"Condition is used"

[aramatic]

More and more sellers are writing "Condition is used" and so on in their descriptions when the condition is given automatically at the top of the listing page. Why?? As well as being redundant, it seems to occur in default of any detailed description of the item. I keep coming across things like "Vintage Casio calculator. Condition is used" as if that is somehow helpful or required. It's neither.

[coolections]

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@postingid7659 wrote:

I spend a ton of time on some listings writing descriptions no one ever bothers to read.  I'm not going to knock a seller for not wasting his time. 

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@postingid7659 

That's a made up myth. Buyers read descriptions so keep up the good work writing them.  Don't be like those lazy sellers.

[soh.maryl]

Because people do not read descriptions.  That's why a seller will insert relevant information several times in a listing and even include it in the title.

Had a friend who listed a piece of furniture with local pickup only.  Stated that in the title and description as well as shipping information.  

Guess where the buyer was from? Seattle.  My friend is in PA.  

[soh.maryl]

Not able to name a percentage, but, if you will ask sellers here, a lot of them can offer examples of cases where buyers did not read descriptions, and that would include my friend in PA who had a Seattle buyer for her local pickup only item of furniture.  

[silverstatetreasureboxes]

Boy, sho.maryl that's one for the books! What did your PA friend do besides laugh? I personally do not care for the field: new/ used because the word "used" sounds so....well, used! In my description I add the word " pre-owed" good condition...never had a problem. From what I've been reading there does seem to be a big problem with buyers not reading descriptions in their entirety but also seeing a lot of people that also cannot spell correctly, it's atrocious!

[wesk_36]

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@coolections wrote:

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@postingid7659 wrote:

I spend a ton of time on some listings writing descriptions no one ever bothers to read.  I'm not going to knock a seller for not wasting his time. 

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@postingid7659 

That's a made up myth. Buyers read descriptions so keep up the good work writing them.  Don't be like those lazy sellers.

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In my selling experience, some buyers do not read descriptions, absolutely not.

On the other hand, some sellers have no description to read.

Maybe the advent of "smart" phones has led to a less cognitive society?

[inhawaii]

Here in America if you repeat something, it is more likely to be comprehended. I would assume the same would hold true for any other country, even Canada.

[pussbuttn_0]

The Bible repeats everything a good three times, too.

Once you learn why they did it there, you might know why we do it here.

Or...

I can explain it here and now, as in I run a small business in the real world and it has been my experience that most people don't listen.  Worse still is they'll shake their heads up and down as if to signal understanding and they'll even say a few things back to make me believe they understood perfectly what I just told them but... Not 10 seconds after I shut my mouth it becomes appallingly clear that all the information simply went in one ear and right out the other.

So, I have learned to use the rule of three...

Here is how it works:

After I have told someone THREE times how it is, should that person decide to ignore my words the fault is no longer on me.  It is how I can sleep at night, knowing I have done my job.

And that is why I will put Condition USED *AGAIN* in the Item description, because when THAT buyer decides to return it for what reason they thought it was NEW (not used) that's fine but I can be pretty sure it was not my fault.

Yes, I realize I still have to pay the return shipping and issue the refund all the same, I dig it.

But it is how I sleep at night, knowing I have done my job.

And this isn't the only benefit but it's certainly a good one.

The rule of three.

[southern*sweet*tea]

::general reply::

When it comes to vintage/pre-owned/collectibles:

Good descriptions and listings attract GOOD buyers. Good buyers read. Sellers who consistently produce good listings consistently attract and retain good buyers.

Minimal descriptions and bad listings can attract all buyers, but GOOD buyers won't buy from those listings, or they will ask questions of the seller, which then tends to brand them as difficult, and they get blocked, causing the seller to lose a GOOD buyer.

GOOD buyers will not bring repeat business to sellers who have BAD listings. What's left for those sellers are the "low end" buyers who don't read, don't care and who have no qualms about filing SNADS on that listing with no description.

Sellers should be trying to attract and retain GOOD buyers instead of throwing up minimal listings and then trying to dodge the BAD buyers.

My two cents FWIW

[soh.maryl]

As I recall, my friend DID laugh.  And then, she contacted the buyer and explained that she couldn't ship.

The buyer was indignant, kind of "Why advertise on a worldwide venue if you can't ship everywhere in the world?" kind of thing.  Friend gave up, no further correspondence, cancelled, reason problem with buyer's address, etc.

Nice end to story:  Neighbor a few blocks over found out about the item, wanted it, bought it, came over with two husky sons, paid and carried it home.  It was a HUGE piece of furniture, kind of a combination hall mirror, hat tree, umbrella rack plus a place to sit down and remove your boots, with a lot of curlicue trim on top.  Evidently from a time when houses actually contained halls large enough for giant pieces of furniture.  Have no idea where the buyer was going to put it.  

[silverstatetreasureboxes]

Good ending to a cute story!

[aramatic]

Perhaps you'll notice on re-reading that I used the word "mainly", and I'm sorry if you're so sensitive that you can't deal with a simple point in straightforward language.

[aramatic]

If you need redundancy in such a simple matter there's something wrong with your education system.

[fern*wood]

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@aramatic wrote:

If you need redundancy in such a simple matter there's something wrong with your education system.

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If you missed seeing it at the top, then maybe some will see it at the bottom.  I agree it isn't a substitute for an actual description, though.  Depending on the category there is a place to elaborate about the condition at the top and I always try to repeat it at the bottom too.  That seems like a good idea in my opinion -- the more the better. 

I see no reason to insult other's education over opinions that may vary from your own. 

[little*blackdog]

Buyers, especially people using their phones, don't READ the description.  They just buy the item and then complain to eBay about it and are refunded.  It's gotten to the point where it's almost necessary to write a disclaimer on every item for fear the buyer won't notice something important. 

[jpgranton]

To be quite frank, "used" is not a description of "condition".

I go to Macy's and buy a brand new, mint condition chinaware plate.  I go home, ask my friend over for coffee and cookies.  I place a cookie on the new plate and hold it while my friend takes the cookie off the plate.

That plate is now "used".  But its "condition" has not changed - it is still in the same mint-state as it was hours ago when I bought it.  So "used" is a poor description when selling, as it conveys nothing about the actual condition of the item.

Conversely, I take the plate home and, as I turn, I knock it against a vase and put a nick in the rim.  The plate is still not "used", as it hasn't been "used" for anything, but its "condition" has substantially changed, as has its value to anyone who might be considering buying it.

Again, "used" does not convey any information about actual "condition".

Another poorly chosen and overused term is "new".  "New" conveys something about "age", not "condition".  An item can be "new" (2020) and still have quality or condition issues that will be off-putting to a buyer.  On the other hand, grandmother's Arts and Crafts vase that she got for a wedding gift in 1935 and put away for safekeeping, intending to only get it out now and then when company comes over?  Well it never actually happens and so it sits in perfect condition in a box for 80 years until it emerges at their estate sale.  That item is not "new" - it is "old", and yet it is still in perfect condition, just as it was when it was purchased all those decades ago.  Does old mean bad condition?  No.  Does new necessarily imply good condition?  No. 

Just as "used" does not tell me anything about condition, neither does "old" or "new".

If I wanted to know the condition of a piece of vintage glassware or pottery, I want to know if there are any chips, or nicks, cracks or hairlines, crazing, staining, discoloration, scratches, hard water deposits, and so on.  That a piece might have one or a few of these does not mean that I won't be interested in buying it, it just helps me assess what I'm willing to pay for that piece in that condition.  And I really need to know the condition in order to do that.  When people say "condition is used", they tell me nothing.