My list of seller red flags

None of these offenses is worse than the pinball community.  Their latest crap listing is NOB. Meaning new out of box (and with only 50 or 100 plays).  It’s no longer new - and the discount is usually quite small compared with new from a dealer.   The worst of the worse here is better than many of the pinball lowlifes.  

The thought police have arrived here too. God forbid adults can apply ad copy discernment on their own, lol. My two cents: positive feedback. 

When I'm selling something, it's not because I'm desperate, and it's going to be on my terms.  It's usually because I've replaced the item with something else and would like to see the old item go to a good home.  Not to some jerk.  

Yes, I try to make the ad and photos as good as possible and I go out of my way to answer any questions someone might have, even if they don't seem like they're a potential buyer. 

I put things like "price is firm" because... well, it is.  I priced it to sell and have done research to see what the typical used price is for the item.  I don't want to respond to "Will you take _____?" (which is usually around 50 - 60% of the selling price). 

I mostly sell local, shipping takes extra time and effort.  It's an hour round trip drive to the closest UPS store.  If I don't have to, why should I?  Maybe I'll get a little more for the item, but then what's that worth in comparison to my time, which is limited? 

If it doesn't sell right away, what else are you going to do but re-post the ad?  I've re-posted ads for months before something sold.  Someone eventually buys it and more often than not I get what I want for the item.

On the other hand, if someone is polite, sends full sentences in their messages, asks thoughtful questions, and is easy to deal with, I'm more likely to go out of my way for them, give them a little break on the price, or maybe throw in some extra cables.

You catch more bees with honey.  I can't tell you how many times I've sat and shot the breeze with someone who came to buy something and is nice and enthusiastic about the hobby.  I really enjoy those transactions.  Some of the people I've bought and sold with locally have become friends or audio buddies.

When you're the buyer, the world doesn't revolve around you.  The seller has something you want.  How bad do you want it?  Enough to be kind, considerate, and reasonable? 

Don't be a cyrbaby if the seller doesn't kowtow to you.

My indicator of true marketing skills is when seller posts an ad that reads, "If you are looking at this, then you know what it is all about."

Or, whenever I see "stunning" in ads or reviews, for that matter. So, you are selling it because it is "stunning".

This is more of a pet peeve, but sellers who claim the item is brand new in box never used...only opened to inspect and test and list the condition as new instead of mint. 

And then we have items with some pretty good scratches listed as a 7/10. The Audiogon scale is not forgiving and these items should be a 4/10 or 5/10. I go to sell an item that is truly a 7/10 and get comparable links sent to me...it used to be that I could say, okay that item was pretty beat up compared to mine...but now you can't see the photos on old listings...God I'm rambling. sorry