| name | search-by-synonyms |
| description | Find products on AliExpress that hide under many names — rotate keyword mutations (synonyms, trade/industrial terms, CN-marketplace names) over search-aliexpress, dedupe, and filter on the one defining spec. For hard-to-name commodity items. |
Search by Synonyms (keyword-mutation search)
Some products are cheap and common but have no single canonical name — the good,
well-priced listings hide under industrial jargon, trade terms, or literal
translations of the Chinese marketplace name. A plain single-query search misses
them. This skill rotates a set of query mutations over search-aliexpress,
merges and de-dupes the results, and filters hard on the one spec that actually
defines the product.
When to use
- The item is a commodity that sellers describe inconsistently (storage/organization
gear, tools, fittings, adapters, industrial supplies).
- A first plain search returns mostly the wrong size/variant of the right idea
(e.g. you want 60×40 cm and you keep getting 30×20 cm).
- The user says things like "these go by different names" / "I only found the good
one by accident."
If you already have the exact product name and just want a shortlist, use
search-aliexpress directly.
The method
- Build a mutation set — 4–10 queries spanning the naming axes below. Include
Hebrew and English; both work on the IL channel.
- Run each through
search-aliexpress (Choice-first stays the default). Keep
per-query result counts.
- Merge + de-dupe by item id (the same listing surfaces under several names —
that overlap is signal, not noise: items appearing under many queries are usually
the core matches).
- Filter on the defining spec — the one attribute that separates the product
you want from its look-alikes (usually a dimension, sometimes a material or
capacity). Drop everything that fails it, even if it's cheaper.
- Rank and hand off the survivors to
ship-options-il (lane and lead time) and
fetch-listing (landed cost).
Naming axes to rotate
For any given product, generate mutations across these axes:
- Plain name — the obvious consumer term.
- Trade / industrial term — what a warehouse or supplier calls it.
- Function framing — what it's used for (sellers title by use-case:
"for car parts", "for logistics", "for tools").
- Literal CN-marketplace translation — often an animal/shape metaphor. These are
gold because few competitors optimize for the English of them.
- Material / spec prefix —
HDPE, PP, stainless, thickened, heavy duty.
Worked example — the euro storage box
One physical product, all of these names on AliExpress:
| Axis | Queries |
|---|
| Plain | euro box, euro container, euro crate, ארגז אחסון |
| Trade / industrial | industrial tote, stackable storage bin, logistics turnover box, ארגז תעשייתי |
| Function framing | auto parts storage box, plastic injection storage box |
| CN-marketplace literal | turtle box (乌龟箱 — the ones with an attached folding lid, aka ACL) |
| Material / spec | thickened HDPE turnover box, heavy duty plastic crate |
Defining spec to filter on: footprint 60×40 cm (or 40×30 cm). Reverse-image
search also helps jump the naming gap — but it surfaces the wrong dimensions
first (30×20, 40×30), so the footprint filter is mandatory either way.
Reverse-image as a complementary hop
If the user has a photo of the exact item, use search-by-image — it drives
AliExpress's own visual search and leaps the naming problem entirely. Then still
apply the spec filter, because visual matches skew to the most-common (often
smaller) variant.
Output format
Product: <what we're hunting> Defining spec: <e.g. footprint 60×40 cm>
Mutations run (N): euro box · euro container · industrial tote · turtle box · …
Per-query counts:
"euro box" → 20 (3 pass spec)
"turtle box" → 14 (5 pass spec)
…
Merged unique items: <M> Passing defining spec: <K>
Shortlist (spec-passing, deduped, Choice-first):
1. <title> ₪<price> footprint <WxD> badges:[Choice] <url>
2. …
Dropped-on-spec: <count> (wrong size/material — list a couple if useful)
Next: `ship-options-il` + `fetch-listing` on the shortlist; `hunt-pricing-anomaly` on multi-size listings.
Composition
- Built on top of
search-aliexpress — inherits the Chrome-first route, the
locale handshake, the Choice default and all filters. Pass freeshipping /
ship_from straight through.
- Feeds
ship-options-il (lane), fetch-listing (landed cost) and
hunt-pricing-anomaly (per-volume / bulk).
Validation checklist
- At least 4 distinct mutations were run (not just pluralizations of one word).
- Results are de-duped by item id across mutations.
- The defining spec filter was applied and the dropped count is reported (a search
that keeps everything probably didn't filter).
- Locale/currency verified per
search-aliexpress (prices in ₪).
