posted on November 23, 2000 03:44:35 PM new
I just got a very snippy email from someone about an auction I have going. She chastises me for incorrectly listing an item as "plus sized" because of the measurements given in the description. Well, I listed the item as (paraphrased): "waist measures XX inches ACROSS, seam to seam. Double this measurement for CIRCUMFERENCE of garment".
She didn't READ and thought the waist measurement was simply XX inches around, not XX inches left to right, and wrote to scold me for calling it plus-sized! :-P To be certain, I had other household members read it to get their opinion on if it could be considered confusing at ALL and they all agreed it was very clear.
Just goes to show you, they DON'T read anything thoroughly!! And even then feel perfectly justified in sending a snippy email (not just a polite inquiry, mind you, I wouldn't have minded that at ALL) correcting your "mistake". :-P
posted on November 23, 2000 04:00:47 PM new
cdnbooks,
As a seller and a buyer, I have found all, and I do mean ALL, the Canadians I have dealt with to be very nice.
Why do you say that people bash them? Of course the postal system is rough, but so is the one here in the States. Is it the custom form thing that I keep reading about?
Just being nosey, while I sit here waiting for the Thanksgiving eve rush.....
posted on November 23, 2000 06:53:16 PM new
Bill----what I typed kind of puzzled me too........! can't read, and I can't formulate coherent sentences either
posted on November 24, 2000 05:39:49 AM new
At the risk of getting flamed by sellers I'd like to make a couple of points. First of all, "Double this for circumference of garment" is a little bit technical for many folks who didn't do great in math class. I guarantee you that if I asked, say, my mom what a "circumference" was she'd give me a blank stare. This is not a concept that the ordinary human deals with every day. This doesn't make it OK for some person to send you a snippy e-mail but it does suggest that you might want to be simpler in the future, because you might have had other potential buyers who looked, said "huh, this isn't plus size" and simply moved to the next auction.
You would do best to dumb it down as much as possible, i.e. "The skirt measures 36 inches around the waist". I used to write tech manuals and we were instructed to write to a grade-school reading level, and to me this is the same thing.
Secondly, setting this particular auction aside, you sellers have to realize that you're operating in a business environment that's encouraging people to impulse buy. The whole idea of an online auction is "get it now before somebody else does, bid right now, excitement" etc. Expecting someone to carefully read a description is, to some extent, at odds with the business model. I'm not saying it's OK for buyers to not read, I'm just saying that there's a tension here.
Third, studies have shown that reading online does not produce the same level of comprehension as does reading a piece of paper. (And let's not forget the people with eye difficulties who can see pictures but can't read large blocks of text that well.) Again, this does not make it OK for buyers to not read, but it suggests that sellers need to dumb it down as much as possible and put as little text as possible.
________
I never had one, and I didn't want one, and I don't, so now I do...
posted on November 24, 2000 05:58:03 AM new
I believe everyone should start writing for smarter people. I am extremely tired of this campaign to "dumb things down". What happens when you dumb things down is that people get dumber. Why let a minority of the population determine our level of intelligence simply because they only put in a lackadaisical effort, knowing full well, society will force everyone to their level. Then they will again lower their standards. Write smarter and let the Darwin theory take over again. Those who refuse to learn, will be left behind.
This does not apply to those who can not learn because of a handicap, but they have to be cafefully evaluated.
posted on November 24, 2000 06:35:24 AM new
I dont think its a matter of so called dumbing things down as much as to remember you have several genorations of buyer out there.
Age in all cases makes a big difference in the thing and way of what you were tought.
Today in school calulator computer and stadardized test takeing is key.
Not to far back many were tought the world had a circumference ok and all knew the world was flat.
If you ask are wiser more well tought standardized tested kids of this generation what gravity is they will tell you they know just what that is and have felt it many times while fighting in the park with friend throwing crab apples at each other and your friend plugs you in the head good with one.
posted on November 24, 2000 07:33:07 AM new
Saw the catch-phrase, "Dumbing Down," and just had to put my 2c in. (That sentence has no subject, and ends in a preposition.)
On the one hand, I agree that lowering the bar is destructive. If you keep using services/brands/etc. that are mediocre without at least trying to find those that are better, you get what you deserve. The same may be said for accepting lazy people in your life.
On the other hand, eBay is where we sell. If describing an item as, "52 inches around," rather than "26 inches from underarm to underarm," gets you a few more bids, then IMHO that's what you should do.
Ultimately, your buyer just has to be smart enough to pay you with good funds, no?
posted on November 24, 2000 02:52:58 PM new
Probably "dumbing down" was the wrong term to use. My mom is not dumb. Neither are a lot of other folks who don't understand a technical term. Regarding raising the educational bar, I thought the point of eBay was to attract the most (non-deadbeat) bids, not to improve minds.
________
I never had one, and I didn't want one, and I don't, so now I do...
posted on November 24, 2000 04:01:51 PM new
I have a customer that has spent over $500.00 The money orders come with no names on them and the address on the envelope is cut out and taped on.
I do try to make my descriptions simple. I think the good photos help too.
posted on November 24, 2000 10:13:53 PM new
dman3: Either you're being VERY cleverly ironic...or I don't have the FAINTEST idea of what you're trying to communicate.
Actually, I'll bet if you polled people 60+ years of age, most would know what "circumference" meant, as this was one of those basic concepts that virtually any person learned in what we would now call elementary school.
I'd bet a fair amount of money that it's YOUNGER people who wouldn't know what it means now. So I agree--reluctantly--that some "dumbing-down" is probably needed in some eBay descriptions. Sad, but I'm not sure that eBay is the venue for educating folks--you just sort of have to deal with the audience you have, and if you think "circumference" or "diameter," or whaever is going to be misunderstood, then write it out in VERY BASIC English, or be prepared to deal with the many semi-literates out there.
Really--sellers have an obligation to write a "clear and fair" description, but buyers shouldn't be able to weasel out of a sale because their understanding of basic concepts is so lacking.
And I consider "circumference" a basic concept. I mean, if you don't "get it," you shouldn't be bidding.
posted on November 24, 2000 10:30:30 PM new
Actually, truth be told I don't mind the "dumb questions" at all and often wonder if *I* have somehow made things unclear. I do try to make things clear and describe things thoroughly so there are no doubts. My patience with the clueless is infinite, as long as said clueless folk are *nice*.
My post here was mainly because this woman got snippy. If she'd written in a confused way with a genuine "What does this mean?" question I wouldn't have been irritated at all. Instead, she wrote to tell me off about my obvious "error" in listing the size of this item, and her email was unbelievably snotty. Fact is, not only did I give specific measurements but I also stated the size (as per the tag) and listed the item as "Plus sized" in the title and listed it in that category, so you'd think she'd be able to figure it out... and if she couldn't, well, there was no reason to assume *I* had screwed up without a polite email first, ya know??
I had another person once email me about a video I had listed. I posted pictures, and stated quite plainly that the box was in poor condition but the video played great. He writes this snotty email to the effect of "Well with the box looking that beat up, are you SURE the movie works? Doesn't look very well taken care of.." blah blah blah. Duh! I had very clear pictures and I stated the movie played fine, so I think some people just have nothing better to do than to write emails like that. I honestly don't think any of them will ever get the "right" answer from a seller that will make them place a bid!!
One of the requirements of the CGs is that Users are guided by basic etiquette when they post. You might like to take the time to reacquaint yourself with that section of the User Agreement before posting again.
posted on November 25, 2000 10:48:47 AM new
I think that P2P sales are frought with this kind of misunderstanding. Especially since ebay is getting so ehuge.
I was looking in a section I rarely frequent...womens clothing...and was amazed at the quantity. By the time I was done with just a few pages I was blasting through auctions and discarding some out of hand for blurry photos, bad descriptions, zero pix, and by the end even involved descriptions were making my eyes water.
I don't think the snippy email was appropriate.
Though argue all you want, marketing finds it's audience by making the language work for the customer. And there is no insult to either party in taking out unnecessary prose where warrented. Just like that last sentence...LOL
posted on November 25, 2000 12:39:06 PM new
I often check auctions for Chantilly perfume, powder etc & a cetain seller often posts some of these items. She consistantly says that this lovely perfume is no longer available in stores.
Not true at all, but I'm sure she believes this to be true. Everytime I see this I get the urge to write & correct her, but never do. It's really not that important. If a discription bothers you, I say just forget it & move on. Most don't take well to being corrected even if meant in the nicest way. I know this thread is about a writer who misunderstood the discripton.
I think she was wrong to to write the seller with her interpertation or even let it bother her.
