questions about Product Catalog Transition
As part of the merger with DealTime, we will be making some changes to the Epinions product database. Specifically, we are changing the detail level of our product catalog. We have switched to the DealTime product catalog and will transition to it in a series of phases. The first phase will happen early next week. (The subcategories in phase 1 are listed in the FAQ). The rest of the subcategories that will be affected will be transitioned over the next few months. We will post an update when this happens.
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1.
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What does it mean that the product catalog will be at a more detailed level?
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In the categories that are being transitioned, we will now list every color and configuration of a product as a separate product. For instance, the newest personal computer could be listed more than once for the same functioning product (such as by faster processing speed).
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Why was this transition made?
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Maintaining a product catalog is very time consuming and difficult. One of the many benefits of the merger is that we will only need to maintain one catalog moving forward. This means that with the same resources we should be able to make even more progress.
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For these subcategories why was DealTime's product catalog used?
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Basically, the DealTime product catalog was more complete and detailed than the Epinions product catalog. First, there are many more products than we had before. Next, subcategory pages will show more values to browse from. For instance, if you were searching for a DVD player before the integration, the subcategory page would have type, estimated price, feature, and brand as browseable values. After the integration, the values that will be browseable are brand, progressive scan, estimated price, DVD type, video outputs, and audio outputs.
Also, there will be more specs on product pages for the technical products such as digital cameras and DVD players. You can see the specs on the view details link on the product page.
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4.
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What subcategories are in the first phase for transition?
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Here is the first phase of subcategories to be transitioned to the DealTime product catalog.
Business & Technology
Electronics
Computers & Software
Cars
Sports & Outdoors
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Which categories are going to be transitioned in the second phase and when will this happen?
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The second phase of subcategories will be transitioned in mid June. Here are the subcategories for the second phase.
Games
Electronics
Home & Garden
Kids & Family
Health
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Which categories are going to be transitioned in the third phase and when will this happen?
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The third phase of subcategories will be transitioned in early July. Here are the subcategories for the third phase.
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What will happen to reviews on the products in these categories?
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We transferred as many reviews as we were able to from the old products to the new ones. In the example of the personal computer that will have multiple configurations listed (such as by specific processing speeds), we placed the review on one of the new products if we were able to determine which the review was written on. If we were unable to determine which configuration the of the personal computer the review was written on, we simply left the review on the old product and made the review visible on all the new products.
Therefore, even if the author owned the 1000MHz version, their review will show up on the under 366Mhz version (the author's profile page and the full review page will list the version of the product which they wrote the review on). It will be available to read on all configurations of the product.
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8.
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Why are my reviews showing up on multiple products?
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As stated above, we are switching to the DealTime catalog and by doing so, changing the way products are categorized. While you could see your newest personal computer review across three product pages, it will still be attached to one of those products on your profile page. These reviews are not off-topic and shouldn't be rated as so.
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What if my review is attached to the wrong version of the product (color/configuration)?
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When the transition was made from a more general product to a more detailed one, we didn't know which detailed product the author owned. If we chose the incorrect product, please use the move review bugs form to have the review moved.
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What if the new product catalog doesn't have a product match for a review I've already written?
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Since we are transitioning to the DealTime product catalog, there are definitely going to be some differences. If we can't find your product in the automated transition, we will try to find it manually. If there isn't a close match, we will have to add the product to the product catalog. If that is the case, your review and the product you reviewed, will only be viewable on your profile page until that product is added to the DealTime product catalog. If one of your reviews is only accessible from your profile page, it is because we were not able to match the product. If you find the product, please let us know by using the move review bug form.
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Will we still be able to suggest a product to our Category Leads for these transitioned categories?
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Suggest a product will be disrupted in the transitioned categories for a short time. The reason for this is because the way products and brands are categorized in the DealTime product catalog is different than how it works currently on Epinions. The suggest a product forms that the Category Leads use will need to be reconfigured. We will let you know when the suggest a product for the transitioned categories is available again.
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Can I still suggest a product if the subcategory is not yet transitioned?
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Yes, you can still suggest a product as you do today. Before every category is transitioned, the suggest a product for that category will be disrupted for a short time, but we will communicate a few weeks ahead of time when that happens.
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Will my income share be affected at all during this transition?
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For the majority of the reviews, income share will not be affected. For the reviews that are on products that have not been mapped to DealTime products, income share may be negatively impacted. This is because these products will not be available through search or browsing. We will therefore be adding these products as quickly as possible. You can help by letting us know if your review should be moved to another product through the move review bug form.
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Why don't all my reviews show up on DealTime?
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DealTime only shows products on the website if one of their contracted merchants has the product in stock. This is defined as an "offer". If a merchant doesn't have the product in stock, it won't be a visible product on the site. However, Epinions will still show every product in the catalog, no matter if DealTime has an "offer" for the product or not. Epinions will continue to show every review as we do today.
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What if my favorite category on Epinions isn't represented on DealTime? Will my category go away?
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No. As the integration continues, the products and categories available on the two sites will begin to merge. However, even if DealTime does not add a category, it will still be available on Epinions.
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Will my reviews still be linked from Google?
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Yes, the reviews and products will still be accessible from outside sources, such as Google.
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Thank you for taking the time to read through this FAQ. We hope that it answered many of the questions that you had about this transition. We would also like to thank you for your continued support of Epinions. We look forward to a new and exciting future together!
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