A Humorous Look at eBay Descriptions

If you're an avid eBayer, then you are well acquainted with the terms sellers use to entice us to look at their listings. After all, with probably thousands of listings in many collectible categories -- just how do you choose which listing to open and look at?

After a lively discussion on a holiday collectibles email list, Joseph B. and Larry W. helped us all out by trying to standardize some of the more common definitions used in auction postings.

Of course it doesn't matter what your particular collectible is, just insert the name in the appropriate place. Enjoy these humorous terms and if you are guilty -- how about a investing in a thesaurus?

• Rare: The first store I went to buy it at didn't have it.
• Very Rare: The store I called after that didn't have it.
• Extremely Rare: No one else is selling it on eBay right now.
• Ultra-rare: No one but me and Christopher Radko have ever seen the piece. It's practically invisible, Really!
• Hard-to-find: I had to look through lots of books to find the name before I put it on eBay.
• Early Piece:: It was made before I started collecting.
• Sold-Out: The store I went to just sold the last one...to me.
• Don't Miss: Will someone please bid on this ornament?

and my personal favorite to add to the above is one usually used when selling reproduction cookie jars:

• Found at an estate aale: The estate sale was held on the company grounds of an import company from Taiwan.

Thanks to Joseph and Larry and their efforts to standardize auctions.

What are your "favorite" descriptions or what gripes/praise do you have for sellers and their descriptions.