Guitar Listing Pet Peeves

[Minnesota Flats]

I hate when people list lesser-known bass brands/models and don't include nut width and scale length in the specs.

That's just baseline (pardon the pun) information.

 

[Rocky]

Probably the most annoying is keyword spamming. If your guitar says "Epiphone" on the headstock, don't call it a Gibson in the title. If it says "Squier," it's not a Fender. Or the people who feel the need to add "Martin, Gibson, Guild, Gretsch, Fender, Marshall...." at the bottom of their CL ad for an Esteban.

 

[zulu]

I'm sensitive to the location of the apostrophe in guitar listings. If you have a 1975 Starfire, you write '75 Starfire. If you write 75' Starfire I will think OMG this guy has a 75 foot Starfire!

 

[RBSinTo]

I hate when people list lesser-known bass brands/models and don't include nut width and scale length in the specs.

That's just baseline (pardon the pun) information.

M.F.,
Those omissions are annoying, but not deceptive, and those specs. usually can be determined by emailing or texting the seller.
RBSinTo

 

[Minnesota Flats]

Those omissions are annoying, but not deceptive, and those specs. usually can be determined by emailing or texting the seller.

True, but given that we all seem to have our personal preferences, why should we even have to ask for such basic information?

For older players (such as myself) who have arthritis, these measurements often determine whether or not I will have any further interest.

Instrument weight is another one. I'm pretty fit, but lots of older players have back trouble and don't want to purchase some boat anchor.

You're right: they're not being deceptive, just lazy, and probably it's costing them potential sales. It's in their own best interest to make things as easy as possible for the buyer. If I'm already "on the fence" and the information provided is scant, rather than drafting a message enumerating all the things I want to know, I'll just move on.

I actually used to do as you suggest, but as often as not, my questions were ignored anyway, so now I rarely bother.

 

[West R Lee]

The big red light to me is a seller who either doesn't answer the questions you ask or answers everything but the questions you ask. Oh yeah, and I don't really ever believe any used guitar is in mint condition.

!00% agree Richard. Just the other day I saw a listing, can't remember where, where a seller listed his guitar in "mint" condition. The finish of the guitar looked really good, but it had about 1/16" saddle. I mean no saddle left. I guess he thought no scratches or dents meant "mint".

West

 

[West R Lee]

Agreed. This is why I've gotten to insist on actually speaking to the other party when I'm buying or selling, because it gives you a much better feel for who you're dealing with.

And after learning my lesson on what luckily was a relatively inexpensive guitar, I never call them "mint" anymore. Even if I can't find a flaw, somebody will!

I won't either Sandy. I don't own a mint guitar. Even my newest, on which I've installed a pickup can not be termed "mint".........it has a pickup installed. It is no longer in the condition in which it left the shop.

West

 

[RBSinTo]

True, but given that we all seem to have our personal preferences, why should we even have to ask for such basic information?

For older players (such as myself) who have arthritis, these measurements often determine whether or not I will have any further interest.

Instrument weight is another one. I'm pretty fit, but lots of older players have back trouble and don't want to purchase some boat anchor.

You're right: they're not being deceptive, just lazy, and probably it's costing them potential sales. It's in their own best interest to make things as easy as possible for the buyer. If I'm already "on the fence" and the information provided is scant, rather than drafting a message enumerating all the things I want to know, I'll just move on.

I actually used to do as you suggest, but as often as not, my questions were ignored anyway, so now I rarely bother.

MF.,
With respect to a list of specs. to post, exactly where does one draw the line? I suppose if a seller had the mentality of Sheldon Cooper, the list could be infinitely long including the height of each fret wire, and enough photos to show every square inch of all surfaces (inside and out) and so on, to satisfy the even most discerning purchaser, but this both absurd and unlikely.
While everyone does what they do, if a feature or spec. I was especially interested in was not shown or indicated, I'd reach out to the seller.
Seems to me to be foolish to write off an item that might be exactly what you are looking for, just because the seller left out a shot or description.
RBSinTo

 

[fronobulax]

It's in their own best interest to make things as easy as possible for the buyer.

That is an assumption that is very buyer centric and not always correct. It is perfectly reasonable for a seller to make the choices that make things easier for the seller. If those choices result in a longer time until a sale or a lower price then so what? Not every seller is motivated by a desire to make the largest profit as quickly as possible.

On specs it is a peeve when sellers list incorrect specs because they copied and pasted from a catalog or other source but failed to realize that Guild model numbers do not uniquely define a set of specs.

 

[Roland]

I hate when people list lesser-known bass brands/models and don't include nut width and scale length in the specs.

That's just baseline (pardon the pun) information.

You see, this is why I'm not good at selling guitars. I would just assume that if someone was interested in the guitar I was selling they would know that kind of thing. And I certainly wouldn't think to weigh it and include that. More reason just to trade and be done with it.

 

[West R Lee]

All good information and opinions. I guess what I've tried to do when selling a guitar is to put myself in the buyer's position and ask myself what it is that I would want to know if I were the buyer.

West

 

[Roland]

I saw a guitar on Facebook Marketplace recently and in the title it said "vintage mint Gibson." The thing that caught my attention was that it is a Gibson from the seventies. I wasn't particularly interested in buying it, I just thought it was cool. So I went straight to the pictures of all the scratches, dings and chips out of it. I went back and read the description and in it he described it as mint for its age. That's the first I've heard that, mint for its age. Anyway, not a peeve, I wasn't going to buy it anyway, but a little deceptive I think.

 

[GGJaguar]

he described it as mint for its age

That's nuts. I guess I'd be in "Excellent Minus" condition for my age.

 

[RBSinTo]

I saw a guitar on Facebook Marketplace recently and in the title it said "vintage mint Gibson." The thing that caught my attention was that it is a Gibson from the seventies. I wasn't particularly interested in buying it, I just thought it was cool. So I went straight to the pictures of all the scratches, dings and chips out of it. I went back and read the description and in it he described it as mint for its age. That's the first I've heard that, mint for its age. Anyway, not a peeve, I wasn't going to buy it anyway, but a little deceptive I think.

Roland,
This whole "Mint", "Minty", "Mint-like", "Mintish", "Mintesque",
"mint for it's age", business is idiotic, and undoubtedly untrue in virtually all listings.
And in the case you mentioned, the photos supplied were enough to show that the seller was being untruthful.
RBSinTo

 

[Rocky]

Mint can mean flavored with the genus mentha, or struck between two metal plates, so ther is that.

 

[GGJaguar]

It's tough to get the mint odor out of a guitar case. Baking soda, direct sunlight, etc. are no match for a minty case.

 

[Westerly Wood]

Hiking up price of acoustics even though the brand, make or model does not warrant it. Just case...

 

[Prince of Darkness]

Listing the wrong model!

I recently saw an ebay listing for a Guild M-75 Aristocrat. In most ways it was a very good listing, plenty of high quality pictures, listing any slight imperfections, with a description that could have come from a magazine review and Guild's detailed spec's. Only problem was that the pictures were of an Aristocrat P90. To be fair to the seller, they did immediately change the listing and description when I pointed it out, though they do still have the wrong spec's. In this case, I believe that it was a genuine mistake by the seller, mixing up two guitars with similar names, which also look very similar (at least from the front). Obviously, an unscrupulous seller could deliberately post an inaccurate listing in the hope of selling at a higher price.

Curiously, when looking to see the UK retail price difference, I found that a major UK music store was using pictures of the Aristocrat P90 in their listings for both models!

 

[GGJaguar]

All pix of the front of the guitar (from all different angles) and none of the back, neck or sides.

 

[Midnight Toker]

Funny, the typical places where I search for occasional great deals, the listings often have one picture of the guitar from 10 ft away w/ the description, "Old guitar, missing 2 strings." And that's about it.