Type "RTX 3080" into eBay and the results mix four different products: the original RTX 3080 10GB, the later RTX 3080 12GB, the RTX 3080 Ti, and laptops with a mobile "RTX 3080". They all contain the string "3080", so a search for that string finds every one of them.
That's an annoyance when you're browsing. When you're running a price alert, it's a real problem. The alert fires on a "cheap 3080" that turns out to be a laptop, or it misses the 3080 you wanted because the exclude keyword you added to block the Ti also blocked that card.
This guide covers which model names collide, why the obvious exclude fails, and how to filter properly.
The model names that contain other model names
PC part names stack suffixes onto a base number, so the base model's name is a substring of every step up:
| You want | eBay also returns |
|---|---|
| RTX 3080 10GB | RTX 3080 12GB, RTX 3080 Ti, laptop RTX 3080 (16GB) |
| RTX 3060 12GB | RTX 3060 8GB, RTX 3060 Ti, laptop RTX 3060 (6GB) |
| RTX 4070 | RTX 4070 Super, 4070 Ti, 4070 Ti Super, laptop RTX 4070 (8GB) |
| Ryzen 7 5800X | Ryzen 7 5800X3D |
Some of these differences are worth real money, and some cards share a memory size, so you can't always tell them apart by memory. The RTX 3080 Ti and the RTX 3080 12GB both have 12GB. The 4070, 4070 Super and 4070 Ti all have 12GB. Sellers also don't always type the suffix: a listing titled "ASUS TUF RTX 3080 OC" might be either 3080. For those, check the listing's item specifics, and the partner model number, which often encodes the memory size (EVGA 10GB 3080s start 10G-, 12GB ones 12G-).
The laptop chips are a separate problem with their own tells. See laptop GPUs listed as desktop graphics cards.
The exclude that empties your feed
Most alert tools, and CresvaMent's exclude keyword field, match excludes as substrings. The excluded text can appear anywhere in the title, even in the middle of another word. That's what you want for phrases like "box only" or "for parts". It goes wrong with short tokens.
Excluding "ti" to drop the 3080 Ti. "ti" is inside "Edition". Every Founders Edition and every "Limited Edition" card is now excluded. So is anything titled "Platinum", "Vertical" or "Optimized".
Excluding "5800x" to drop the plain 5800X from a 5800X3D search. "5800x" is a substring of "5800X3D". Every listing you actually wanted is now excluded, and the feed goes quiet.
The worst part is that a quiet feed looks normal. An empty alert doesn't look like a broken filter. It looks like "no deals today". You might not notice for weeks.
How to filter model numbers properly
Exclude the full suffix phrase, not the suffix
Exclude what a Ti listing's title actually contains, written out as a phrase:
3080 ti,3080ti,3080-ti4070 ti,4070ti,4070 super,4070super
Include all three spellings. Sellers write "3080 Ti", "3080Ti" and "3080-Ti", and with substring matching a phrase with a space won't match the version without one.
For a version separated by memory size, exclude the memory figure the version you want doesn't have: 12gb and 12 gb on a 3080 10GB search, 8gb and 8 gb on a 3060 12GB search.
Whole-word matching, where you can get it
The cleaner fix is whole-word matching: "ti" should only match when it stands as its own word. That's how the filters behind our deal pages are built. The RTX 3080 10GB page excludes "ti", "3080ti" and the other memory sizes as whole words, and the Ryzen 7 5800X3D page excludes "5800x" as a whole word. A whole-word "5800x" can't match inside "5800X3D", because "5800X3D" is a single word.
The search profile form doesn't have a whole-word field yet. But if you start your alert from a deal page's Track this item button, you get that page's whole filter, whole-word excludes included. Then you just set your price.
Check what got filtered out
Whichever route you take, check your filter against real listings before you rely on it. When you create or edit a CresvaMent profile, the preview runs a live eBay search and shows two lists: what matched, and what was filtered out. Read the filtered-out list for cards you meant to keep. If a Founders Edition is sitting in there, an exclude is too broad.
A quick reference for the common collisions
- RTX 3080 10GB: exclude the Ti (all three spellings), 12GB, and the 16GB laptop figure. (deal page)
- RTX 3080 Ti: require "3080 Ti" or "3080Ti" in the title instead of excluding anything; exclude 16GB, which is the laptop chip. (deal page)
- RTX 3060 12GB: exclude the Ti and the 8GB and 6GB figures. (deal page)
- RTX 4070: exclude Ti and Super in every spelling, plus 16GB (the Ti Super) and 8GB (the laptop chip). (deal page)
- Ryzen 7 5800X3D: require "5800X3D" in the title. That alone drops the plain 5800X, so don't add a "5800x" exclude at all (and if you need one, make it whole-word). (deal page)
Related
- How to catch used GPU deals on eBay before they sell
- How to filter out "box only" and "for parts" listings
- eBay search builder: build a search with exclusions without memorizing the operators