search result price doesn't match the actual price and picture,When select item price changes?????

[lony222]

Hi 

Very frustrated to find if i search for items and sort by lowest price, result displays picture and price.

When i open the item to buy /description  i must select the item from a list and then a more expensive price is listed

Example

Led torch headlight -  $7.30   ( pictire of headlight)

    open item& select - headlight $26.16

open item& select - battery $7.30 and picture changes

I Think this is deceiving and misleadind and waste of time

Anyone help to get around this????

[jerryman12a]

Unfortunately ebay lets Sellers list in this way ( or at least it appears so)

Nothing worse then thinking you have found an item at a good price only to find that a totally non related item from the drop selection list is the one at the advertised price and the other items have higher prices.

I make a point to try and avoid those sellers if I can , you will often find the same items listed on their own if you browse a bit .

[digital*ghost]

Unfortunately, this is abuse of the format, but happens all too often. The variations available are supposed to be for the same item with differences, so the seller could offer a torch with batteries, or one without, and have them at different prices, but they're not supposed to offer two completely different products in the same listing. More unfortunately, it's one of those things eBay seem reluctant to deal with (their solutions tend to be ruin it for everyone thanks to those who abuse a feature or tool and as frustrating as it can be to see so many listings that aren't using the format according to policies, I'd hate to see it withdrawn as it can be so helpful when used correctly).

That aside, there are some workarounds via search keywords and parameters.

If a product you're looking for has a common 'bait' item, include in your search keywords with a minus symbol, so in this case led torch headlight -battery. That will remove all results which use 'battery' in the title. And in cases where it's not in the title but it's in the name of the variation, the listing will still appear in search results, but the price for the torch will be displayed instead (this won't help too much, though, if the word you want to exclude is a common word for the item, eg I suspect things like 'battery included' might appear often, so you'll elimate those listings, too, making it a bit of a double-edged sword in some cases).

Another method is to start the search at a particular price point. If the average price of the item you're looking for is rarely below say $15, and the bait items are all $10 or under, set the search to only show results starting from $14+. Again, the same listings with the cheaper battery will be in results, but the price displayed will be for the more expensive item(s).