"Parts Only" filter when searching

[bordonbert]

Hi.  Once again I am looking for an electronic item and get pages and pages of listings all marked "Parts Only".  This is not mentioned in the listing title but only as a category underneath along with "Brand New" and "Used".  Surely there is a way to filter out the damned parts only items as they choke up the search results no end?  If not then why not???

If there is something I am just dumbly missing I can't find it.  I can remove anything from the title description using "-parts".  But the sellers cleverly don't mention this in the title, only underneath where I don't seems to be able to specify.  And there doesn't seem to be anything in the left hand list of filters to cover it either.

And as an aside from my real problem, what is with "Box Only" listings?  Do people really pay significant sums for only the box to some items?  Is this just a hope that someone won't see the box only designation and buy it thinking it is the high priced item?  Come on eBay, start policing yourselves and cut this rubbish out!

[crafty_cat_lover · Accepted solution]

I don't know how it works on the APP but on my laptop near the bottom of the left hand side there is a condition filter. If the category you are searching allows for parts or not working (not all do) then you should be able to select all other relevant conditions there.

As for the box only listings, there are items which are worth more if they are boxed (watches springs to mind) so the sale of a box can be for a legitimate reason. With the MBG it is not worth any seller trying to scam a buyer into thinking they are getting a high priced item as they will just have to pay postage for the buyer to return it.

[bordonbert]

Wahey, you are right!  It IS there in the condition section.  I hadn't seen that.  Shame they don't also include "Do not display" tickboxes as an option for each of the categories as well.  You have to tick ALL of the other categories to exclude one.  But hey, you have definitely stymied my moan.  Thanks for the heads up Crafty-Cat Lover.

[davidninetynine]

As above. The market for boxes is other ebay sellers who want to make a listed item more desirable.

They will be able to ask for a higher price if they can describe an item as "with original box".

Especially if they word their listing so as to create the impression that the item is "only used once" or "opened only to take pictures"...

[bordonbert]

---

 You said:

Especially if they word their listing so as to create the impression that the item is "only used once" or "opened only to take pictures"...

Yep, as always Dave the human animal's capacity for skullduggery and duplicity knows no bounds!  (Lucky that they were my today's words. 😁)

[bordonbert]

Now here is a real oddity, (stupidity?).

I've just tried to use what was advised above in a search and, whaddyaknow, I don't get offered the "Parts Only" option in Condition.  I only have "New" and "Used".  Even clicking on "Show All" opens the criteria selection window but still only lists those two options.  So it doesn't seem to be a universal fix.

I'm searching for Graphics Cards.  What I have found is that if I search for just "NVidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB graphics card" the options are all there, but so are the Box Only items.  Just adding "-box" to the search, i.e. using "NVidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB graphics card -box", makes them vanish and only "New" and "Used" appear and there are still "Parts Only" items in the results.

What on Earth is the logic behind that?