Option 1:

[Canon]
[HP] >> >> list of 3-4 cartridges
[Epson]

In this option, the main categories are the ink manufacturers. The sub-categories are the printer models, and there you will find the cartridges for that particular printer.

Problems: There doesn't appear to be a "right" way to do this using osCommerce. Many cartridges are used for 20+ different printers. I would not want to add the same cartridge to 20+ printer categories because it's not very dynamic. If I had to change something in the product description, I would have to go through all 20+ of those printer categories to change that cartridge in all of them.

[b]Option 2:

[Canon] >> List of 20-30 cartridges
[HP] >> List of 20-30 cartridges
[Epson] >> List of 20-30 cartridges

In this option, the main categories are the ink manufacturers. There you will find all of the cartridges made by that manufacturer. After you select a cartridge, the product description will include which printers that particular cartridge works for.

Problems: This option does not allow visitors to find their ink based on the printer they have. Instead, they have to know which cartridge they need by the model number of the cartridge. As you could imagine, this makes it much more trouble for many visitors.

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Conclusion: Is option 1 possible with osCommerce? There seems to be a major problem because the same product would have to be added to multiple categories (and it doesn't appear that osCommerce can handle that dynamically). For this reason, I think option 2 may be much easier for me to create. But as you could imagine, it's not easy for someone to find their product if they don't know the cartridge model number.

Your suggestions please? I'm new to osCommerce. Or perhaps you'd like to suggest a different e-commerce solution that will better fulfill my requirements.

Oh wow, I just found out you can link a product to many different categories. And it can be updated dynamically accross all of them. I just experimented and found that out. It's a very nice feature that almost seems like it's made for what I'm trying to do.

Now I'm still stuck between option 1 and 2. Option 1 seems like the better one (in finding ink based on your printer)... but also a "scarier" one because I'll have to go through and add literally hundreds of printers for each brand.

What do you guys think. Go through the hassle of adding hundreds of printers, or simply list the ink cartridges for each manufacturer (with a list of printers it works for in the description)?

From a consumer's POV, I'd look for a refill for my printer by my printer type rather than having to go through manufacturers to find the cartridges, then hope I click on the right one by chance ;)

Well -as you discovered - osC allows you to copy products across many categories...

My personal thought would be to categorize by "printer type" or "cartridge type" rather then manufacturer...

osC has a search by manufacturer component integrated - so, as long as you assign a manufacturer to each product you enter - your visitors will be easily able to sort according to this field if required...

Also - you may want to take agood look at Zen-Cart - built on osC but have some additional integrated tools you may like - in your instance - the advanced search tool is nice - where product descriptions are more readily searchable - this would also address some of your needs, as users could readily find their printer model simply by entering it into the search field (obviously you would have to have a complete compatability matrix on each offering) - but this "may" be your best solution...

Hopw this helps..

Gargoyle, what do you mean by "printer type" or "cartridge type". Could you give a specific example of how a category with its subcategories might look?

I know what you mean by assigning manufacturers.

Something like this maybe? (just checked out how others had done it)

Inkjet cartridges > Color/Black
Inkjet refill kits> Color/Black
Bulk inks
Inkjet cleaning cartridges
Plotter ink supplies

Some people used the manufacturer approach - some didnt - I like this approach better...and think it fits into osC "easier" - also - considering your situation of compatability across multiple manufacturers - maybe this would be smoother?

Anyway, just my take on it - Let me know how you decide to approach this -

It seems that with this approach:

Inkjet cartridges > Color/Black > All the cartridges...

Would have a list of way too many. Plus, some only work for canon, some for espon, some for HP. So I don't see any sense in listing them all on one page when they could be categorized.

I honestly think the manufacturer categorization would make more sense... maybe i'm wrong. Prove me wrong if I am :)

Thanks for your input!

Hi Azo,

Wouldnt even want to prove you wrong :D

Just offering up some options - do a search on google for printer cartridges - alot handle it according to manufacturer and some handle it according to "type"

Maybe manufacturer is the best way - let me know how you end up doing it and if it worked well for you..

Always curious about such things :D