Dear Alibaba members,

In order to make searching for products easier and more efficient, on Sept 13, 2007,
Industrial Supplies will no longer exist. We have divided this category into the following
6 new categories:

Manufacturing & Processing Machinery
General Industrial Equipment
General Mechanical Components
Hardware
Tools
Measurement & Analysis Instruments

With our new narrower categories you can now:

*Find the right products faster
*Make and receive more specific inquiries
*Promote your products more efficiently

Leave your thoughts and suggestions about our new Product Categories below:

Quoting from [Admin4]:

Dear Alibaba members,

In order to make searching for products easier and more efficient, on Sept 13, 2007,
Industrial Supplies will no longer exist. We have divided this category into the following
6 new categories:

Manufacturing & Processing Machinery
General Industrial Equipment
General Mechanical Components

Hardware
Tools
Measurement & Analysis Instruments

With our new narrower categories you can now:

*Find the right products faster

*Make and receive more specific inquiries

*Promote your products more efficiently

Leave your thoughts and suggestions about our new Product Categories below:

Sounds great~~

More refined search, more professional Alibaba is, more business opportunities members will get.

Replying to [Admin4]:

For me it was like stabbing a knife in my back! Just think about this: how could it be more efficient having to search through six categories instead of one?

Maybe your search engine has become more effiecient, but does that really make a difference? I remember that before I sometimes arrived at the same sub-category when searching for certain products from different categories, so part of the job of the search engine was redundant, but is that so important?

Now I search for the same sales leads on three different web sites (not Alibaba). I get the same results (plus just slightly more), and spend less time for that than going through six categories at Alibaba.

I feel like you shot yourself in your own foot, "shooting" us in the process.

Replying to [germex]:

Dear germex

Thank you for your comments on the new categories. We are sorry to hear that the category changes are causing you some trouble. We do listen to all the feedback that we receive and try to work to make the categories suit our users.

It was not an easy decision to split the category as we did and we finally made the decision after many weeks of discussion. Please allow us to explain why we divided the Industrial Supplies category into 6 top categories.

*There were too many selling leads in the category

*The definition of some sub-categories was unclear. This made it difficult to narrow down search results

*Some products did not have suitable categories.

*More specific categories were required for specific industries.

Although the new categories may take some time to get used to, we believe they will quickly become an easier way to search for products. In removing the Industrial Supplies category, most products should be one step faster to find. In addition, we hope this will help you get

more specific inquiries and promote your specific products more effectively.

If you have other questions or suggestions, please do tell us as we are continuing to develop and improve the categories.

---

Recapping the changes to the categories in a little more detail, Industrial Supplies will no longer exist. We have divided this category into the following 6 new categories:

We have moved Manufacturing and Processing Machinery, such as Machine Tools to Manufacturing & Processing Machinery.

We have moved Industrial Equipment, such as Boilers and Enginesto General Industrial Equipment.
We have moved Hardware, such as Nailsand Nuts to Hardware.

We have moved Tools, such asHand Tools and Electric Power Tools to Tools.

We have moved Measurement & Analysis Instruments, such as Electrical Instrumentsand Optical Instruments to Measurement & Analysis Instruments.

Replying to [Admin4]:

Some days ago I read a comment from you or one of your colleagues, saying that certain lamps and lights are not in the "Lamps and Lighting" section, but for example in the automotive section. This has of course nothing to do with Industrial Supplies, but is helpful as an example for what I feel is the right thing to do.

In the case of lamps, I feel like all kinds of lamps - no exceptions - should be in that category. Additionally (but not instead of), automotive lighting should be in the automotive category, signal and indicator lamps might be in the computer and electronics category, etc.

There should be many ways to find the same item, parting from where somebody might want to search (following his own logic, not yours), and in each and every case get him where he wants to get.

I think that's the right way to organize the categories, not the restrictive appraoch you are using. Please understand that we are always instinctively going to search depending on our job/business (and the resulting needs), and not depending on your logic as website administrators. To put it in other words, please give us some REAL customer service, making our lives easier, not more difficult. Focus on OUR intuitive approach.

Reply to [germex]:

Dear Germex,

Thank you for your great comments and advice. We are currently in the process of doing what you suggest with virtual categories. In the situation you mentioned with Automotive lighting, we would place these products directly under Auto Electrical System and also place a cross link in the Lights and Lighting category. As an example of a group which has already been cross-linked, you can take a look at the excess Inventory category.

Please be patient and you will see more cross-links appearing on the site soon.

Thank you again for the great advice.

Replying to [Admin4]:

The best thing right now for me is that somebody (you) answered. Sometimes we are left wondering if our posts are even read at all, so a reply like yours is highly appreciated.

Thank you for "crosslinking" categories and sub-categories! That's probably the best news. Hopefully the "Lighting" category will just be the first to be organized like this, with all the other following later.

In the forum for Building Materials you asked for input regarding the remodelling of the Construction and Real Estate forum. Well, as I'm not active in this field, unfortunately I can't give you any precise advice or recommendations, but as long as you continue with that "crosslinking" concept, you can't be too far of target.

Questions like, "who makes it, who buys it, who else might be interested in this product" should help you making the right decisions.