When is a bike jersey a stick of anti-perspirant?

I’ve been experimenting with Amazon.com’s sales information, which lists the top sellers for various categories such as women’s cycling apparel. Because this data mining is automated, I sometimes see weird things. Check out, for example, the top seller under the category “Women’s Cycling Jersey.”

Donna Karan women's cycling jersey?

That stick of $30 deoderant seems to be an outlier, but I see a number of miscategorized items in Amazon’s reports of top selling cycling apparel for women in various categories. Admittedly, a lot of cycling apparel, such as this top selling winter glove for “men”, are unisex.

Amazon also has a product category they call Women’s Athletic Dresses. When I see “athletic dresses,” I think of one piece outfits designed for freedom of movement, casual outdoor wear and probably wicking fabric such as this Columbia Prima Agua Dress or this prAna Quinn Dress. The top selling athletic dress according to Amazon is this tight, lacy evening dress.

I have to drop down to number 5 on the list to find the first product that matches the category, so I’ll probably drop this athletic dress category from my cycling & athletic apparel list.

One more important tip regarding these top sellers: popularity does not necessarily mean quality. Today’s top selling cycling glove — this eight dollar winter glove that claims to work with touchscreen devices — apparently falls apart. Several of these items ship straight from China, so pay attention to the size notes and read the online reviews before purchasing!

Click here to see top selling women’s cycling and athletic apparel as reported by Amazon. Let me know if there are other categories you would like to see.

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