Hyperbole on the For Sale/Wanted Forum

[Brian Ellis]

I've been watching the "BEST! 8x10 setup money can buy!" thread over on the For Sale/Wanted with some perplexity. For some reason the header stirred up the wrath of certain members who thought it was hyperbole. For the record, I thought the outfit was a reasonable start for a shooter, overpriced perhaps but the whole point of forums like this is to establish actual values: what will an actual buyer actually pay.

The real hyperbole to me is stuff like this, seen all the time:

"Shutter speeds sound accurate" (to my scientifically calibrated ear)
"Scratches on glass do not affect image quality" (unless you're aiming for quality images)
"CLAd a few years back by the previous seller" (and only used in church by a little old lady)
"Bellows appear to have no pinholes" (there's a sure way to find out)
"Last chance before I send it to eBay" (don't make me drown these kittens)
And my current favorite:
"Paypal only. Add 3% for Paypal" (?)

I'm quite happy to step around these little stinkers because I've found and purchased some amazing stuff on this forum. Bargains, yes, but more than that things that would be otherwise impossible to find, like the $5 rangefinder cam that matches my Horseman 65mm. This is the Long Tail effect of the internet, and it's what makes this forum, and those like it, so valuable.

So caveat emptor. Let the feedback continue but let's be civil about it. There is, after all, a certain dignity that goes with large format work.

I'm not sure of your point. Are you suggesting that nobody should use these phrases because they bother you? Or that they're misleading and therefore shouldn't be used? Or what?

The only one that I'd take issue with is the bellows pinhole one since anyone with a flashlight can do a real pinhole test. The others either convey useful information or do no harm that I can see. Any buyer would want to know of scratches on a lens but it is in fact possible to have small scratches that don't affect image quality, especially if they're at the edges. Telling a prospective buyer about both facts (assuming they're true of course) seems like something any seller should do. Saying the shutter speeds sound right is telling you the seller doesn't have the equipment to do shutter speed tests but there are no blatantly obvious bad speeds. CLAd a few years back isn't worth much without knowing how many years "a few" is but a prospective buyer is always free to ask questions before buying, such as "how long ago?" PayPal only, add 3% for PayPal, is perfectly legitimate. No different than "shipping by Priority Mail only, buyer pays shipping." The seller is saying he will accept only one method of payment and he wants to recoup the PayPal fee. Last chance before I put it on ebay? If I were wavering why wouldn't I want to know that it's going on ebay soon and might not be available at the same price after that?

As I said before, maybe you have some point that I'm missing but all I can see is you don't like these phrases and because you don't like them you think they shouldn't be used.

[Brian Ellis]

Actually, if you read my original comment, I was not criticizing LFPF at all. I think it is a unique and highly valuable resource.

Nor am I criticizing the use of PayPal, I'm just amused by the particular case I quoted. Why not just set your price 3% higher in the first place, if there are no other payment options?

There, three posts now. My credibility has jumped by 50%!

Probably for the same reason sellers almost always separate shipping and insurance costs from the cost of the equipment. They're two different things - one represents out-of-pocket costs to the seller that he or she wants to recoup, the other represents the price he or she wants for the equipment. Seems far more accurate to me to separate them so the buyer knows exactly what he or she is paying for what than to lump everything together into one number.

[D. Bryant]

I find these two especially repulsive.

It really doesn't matter how nice it is or how well priced...as soon as I see either of these...I click the back button and never look back. Interestingly, items that have this kind of bullshit in their listings always seem to have very optimistic pricing anyway.

Why should the PayPal fee listing bother you? It's an indication that the buyer is giving you the best price on an item that he/she thinks they can give and giving an un-inflated shipping price. I just think the seller is being honest and why should the seller pay for the PP fees?


Don Bryant

[Jim Galli]

We don' need no stinkin' hyper bully. We got little green men.

[Mike1234]

Jim, you don't have little green men. Those are in Roswell, NM!!

[John T]

They were taken to Area 51-Jim's backyard