What does this object icon mean?

I bet this is the lamest question in weeks but I can't seem to figure out the answer on my own.

I was just putting together a merchandise box. It contains an outfit. A couple of texture clothing items and some prim objects.

Everything was normal until I clicked on it (it is set to buy when left-clicked). Then, in the list that comes up, the little icons in front of both earrings and the left shoe, instead of being single cubes, are piles of little cubes. This makes it look like those items are broken or something. In my inventory they have regular single cube icons. When I or my friend buys the contents of the box we get the items in our inventories with single cube icons which seem to function normally in the world.

I'll be really grateful to learn what is going on.

I just noticed this too recently, though I don't think it's new.

/me suspects it means an object containing other objects.

I had the impression that...

-A single cube means it's a single "object". However many prims it is, it's linked as one piece.

-A set of cubes means it's an arranged assembly of objects that were all picked up at once.

Perhaps I'm wrong, or perhaps the icons are glitching, I'm not sure for right now....

Yes, the inventory icon with multiple little cubes represents a grouped (but not linked) object. This happens via two methods:

--You multi-select a group of prims, then take that group to your inventory without linking. Or,

--You have a large group of prims/objects returned to your inventory via parcel-return. Instead of each item going back to your inventory separately, they are returned as a grouped object.

I believe this is the way most people lose inventory items. They see something in inventory named "object" but can't find their prized "ferrari". "Ferrari" is actually included in the group named "object". To get it back, "object" needs to be dragged onto the ground, and the "ferrari" taken as a single item. However, people delete "object" and "ferrari" goes to trash wth it.

Word of advice, don't delete any inventory item if it has the multi-prims icon. Drag it to the ground and sort it out first.

But but...
1.The earrings I'm talking about are each one prim.

2.The right shoe is a dupe of the left and each is definitely a single object of linked prims.

3.The icon only looks odd in the list of contents that comes up when the object is left clicked to buy. In my inventory they all have normal icons. If I (or another person) buy the contents they appear in my inventory with a normal icon again and if I edit the box all the items appear with normal icons in the contents tab.