Worst item descriptions
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Post Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 8:44 pm 
 

killjoy32 wrote:i have dealt with "simonnwh" before and found hes always a cool guy to deal with.

everyone makes mistakes with conditions from time to time, myself included.

in the end, if the buyer isnt happy then he can sort it with the seller.

this instance doesnt make him shady in any way.

personally, i would have said the cover is VG. and if the inner is pristine, i would have said its EX and there done a VG/EX.

but there we go.

Al


Thanks, perhaps I should start doing cover and inner conditions.....that wouldn't be a problem.

  


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Post Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2007 2:38 am 
 

simonmwh wrote:
Thanks, perhaps I should start doing cover and inner conditions.....that wouldn't be a problem.


This really helps with boxed sets. I know I have quite a few where the box is a little ur.. dog eaten or missing entirely but the contents is minty fresh.

Looking through your auctions I don;t think you're trying to mislead anyone with descriptions, you describe certain certain flaws etc. just maybe though occasionally you've graded it up one (say excellent instead of good) in such cases.

(I hope this doesn't offend you)


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Post Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2007 2:58 am 
 

i find that being spot on with listings, might tend to affect sale values generally, but your buyers will always come back as the deal will be honest and spot-on.

Al


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Post Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2007 3:29 am 
 

In the case of the second link, it wasn't picked at random, I did come across it whilst looking for that particular item. As it is, I do think that the description was not valid when you compare it to the photo. "fair/good condition" would have been "warranted"
It is entirely subjective this term of grading, one man's meat is another's poison et al, so what would look good in my eyes won't necessarily look good in another. However a pic says a thousand words...

  


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Post Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2007 5:35 am 
 

Simon, my comments are a bit late, but since I happened to have looked and considered that B3 you had, and smiled wholeheartedly when I read napoleons comments on the link (because it was just what I was thinking) there are a couple of things you might consider.  I say these as a buyer/collector (albiet a short timer compared to many here).

1.  This is probably the toughest crowd on the net when it comes to old school D&D/AD&D.  Tough but fair.  Take no offense to whats posted, your best bet is to let any feelings of immediate angst wash over you and think about what was said.  Getting defensive is not the best of reactions.  I say that with as much respect as I can relay on the net.

2.  Mint is not a subjective term.  I see mint and I think two things, shrink wrapped or still warm in my hands from the press no matter how many years old.  Basically, the darn thing better not have identifiable fingerprints CSI style  :lol:

3.  Just because its not mint, does not mean you won't see a decent bid.   A few very common rules of thumb you will see buyers (especially collectors) cling too....Is the item I am buying pictured in the auction or is it a stock photo?....and is the description accurate and complete (based on the actual image/s)?

In closing, good luck with your sales.  Take care.  :D

*edited for spelling*


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Post Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2007 6:28 am 
 

I agreed I wouldn't say it was mint unless it was shrink wrapped.  

As with boxed sets I completely agree and do that anyway.  

My understanding of fair is between poor and good.  At the bottom of the scale.  This item had no more minor fading on a few sections of the cover and that was all.  I don't know what you expect from any of the other gradings above but one minor defect doesn't qualify as fair/good.  If one minor defect makes it a fair/good item whats the difference between good, very good, excellent, fine, nr mint.  I have tried to use the same grading that everybody else seems to do and I don't think I'm so far off.  

Anyway enough.  Theres no pleasing some people....like the one who left me neg feedback....I just have to assume that no matter what I did they wouldn't be happy.    Thats why I put in big letters at the bottom of all my listings.  PLEASE CONTACT ME IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS WHATSOEVER.

I am open as anybody should be to constructive critisism but please let me have a chance to correct any problems that there may be before you post on open forums.  I wouldn't do it to anybody else and don't expect it done to me.

  

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Post Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2007 6:28 am 
 

:)


Last edited by simonmwh on Tue Mar 13, 2007 9:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
  

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Post Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2007 7:57 am 
 

I have not been selling on eBay for very long, but I learned that the larger the pictures and the more views you can display of an item is better for the buyer, plus it cuts down on the number of questions.

Free hosting services such as photobucket is invaluable to being able to pack your listings with photoey goodness.  :D


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Post Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2007 10:45 am 
 

[quote]My understanding of fair is between poor and good.  At the bottom of the scale.  This item had no more minor fading on a few sections of the cover and that was all.  I don't know what you expect from any of the other gradings above but one minor defect doesn't qualify as fair/good.  If one minor defect makes it a fair/good item whats the difference between good, very good, excellent, fine, nr mint.  I have tried to use the same grading that everybody else seems to do and I don't think I'm so far off.  



I'll see if I can help here.  The problem with grading conventions (poor to mint) is you really need a point of reference.  If you have a grade of excellent but you don't have a definition of excellent then you have a very subjective term in your ad.  IMO, Mint is not a subjective grade; it either is or isn't.  It's also very rare to find, for example, a 1st edition module in true Mint condition (even near mint for that matter).  Again, IMO, there isn't a heck of a lot of difference between Near Mint and Mint.  A Near Mint item should be practically flawless as well.  Maybe a corner is rounded or you can start to see a hint of a stress line forming on the spine.  Really, when you see a Near Mint or Mint item you should be saying, "WOW, AWESOME".

Anyway there are about 7 or 8 standard grading terms and I won't cover the rest.  I just picked on the most abused grading terms.  Another thing, I was just talking about covers, not interiors.  I always grade the two separately.  Pages are easier to grade because they come in 2 varieties: used and unused.  Like Mint, unused is not subjective.  If you have used pages it might help to say lightly used, mild use, heavy use, etc.

Above all if the seller is not disclosing things like markings, detached pages, missing maps, etc., then they are doing a disservice.

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Post Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2007 10:52 am 
 

i can't be doing with many-multiple grades - too much like hard work.

if an item is poor or worse, i will only sell it with other stuff, as i wouldnt bother with it otherwise.

so its either G, VG, EX or Mint/SW thats it.

BUT i will describe as much as i can, so the buyer can make their own mind up.

rare is the time (i can distinctly remember one which i apologised and offered a full refund) that i grade worse. normally its totally the other way.

i think thats how it should be.

Al


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Post Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2007 11:03 am 
 

Anyway enough.  Theres no pleasing some people....like the one who left me neg feedback....I just have to assume that no matter what I did they wouldn't be happy.    Thats why I put in big letters at the bottom of all my listings.  PLEASE CONTACT ME IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS WHATSOEVER.


I have not been selling on eBay for very long, but I learned that the larger the pictures and the more views you can display of an item is better for the buyer, plus it cuts down on the number of questions.


Both the above are great ideas.  If I may I would like to add this:

When I am selling an item it is incumbent upon me to accurately convey what it is I am selling to the buyer.  Pictures are are great tool.  Encouraging questions is great too.  They should be used in conjunction with a really good verbal description of the item.

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Post Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2007 1:51 pm 
 

eBay-wise, all of the old comic book terms — "mint," "fine," very good," etc. — are best forgotten. They are meaningless, completely subjective, and no two sellers use the same scale. I've never used them, never will**, and have been chugging along happily for many, many years in eBay-land.

The best eBay descriptions are short on the verbal gymnastics and long on the photos. Seriously, on eBay the cliche is absolutely true: a picture is worth 1,000 words. At least. Maybe more.

Over the past two or three years, my listings have gotten shorter and shorter, but I have taken advantage of using multiple photos whenever possible. In that time, I have received exactly zero questions concerning item condition or item specifics (edition, cover photo, page count, other details like that). Believe me, it's been wonderful. :)

+++++

**Disclaimer: I have, every so often, used "NM" to describe new comics, since it has become an almost-universal term.

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Post Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2007 2:03 pm 
 

I may adopt this philosophy, xaxaxe. Good post

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Post Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2007 3:09 pm 
 

jasonw1239 wrote:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=rogering   :lol:

I was unfamiliar with the term also until I encountered it several times in the Neal Stephenson Baroque Series.

Needless to say if somebody descibed their eBay listing saying an animal had rogered it, it would not (hopefully) get any bids.


Thanks guys, that is the best laugh I have had in a long time!!
:lol:

John


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