Since starting online game sales through Amazon, I have been doing a lot of browsing through Craigslist looking for some good deals on games to resell. The best deals are few and far between, but I have been able to find a few gems.
Sadly, the majority of the listings on Craigslist are crap. Not because the products listed are not good, but because the way they are listed does not provide any useful information. Sometimes this is as simple as a lack of information. Sometimes it is because the poster has no grasp of the English language. Other times it is because the poster is an idiot. It is a sad truth.
So here are a few things I have found that makes for a very bad Craigslist Ad:
- Listings that provide no information on what you are selling. One such recent listing was titled “Playstation 2 Games” The listing was “GAMES ARE EACH $5.00 CALL <number>” That’s it. Why would I take the time to call about some games that I will probably not want in the end. It is a waste of my time. Just list the flipping games.
- Listings similar to the above but have fuzzy pictures. You can’t tell what the games actually are by looking at the picture and they provide no listing. Images mean nothing especially when they are out of focus. Please list what is in the picture.
- Speaking of pictures, Listings whose pictures do not reflect the content that is being sold.I recently came across a listing for a Wii and some accessories. The listing itself was quite good and had all the relevant information. However the picture provided was of some random objects rapped in cardboard and bubble wrap. I had no idea what I was looking at. Nothing in the picture looked like anything that was listed.
- Titles such as “LOOK HERE!!!!” or “AWESOME DEALS” or anything with such useless text and dribble. Often I will see titles that have a couple dozen random punctuation marks before and after the non descriptive words. “******^@(****COOL STUFF LOOK HERE***&&*&&**) Please. These things make me want to vomit. On the occasions when curiosity suppresses the gag reflex the inside is much the same and reflects what I have already listed.
- People who respond to Cragslist ads by posting another Craigslist ad. Seriously? Do you really expect someone to be scanning the ads on Craigslist looking for responses to their ad? Craigslist is not a message board (although they do have them) Use the email feature provided by Craigslist to contact the seller.
So that’s it for now. As I find more things that bug me about listings on Craigslist I will post them. I may even post some specific examples that illustrate these points. We have to find humor in life or life will kill us.
