New and used are not good condition descriptions

[painter2840]

Ebay should educate sellers so they don't put "new" or "used" as their only description of condition.  Many times I just moved along from a listing simply because it did not state

1. Excellent

2. Good

3. Fair 

4. Poor

I just don't have time to email and dig information out of a seller.  Also, sellers, don't say 

it "may have this or that".  It does or it doesn't.  Quit wasting browsers who would have been otherwise buyers time with horse s*** description.  Just trying to help. 

[ittybitnot]

We spend a lot of time on our condition descriptions and photos and, honestly, I don't think it helps much.

@iart 

I am a buyer.  I can assure you it does help.  I will bid more.  I will come back and buy from you again.  I would imagine that you are a seller that answers questions as well.  

With the MBG in place, it likely doesn't matter much to a buyer.  They don't have to read, they don't have to ask questions, yada yada....I don't like having to send things back so I am more old school careful.  I have seen things SELL with two dark blurry photos taken three feet away.  It just won't be sold to me. 

Mostly, I buy jewelry.  I like things that are rather unusual.  I no longer buy things with blurry pictures, "good vintage condition" as a descriptor, marked or signed without a photo of said hallmarks.  I found three things in the last few days that had no indication of SIZE.  Do you think anybody bothered to answer when I asked the size of a brooch?  Not a one.  

Google lens has become my friend along with my metal and gem testing. 

[sextons-sweet-deals]

If a seller wants to sell and get the most out of their item(s), they need to do their work / research. Complete photos, measurements, description, any issues (new or used) and if so, call them out. Don't just state 'see photos'. 

As a buyer. Ask the seller questions if needed. Some sellers think a 1 or 2 photo shot from their phone is enough. NOT! If the seller never responds, move on or you have to decide to buy or not based on price and take the risk. 

[ryanrobyn]

you must remember that everyone's perception is different so good can have many different interpretations

[joliztoyco]

About 75% of what we sell is "collectible". And accurately describing condition can be the difference between making a sale or not. We use multiple pics and a description in most of our auctions. One problem is eBays crappy "mobile" platform, which doesn't automatically show the description.
But we must be doing something right as we've never had to had to deal with an INAD. 
 Both sides here are making good points. "Condition is in the eye of the beholder".  And some sellers tend to overgrade their items, while a collector would undergrade them. 
We not only carefully look at the pics and description a seller provides BUT....you have to look at their "obsolete" (as many of you state) feedback. That's where you can see if they know what they're doing, and how satisfied their buyers are. If a lazy seller has "see pics" as his description and a few fuzzy pics? I move on and don't give them a second thought. He either has no idea about what he sells, or is hoping you buy it and decide returning it isn't worth the bother. And yeah...I've done that buying a few sports figures. I cannot imagine the nightmare of selling used vinyl or ungraded coins and sports cards. We sell cards now and then, and having collected them for a while, I'm fairly competent when it comes to grading. I haven't had any unhappy buyers. But I'm sure it can happen.
But the bottom line is you have to look at a sellers feedback. "Item as described" is the best feedback we get, along with "packed carefully". We have many return buyers because they trust us.
Luckily, MOST collectors on eBay do this kind of research before investing their hard earned money. But some don't. Just like most sellers of collectibles try to accurately describe them to avoid returns. But some don't.
I try to avoid them both.
Happy Sales. 

[retro_entertainment_collectibles]

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@joliztoyco wrote:

About 75% of what we sell is "collectible". And accurately describing condition can be the difference between making a sale or not. We use multiple pics and a description in most of our auctions. One problem is eBays crappy "mobile" platform, which doesn't automatically show the description.
But we must be doing something right as we've never had to had to deal with an INAD. 
 Both sides here are making good points. "Condition is in the eye of the beholder".  And some sellers tend to overgrade their items, while a collector would undergrade them. 
We not only carefully look at the pics and description a seller provides BUT....you have to look at their "obsolete" (as many of you state) feedback. That's where you can see if they know what they're doing, and how satisfied their buyers are. If a lazy seller has "see pics" as his description and a few fuzzy pics? I move on and don't give them a second thought. He either has no idea about what he sells, or is hoping you buy it and decide returning it isn't worth the bother. And yeah...I've done that buying a few sports figures. I cannot imagine the nightmare of selling used vinyl or ungraded coins and sports cards. We sell cards now and then, and having collected them for a while, I'm fairly competent when it comes to grading. I haven't had any unhappy buyers. But I'm sure it can happen.
But the bottom line is you have to look at a sellers feedback. "Item as described" is the best feedback we get, along with "packed carefully". We have many return buyers because they trust us.
Luckily, MOST collectors on eBay do this kind of research before investing their hard earned money. But some don't. Just like most sellers of collectibles try to accurately describe them to avoid returns. But some don't.
I try to avoid them both.
Happy Sales. 

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Have to agree on the description "Pop Up" window on mobile, as a software engineer myself I realize the elegance of the pop up but not in this type of sales environment.  For a retailer such as say Target given the small real-estate of smartphones it'd be fairly elegant towards a products details with a button that stands out to click.

Here at eBay descriptions are critical to avoiding problems with customer expectations and should readily be displayed right to the side of images.

----------------

| Image  Price  |
| $Ship   Rating|

|  Description   |
-----------------

Something along those lines, description being prominent is ever so important to avoiding a plethora of problem in mobile devices given this environment since all forms of descriptions are needed for new/pre-own/collectible etc. items.

[iamalwaysright]

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@southern*sweet*tea wrote:

Don't forget my favorite - one or two blurry pictures and a description that consists solely of "see pictures".

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Those are sellers likely to pull a bait and switch anyway. Intentional.

[inhawaii]

It blows my mind when I see listings that don't even have ANYTHING in the item description.

[mike_jayroe]

I have sold several records that were not graded. I bought all of them back between 1974 thru the early 1990's. 

I played them less than a dozen times each on a pretty good store bought stereo system.

I then sat them into my closet sitting on the edge until last year when I started selling them. I put a note that each was in very good condition. Of the approx. 50 albums I have sold so far I have had no complaints.

I have also sold a lot of magazines (SAGA's UFO REPORT, railroad related and others) which also were not graded, but I listed the description as best I could with notes such as tears, blemishes, loose pages, etc. Of all of those I sold I have received no complaints. 

Some buyers have left feed back saying "as described". 

I am not a professional seller, just someone trying to get rid of stuff I no longer need or want. 

Just my point of view.