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Chapter 11: Match confidence and EAN/UPC matching

Every result in ArbiSource is a match between a retailer's product and an Amazon listing. How that match was made, and how sure ArbiSource is about it, decides how much checking you need to do. Getting these settings right is one of the quickest ways to see more results, including some that other users filter out.

Two ways ArbiSource matches products​

  • By barcode. Some retailers show each product's EAN or UPC (the barcode number). ArbiSource uses it to find the exact Amazon listing. These stores show Match Type: UPC/EAN on their Vault tile, and their results show EAN/UPC Match with the barcode in the footer of the result panel.
  • By text and image. Most retailers don't show barcodes, so ArbiSource compares the product title and photo with Amazon's. These stores show Match Type: Text/Image, and each result shows a Match Confidence score, such as Match Confidence: 88%.

Even at barcode stores, ArbiSource still uses text and image matching for products that don't have a barcode on the retailer's site, and for barcodes that turn out to be wrong. Text and image matching is accurate most of the time, but it can never be quite as reliable as a barcode, so always compare the photos, title, pack size and variation yourself (the Match question in Chapter 20).

What the confidence score means​

Match confidence is how sure ArbiSource is that the two products are the same. It combines two scores, which you can see by hovering over the confidence at the bottom of the result:

  • Image Confidence: how closely the photos match.
  • Title Confidence: how closely the names match.

You can filter on all three under Match Confidence in the Filters drawer and on Account → Global Filters: Match Confidence, Image Confidence and Title Confidence.

Where to set it​

Around 70% is the setting we recommend for everyday sourcing. It's the best balance between seeing plenty of results and keeping mismatches down.

  • Much higher (90% or more) removes many genuine matches that have slightly different photos or titles.
  • Lower shows you more results, and some will be hidden gems that other ArbiSource users have filtered out. You'll also see more mismatches to check by hand. Below about 50%, a result is more likely to be a mismatch than a match.

The in-app welcome guide suggests "around 60 to 70%". Treat that as the same advice: start at 70%, and drop towards 60% when you're comfortable checking matches quickly.

If one store's photos are poor but its titles are good (or the other way round), adjust Image Confidence or Title Confidence on their own rather than lowering the overall score.

Finding hidden gems at barcode stores​

Barcode matches are reliable even when the photos look different, so you can go much lower on confidence at those stores:

  1. In the Vault, switch on EAN/UPC Match Stores Only (top right) and pick a store with Match Type: UPC/EAN.
  2. In the Filters drawer, check Only show EAN/UPC matches and set all three confidence sliders much lower.
  3. Apply the filters and look through the extra results. You'll come across a few more mismatches, but the new results usually outweigh them.
  4. Save it as its own Filter Set, for example "Low Confidence EAN", so you can switch to it in one click.

Why Only show EAN/UPC matches shouldn't be your everyday setting​

Only show EAN/UPC matches removes every text-and-image match, which is most retailers on ArbiSource. Leave it unchecked in your Global Filters and only switch to it (through a Filter Set) when you're working barcode stores on purpose. If your results suddenly drop, check it hasn't been left on (Chapter 8).

Fixing a wrong match​

  • Report Mismatch, on the right-hand side of the result panel, sends the mismatch to ArbiSource. With Exclude Mismatches on (it is by default), mismatches you've reported are hidden from your results, and so are products reported by the ArbiSource team or by three or more users.
  • If a small black circle with an arrow appears next to the Amazon product name, ArbiSource found other possible matches. Click it to see them in order of confidence, hover to see each name and image, and click the right one. The result is worked out again for that listing. If it's no longer profitable, remove it.
Screenshot coming soon

a US result panel with the match confidence hover showing Image Confidence and Title Confidence, the Report Mismatch button on the right and the other-matches arrow next to the Amazon product name.

Mastering Result Panels (ArbiSource). Recorded on an earlier version of the interface; it includes the match details at the bottom of the panel.

Checklist​

  • My everyday match confidence is around 70%
  • Only show EAN/UPC matches is unchecked in my Global Filters
  • I have a separate low-confidence Filter Set for barcode stores
  • I know how to report a mismatch and pick another match