Multiple Ebay listings for same ink cartridge from same seller

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Mistral001
Mistral001 Posts: 5,349 Forumite
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in Ebay, auctions, car boot sales, post & parcels
I have been buying most of my ink cartridges on ebay for over 10 years. I have noticed in the last year I get dozens of listings from the same seller for the same cartridge. It is annoying as you have to scroll down several pages to get a listing from a different seller.

Most sellers of ink cartridges seem to do it now. Why do they do it?

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  • forgotmyname
    forgotmyname Posts: 32,569 Forumite
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    More listings = hopefully more sales.

    Personally i just go elsewhere with any category like that.

    If your bored you can report it.
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  • ballisticbrian
    ballisticbrian Posts: 3,937 Forumite
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    Try searching using Best Match, not by price low to high. Also try the filters at the side where you can isolate the colour and type.


    Why do they do it? Because they see everyone else doing it and lack any real innovation or ability to see beyond the search results.
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  • Mistral001
    Mistral001 Posts: 5,349 Forumite
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    Since starting the thread, I have been doing a bit of research. I always search by cartridge number. Most sellers list by cartridge number and printer model they are compatible with. For example an HP 301XL will be compatible with dozens of HP printer models, hence you get dozens of listings for the same cartridge from the same seller.


    If you search by printer model number you get fewer listings. Still several combinations of number of and colour/black/size combinations to grapple with from same seller though
  • RFW
    RFW Posts: 10,025 Forumite
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    Probably different categories.

    Ebay have been trying to sort it out for years and failed. The current thinking is a move towards the Amazon model where it's multiple sellers on one listing rather than the other way round. The problem is it largely removes a buyer/seller relationship and would likely annoy a lot of sellers.
    .
  • Mistral001
    Mistral001 Posts: 5,349 Forumite
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    RFW wrote: »
    Probably different categories.

    Ebay have been trying to sort it out for years and failed. The current thinking is a move towards the Amazon model where it's multiple sellers on one listing rather than the other way round. The problem is it largely removes a buyer/seller relationship and would likely annoy a lot of sellers.

    Yes I have just discovered the "group similar listings" button which I believe was just introduced last year by ebay.

    As you say it appears that they are moving towards the Amazon model, which I have my doubts about, as the great thing I have always thought about ebay was that you could get a bargain by clever searching and watching for new listings. Now everybody is being directed to the lowest price listing for certain items.
  • ballisticbrian
    ballisticbrian Posts: 3,937 Forumite
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    In car parts, eBay allow sellers to add each vehicle the part will fit, however this doesn't stop them doing it.


    I have a theory (when looking at competitors products) that in certain "views", such as newly listed and best match, the product listing only gets so many "hits" where it appears in the results before it drops out or down the results.


    I've not had time to study this in great detail, but if I'm correct, sellers could actually be shooting themselves in the foot, as it possibly affect the whole of that sellers inventory and not just the one item concerned.
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  • RFW
    RFW Posts: 10,025 Forumite
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    Mistral001 wrote: »
    Yes I have just discovered the "group similar listings" button which I believe was just introduced last year by ebay.

    As you say it appears that they are moving towards the Amazon model, which I have my doubts about, as the great thing I have always thought about ebay was that you could get a bargain by clever searching and watching for new listings. Now everybody is being directed to the lowest price listing for certain items.
    One of the problems is that Amazon is quite well set up for it, Ebay really isn't. They've been trying to get people to use barcodes but I doubt it works very well.
    On Amazon many sellers will sell on similar items. A while back I was using some C size MailLite envelopes, they just fit the product, some other C sizes didn't fit. I ordered some and was sent a different brand, I ended up doing an AtoZ claim as the seller wasn't helpful with a return.
    With Ebay there's more likely to be vintage items sold in auction that could end up getting lost with items being grouped together, even using a "collectable" category as Amazon do.

    I really don't see how Ebay could move to that model without swapping a whole lot of problems for a whole lot more. They'd need to start in the easier categories (media, books, computing) and see how that goes but from past experience that's not how Ebay do things.
    .
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