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why eCRATER requires a unique entry for each color

 
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cosmicray



Posts: 7286

PostPosted: Sun Aug 19, 2018 3:23 pm    Post subject: why eCRATER requires a unique entry for each color Reply with quote

alternate title: Shady behavior at the Big-E

So, someone I know has the gear to do proper UV gel nail colors, and I thought I could find it cheaper online, as none of the local outlets in my area stock the real (needs a UV light) UV gel nail colors.

Off I go to Big-E. Enter my search terms, sort it by Lowest Price + Shipping. Wow, some of these hit results look like a really good deal … until I start examining them more closely.

Some of the sellers over there are manipulating the search results by doing this … Take 20 colors of gel nail color, enter then in the table for one listing (where each cost about $15-$25 each). Then they add another line for top coat and set it at a price of $6.99, make the top coat the default color for the listing. Voila ! The listing comes up as $6.99, until you select one of the actual colors. Then you see the real price, which doesn't come up in the search result sorting. Shady.

On eCRATER they are supposed to create a listing for each color, thereby avoiding this trap. Good for eCRATER.
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MrsDsHandKnits



Posts: 334

PostPosted: Sun Aug 19, 2018 4:31 pm    Post subject: Shady Behavior Reply with quote

There is "shady behavior" everywhere....there are misrepresentations of products, items everywhere...and it doesn't just happen on "E".... it happens EVERYWHERE, including eCRATER! Buyers can be mislead by unscrupulous sellers anywhere, at any time.
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SheilaDeesPostcards
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Posts: 4614

PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2018 5:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

@ CosmicRay .. I find the same thing when I search there also, but it isn't the sellers who are manipulating the search results. I've used the feature several times in the past both as a seller and buyer. There is no default for the listing. I just checked to be sure something hadn't changed since I used the feature and it hasn't. The seller has no way to set a default. I've found that if your search was broad enough that it fit most of the items in the basic listing, then the lowest priced item will be shown in the search.

I've used the feature for flatware so I can write the basic listing for the flatware, then use the drop-down for knife, dinner fork, salad fork, teaspoon, soup spoon, meat fork, etc. where each piece will have it's own price. If the buyer looks for Brand Pattern fork they will be shown my listing. Then they will have to use the drop-down to find the type of fork and price. It also seems to me that they show the listing even if the customer specified Brand Pattern meat fork and I don't have any meat forks, only dinner forks.
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cosmicray



Posts: 7286

PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2018 11:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

@SheilaDeesPostcards

Mea culpa then. It sure appeared that a specific color was being designated as default. Some listings show a range of prices in the search result, while others do not.
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cosmicray



Posts: 7286

PostPosted: Tue Aug 28, 2018 1:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Now this same issue has come up on the Big-A. I am currently helping someone close to me sort out what happened. It appears that a seller over there is using a single listing to represent different assortment packs of bandanas, and using the color array to try to differentiate the listings. It's very easy to not see what you are getting, and why.

the ASIN (as best as I can figure it out) is B01F109PSQ

When you first view the listing, the title does say 'assorted' but doesn't mention the quantity in the assortment. That has been hidden within the color attribute as 'Mix-3pcs'. the picture shows 15 different colors. Instead of using a picture with 3, they used a stock picture. If I tried something like that, I would at least overlay '3 pcs' or 'x3' onto the image. But that, as we all know, would offend Google Product Search.

So each of those 'colors' should have been a unique listing.

While it's not intuitively obvious why the seller did this, I have a hunch it may have had something to do with listing ranking. By combining all the sales/traffic into one listing, it pushes that listing up in the sub-categories. Does anyone else concur in this supposition ?

edit: I was just emailed the order page from over there. The order says …
Items Ordered Price
2 of: Assorted Novelty Bandana Cotton Paisley Tie Dye Bandanas Pack $9.99 Sold by: La closure (seller profile)

Nothing on the order page mentions the color ordered, or the embedded assortment quantity. That's just plain wrong. The seller actually fulfilled the order with a single six piece assortment pack. Technically, nothing wrong with that, but it still feels goofy. The buyer erroneously thought they were getting the wheel assortment as shown in the image (14 or 15 pieces).
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MoonwishesStore
moderator


Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Wed Aug 29, 2018 8:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Someone on the Amazon forum is whining as they added their listing to a listing that was selling 6 packs of what he only had one pack of. He claims to have mentioned this in the description and some other place, but what he seems to not understand is that the description comes from the same person that added in all the other info on the product page! He also doesn't understand what the word default means. But he is royally ticked off and not happy that none of the other sellers agree with him that the buyer needs five more packs or a complete refund, especially since it has gone to the A2Z claim already.

I doubt that he was trying to do something shady, but too dumb to know what he was doing.
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SheilaDeesPostcards
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Posts: 4614

PostPosted: Wed Aug 29, 2018 10:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Cosmicray, sorry your friend had to learn the hard way about the Amazon way of listing. This is actually a method encouraged by Amazon for variations and Amazon uses the method themselves when they create a listing. The seller should have added a note to the description to let the buyer know that the little photos below the description show the different options and prices. If you go to the home page and enter the ASIN number (no need to say ASIN) you'll see the listing says the price is $4.99 - $24.99 FREE Shipping and some colors are Prime eligible. Once you go into the listing, as you click on each thumbnail, you'll see the number included in the package, the price for that package, and on the right you'll see who will be shipping (seller or Amazon).

It appears your friend ordered 2 "Mix - 3pcs" at $9.99 each. If the seller filled the order with a single 6 pcs assortment your friend could claim they didn't receive the correct order. The "Mix - 6pcs" doesn't show which 6 and the price is $12.99, or the "6pieces(6colors)" shows the 6 colors you'll receive and cost $14.99. If they haven't opened the package, they should request a return as not as described. Then they can order the entire 12 pcs assortment for $24.99 or they can shop with a different seller.

As you said when you started this topic, this is one reason eCRATER requires a separate listing for each size and each color. It's better for the buyer AND the seller! Some may disagree with me that it's better for the seller, however, the seller has way more listings in there store and there are less changes the buyer orders the wrong color/size. Thank you eCRATER!
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cosmicray



Posts: 7286

PostPosted: Wed Aug 29, 2018 11:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

@SheilaDeesPostcards,

She had already initiated the return before I got involved. The replacement has been ordered from somewhere else, I know not where. While shopping at Wally today, I called her and mentioned that crafts had bandanas for 97-cents each, although the color selection was somewhat limited.

I do not understand why Amazon encourages that, unless the alternate would be a huge proliferation of listings (or catalog entries). I do suspect that there is some relationship between what Amazon is doing here, and how GPS implements variants, but that's only a hunch on my part.

In any case, the eCRATER way would have prevented the situation that developed here. That the quantity was encoded in the color was unacceptable, since the color/quantity never made it to the order detail (which makes it really difficult to validate what you got against what you ordered). I reported the listing, but if this is the recommended method, then nothing will come of it.
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