
Amazon launches Part Finder, using technology acquired from Partpic in 2016 - sp332
https://techcrunch.com/2018/07/19/amazons-new-ar-part-finder-helps-you-shop-for-those-odd-nuts-and-bolts/
======
inferiorhuman
I remember when Amazon bought CDNow ages ago. CDNow let me easily find
specific CDs by artist and title AND they even had a great recommendation
algorithm. I discovered some great new music that way.

In 2002 Amazon shut down CDNow with the idea that you'd just use Amazon.com.
Unfortunately, search has been one of Amazon's weakest features. Sixteen years
later and I still miss CDNow. Amazon rarely shows exactly what I've searched
for and the filtering is almost entirely useless. I want to sort by price or
filter by vendor without having to guess which one of the twenty different
categories an item is in (often times it's in multiple categories). I want the
price of the item to mach what you've shown in the search results (or an
explanation why there's a significant difference). If you can't ship something
to California or the USA I want know BEFORE I try to check out. It should go
without saying I don't want ads in the search results either.

To me this "fancy" search by picture is not helpful (instead it's entirely
useless). If I want a fastener, I want to be able search by its attributes
(something Amazon is terrible about in general). Let's say I want a pretty
common metric bolt (M8) in a standard thread pitch (1.25mm). I'll go search or
"M8x1.25 bolt". I get a bunch of useless filters, including:

Fastener Material: Stainless Steel, Stainless Steel 304, Steel. Right. What
sort of stainless steel is the first option?

System Of (sic) Measurement: Metric. Nice that this is unchecked and the only
option.

Fastener Thread Size - Mating (eh?): No Thread Size Selected, M8-1.25. This
one is a combo box with a "Go" button for some reason. I literally just
entered the thread size and pitch I wanted in the search query. They can parse
a picture but they can't figure out I've entered this information in already?
Ugh.

Fastener Grade & Class: Class 10.9. Aside from the lack of selection, this is
where the stainless classification SHOULD go.

Categories... well, you've got bolts, hex bolts, eyebolts... Powersports Wheel
Spacers? AmazonFresh? WTF?

Meanwhile rather important filters are missing like: finish and length.

Edit: Contrast this with Grainger (whose site is good, but not great) or
McMaster-Carr (the gold standard).

~~~
tcmb
What you're describing is called "faceted search". For that to work properly,
two things are needed: The product data needs to be structured properly, so
that you can actually find the attributes on each product variant. This has to
be consistent for every vendor, of which Amazon has many, of course. So they
would have to define a common data format for every vendor selling M8 bolts,
or convert their formats into a common standard, making sure all the
attributes are there and can be located in the imports.

And second, someone needs to sit down and define which product attributes
should be represented as facets for the search and displayed accordingly in
the UI, and what input elements should be used to select the range of
parameters (checkboxes, sliders, text box etc). This is not easily solved by
algorithms which have no knowledge of the semantics of the attributes..

I suppose that a general-purpose, consumer-oriented site like Amazon doesn't
put enough priority on something like M8 steel bolts. The facets for, say,
computer monitors are much better, for example.

~~~
inferiorhuman
> I suppose that a general-purpose, consumer-oriented site like Amazon doesn't
> put enough priority on something like M8 steel bolts. The facets for, say,
> computer monitors are much better, for example.

It goes beyond that. I was searching for a water pump this evening and hit
Amazon out of instinct. Despite only returning 18 results across god-knows-
how-many categories, there was no option to filter by manufacturer. Amazon
simply doesn't get search.

------
tsomctl
While I don't want to be too presumptuous and say this is going to fail, it is
definitely not going to defeat Fastenal or McMaster-Carr. Really, it comes
down whether it's a generic part, or specifically engineered for a larger
assembly. If it's the former, it's going to be significantly easier to use a
website like McMaster-Carr where every item is completely organized into a
hierarchy. You can quickly drill down and find the exact part you need.
Amazon's Industrial & Scientific is a joke in comparison. A iPhone picture is
going to have a lot of error in regards to material, coating, grade,
threadpitch, etc.

And if it's a bespoke part, you are much better getting the part number from
an exploded diagram. Again, this is super fast and accurate (assuming you
actually have the diagrams, and that parts are still available). Engineers put
a huge amount of work into designing fasteners, and modern vehicles will have
thousands of different kinds. For example, Toyota transfer case has two
different bolts holding the housing together, one is 27 mm long, the other is
29 mm. A single picture is definitely not going to tell the length.

Maybe someday every single part will have an rfid tag on it. Don't bother
putting a barcode on each part, years of grease, corrosion, and wear (the very
things that cause you do need a new part) will obliterate it.

~~~
joe_the_user
There are two questions: one whether taking a picture and getting a part to
buy would be a desirable workflow for customers - and jeesh, it should be
obvious that it would be. The other question is whether the process would
work. That's a matter of tech, resolution of cameras and the design of the
interface. It's easy to imagine the system displaying multiple options for
things like the two nearly identical bolts. As this evolves, the system could
even offer the means to distinguish the various options ("count the threads",
"take a close-up" etc). And point is something like this could keep improving,
both in accuracy and the range of items involved where a hierarchical
organization is inherently static.

~~~
DanBC
> one whether taking a picture and getting a part to buy would be a desirable
> workflow for customers - and jeesh, it should be obvious that it would be.

It's useful for people buying one or two parts. Why chase that market when
most of these parts are sold by the thousand?

~~~
joe_the_user
Indeed, that's what a typical part supplier thinks.

But typical individual naturally thinks the opposite. There are probably a
billion or so owners of at least one mechanism that require replacement parts
at some point. Neither the manufacturer nor the suppliers wish to help them
but they have to be a pretty big market altogether so it seems likely someone
could profit from this _if_ it was done in an automated fashion.

------
stevenicr
Amazon launches part print in 2019. Take a picture or use the amazon ODB
connect app and have your new parts printed locally and delivered within
hours. Optionally have it professionally installed and recycled to make future
parts cheaper. /daydream

So many need this. The cost of parts is outrageous. I remember reading some
settlements where international part manufacturers were caught price fixing,
but have not seen any relief in costs.

If it's emissions related they know you'll pay or many places won't let you
register your car.

The cost of repairs has made it so I will never purchase an Infinity vehicle
again. The cost of parts has me asking how many O2 sensors a car has in it
before I consider it for buying. (that this is an expensive issue is imho
dumb)

Local repair shop owner on radio show says they need to markup parts by 30% in
order to pay for rent and insurance on the shops, and they need to markup the
labor 30% to stay in business. So the only way for those repair shops to stay
in business is to charge people more than their vehicle is worth to fix them,
and depends on cities forcing emissions tests to make it impossible to drive
without replacing expensive parts.

This isn't working well, though I suppose it is helping to sell new cars at
the expense of the environment and those who are fine with upcycling older
vehicles.

There has got to be a way to bring down the cost of replacement parts.

Are there any initiatives to have standard fit parts they fit multiple
vehicles like generic drugs? I'd weigh that in the decision to buy a new car
and it would affect the used car market well too.

Catalytic converter for one of my vehicles is $1800 they say, and it should be
assumed that although check engine light is warning about one being bad, the
second in the car is bound to need replacing very soon as well. Those two
parts cost more then the vehicle is worth kelly blue book and such.

Also, is anyone doing a user part runner / grabber service? I contacted
several scrap places requesting they pull and send parts from cars they had
listed, none replied. Is it only an option to go there and get the part off
the other vehicle in person? This process could be better, I'd pay a runner to
grab some parts from a few cars.

Oh I hope Amazon continues to disrupt in this space.

~~~
sokoloff
For new parts, get used to RockAuto.com. Most things I buy there arrive by
ground the next day (to MA from a local warehouse) or 2 days. 5% discount
codes available just for the 3 minutes of googling. They have "cheap crap"
parts as well as quality parts, so be thoughtful about your choice. The good
parts are good (OEM is often available) and very competitively priced, with
excellent search, and good logistics.

For used parts, there are a couple of online junkyards, but I've found the
best plan is to find your local pick-a-parts and figure out which ones will
pull parts for you. Most will in my experience, though if you go pick it
yourself, you're likely to get it for far cheaper. The one in the town I grew
up in had a Friday promotion where anything you could carry 50 feet was $25
(in the late 80s, probably $50 now). You could pull a transmission and get it
for $50. You could pull a car hood and pile a bunch of small parts onto it and
take that all for one price. The pick-a-part in the NH town I moved to after
college had a basic computer system and a network of other yards they worked
with. Ebay is another good outlet for some of these yards (with the associated
markup). I've replaced a few parts on my wife's CR-V with Ebay junkyard parts
with good results.

Even though it's annoying to pay a $1500 repair bill on an old car, if that
buys you another year of service for the car, it's still a great financial
trade. I do almost all my own work (no bodywork, paint, or tires and limited
exhaust work) and find the price of parts quite reasonable.

------
guntars
It didn’t work for me. It’s one of those things that would be awesome if it
worked with a human or better level accuracy, but they never do. Now I’ve
wasted a few minutes looking for a penny and good lighting to take a picture -
I could have just used the calipers to measure the bolt in the first place.

------
hourislate
From what I understand they are now competing with Granger in the Industrial
market.

[https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-09-11/amazon-
am...](https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-09-11/amazon-amzn-makes-
good-on-business-to-business-threat)

And now they are getting into Fastenals market it seems, which is a billion
dollar industry.

[https://www.fastenal.com/](https://www.fastenal.com/)

I was just recently trying to figure out where to get that little square clip
that slides onto the gas cylinder on my Aeron chair to keep the rod from
coming out.

~~~
inferiorhuman
Grainger has many things in their favor, here's hoping they can fend off
Amazon.

* Better search and organization of inventory

* Mail order discount arm (Zoro)

* Brick and mortar presence as well as the logistics to handle this.

* Clear labeling of certifications and country of origin compared to Amazon's persistent problems with counterfeits and that whole mess with third party sellers.

About the only place I'd expect Amazon to be able to compete is on logistics.

~~~
mhb
_About the only place I 'd expect Amazon to be able to compete is on
logistics._

Well, there's price too. Every time I look at Grainger I'm reminded how
desperately their items must be needed right NOW in order for a customer to
justify the price.

McMaster is worth it because the prices aren't quite as high and the site is
so delightful to use.

~~~
inferiorhuman
> Well, there's price too. Every time I look at Grainger I'm reminded how
> desperately their items must be needed right NOW in order for a customer to
> justify the price.

Their discount subsidiary, Zoro, offers prices that are quite competitive.
Likewise Grainger offers hefty discounts to their volume (a.k.a. business)
customers. Amazon is really not all that cheap.

------
phakding
I haven't used it, but hopefully it works. I work a ton on my car and many
times, I used to run to a specialty sears hardware store which had four long
isles full of screws, nuts and bolts. I have spent literally hours browing for
screws and nut/bolts. Unfortunately the store closed last year and I have
nowhere else to go.

------
redwards510
Is there really much profit from selling a $.10 screw that the average person
might need once or twice a year when they buy some unassembled product that is
missing parts? I assume people who would buy bulk don't need an app to tell
them what to buy. Or do they charge an insane markup for these one-offs?

Personally, I love an excuse to go to an old fashioned Ace Hardware store and
ask a real person for help.

~~~
whoisjuan
Yeah. You're definitely not the audience for this vertical. Just because this
doesn't seem profitable in your niche/individual usage doesn't mean that there
are individuals and orgs buying these things in bulk.

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teh_klev
Well done TechCrunch, another US website that has a bullshit policy where you
can't opt out of _all_ their third party tracking and data sharing with
"Foundation Partners", just piss off.

Guess there's no more TechCrunch for me. Mind you, no great loss.

------
lgleason
Partpic was founded by two non tech founders and Amanzon aqui hired them. Not
sure what technology they are brining to the table there.....and of course the
buyout was for a non disclosed amount... Typical Atlanta.

~~~
JeremyHerrman
Dismissing others' success, minimizing the importance of non-technical
founders (vision/recruiting/deal-closing), downplaying well-executed
technology (computer vision work by
[https://twitter.com/nashlie_s](https://twitter.com/nashlie_s)), and a
dismissive arrogant tone... Typical HN commenter.

~~~
ultrasounder
Well said! Total respect for her accomplishment.

