Suppressing duplicate model numbers in the product list?

I have a few products that need to be listed under more than one manufacturer. The only way I've found to make them show up under Manufacturers "A", "B", and "C" is to duplicate the record, making three copies of it, with the manufacturer set to A on the 1st, B on the 2nd, C on the 3rd. This works great when browsing a category and then filtering by manufacturer, but before applying the filter (or when searching) the product appears 3 times. Is there a way to suppress multiple model numbers in search results and product listings? The product_id is different for each, but the model numbers are the same.

See here for an example: http://www.bamagolfcart.com/index.ph...&cPath=166_114

The first 3 products (#2151) are exactly the same except for manufacturer.

Any help with this, or with a way to have multiple manufacturers for a single product? Even just to point me to the right file and maybe I can stumble through it?

Zen-Cart doesn't allow for multiple manufacturers (and I don't know how to implement it) so duplicate records are the only way I know how to handle them. I can live with the duplicates if they can just be suppressed in the listing somehow.

What is the purpose of the different manufactuerers if you don't want to display them in the listing?

Do they always have the same price?

Do they really need to be separate or could you do this with attributes?

The problem with Attributes to hold the manufactuerers information is now you cannot search on the manufacturerer nor have the dropdown for it nor add to cart unless on the product _info page ...

Could you give more information about the need for having the 3 manufactuerers on the Catalog?

The only reason I need to have 3 is because that product works for 3 manufacturers and I need it to show up in the list when filtered by manufacturer A, B or C. Everything is identical except for manufacturer. I know it's not the best way to do it, but because Zen-Cart doesn't allow for multiple manufacturers it's the only way I know how. :cry:

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Originally Posted by Ajeh

The problem with Attributes to hold the manufactuerers information is now you cannot search on the manufacturerer nor have the dropdown for it nor add to cart unless on the product _info page ...

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That's exactly why I'm not using attributes. they need to be able to be searched and browsed by manufacturer. Products need to be able to be found in 2 ways... (1) by choosing a manufacturer and filtering by category, and (2) by choosing a category then filtering by manufacturer.

Might your customers actually like the fact that they can see the 3 so that they can pick and choose?

I am kind of a fussy shopper and often prefer one over another on many products ... :smile:

The problem with supressing the duplicates is which gets suppressed? Now, one gets sold over the other 3 if you suppress 2 ...

I think you would then lose out on the sales of the other 2 because of that ... :unsure:

They're actually the same product, so if the duplicates never get sold that's OK. The only reason the 2nd and 3rd ones exist is so they can have a 2nd and 3rd manufacturer. Each one actually lists all three manufacturers in the description and displays oem numbers for all 3 so it really doesn't matter which gets suppressed, as long as one of them shows up.

I know it's a lousy solution... I just gave up on trying to implement something like products_to_manufacturers so one product can have more than one manufacturer. It was making my eyes cross and I decided that's beyond my level of knowledge. :blink:

Well ... if you always have in stock a particular manufacturer you could force that filter on the product listing ...

Or, leave it as is and see which appeals most to your customers and reconsider the filter after knowing more ...

From a consumer stand point, seeing the manufacturers is helpful ... from a store owner stand point it is also helpful on inventory if this is actually used that way ...

Problem is, if I say I want a given manufacturer's product as displayed, is that the one I get? Or do you just toss me whatever you grab off the shelf? :unsure:

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Originally Posted by Ajeh

Problem is, if I say I want a given manufacturer's product as displayed, is that the one I get? Or do you just toss me whatever you grab off the shelf? :unsure:

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You get the same product regardless of the "manufacturer" chosen. The manufacturer in this case isn't the 'maker' of the product, but the manufacturer that the product 'fits'. Hope that makes sense! :smile: