First of all, be honest and accurate. It’s best not to go down the path similar to posting a twenty-year-old photograph of yourself on your dating profile. I mean, the ultimate goal is to meet each other and grow from there. Who knows? The other person could grow closer to you even more if they see you how you are now, and for who you are. Why deceive them from the onset, only to lead to an awkward and unsuccessful result, or, in the best-case-scenario, be constantly having to unwind any untrue provided at the onset?
It’s the same as with posting an item. Be honest and straightforward. After all, the goal is for the potential buyer to ultimately view and purchase the item. Don’t misrepresent it in any way. Why put yourself in a position where you’re having to backtrack, which will almost always lead to a lost sale—and a complete waste time for both the potential buyer and seller.
In the event the buyer does not view the item in person and buys it as (mis)represented in an online-purchase scenario, it’ll only end up as a return and an unhappy customer. So why do that? It’s just inviting a scenario with wasted time—on the part of the buyer and seller—an unhappy customer, and often unnecessary expenses (posting costs, shipping and return shipping costs, etc.).
So list the item as it is, both good and bad. Describe the bads so there are no unpleasant surprises for the buyer, and a return-scenario will rarely result, with a happy buyer.
I even suggest elaborating the “bads” in depth. Show the item’s weaknesses. Give the buyer nowhere to go so they can’t beat you down on price because they “discovered” something bad that was not disclosed in the listing. If they walk into the transactions already knowing all the “bads”, that means they’re interested in the item as it really is, and this greatly and honestly increases your chances of a successful sale.
And remember, it saves a lot of wasted time.
Of course it’s optimal as well to cover all the goods of the item, but don’t try overselling it. It looks suspicious and corny, and often scares potential buyers away. After all, nobody likes a 1970’s used car salesperson. So put away the plaid polyester tie, and just describe the item accurately.
Remember, many potential buyers are looking at your item because they are searching for that item to purchase. So if you simply describe the item accurately and price it fairly, it will sell. In other words, describe the item, don’t “try” selling it. It will sell itself.
I recommend not saying things such as “your neighbors will be speechless ever time they drive by and see these two beautiful vases on each side of your driveway’s entrance. They’re a must have for any fancy homeowner…”. Again, you don’t know why the buyer is buying the item. Don’t insult their intelligence and try and influence or convince them of something. If they want your item, they will buy it. If not, they won’t—but someone else will eventually. Just because someone passes up on it, it’s not a failure; there’s always another customer. Keep in mind, losing a sale is not losing the item. You still have the item to sell another day. All is still good.
On an unrelated note, but to support my point strongly, I found my wife—truly the most wonderful lady in the world in my eyes—by utilizing this same approach—albeit subconsciously. It was on an online dating site. I’m not a catch by any means, but I’m not terrible either. When creating my profile, I looked at many others’ profiles and saw so many people trying to talk themselves up so much that they would practically attract anybody: rich, successfully, works out twice a day, travels monthly, and basically an all around near-perfect person. It looked fine at face value, but what about when they meet and see the cracks in the facade?
I thought and thought, and of course I wanted to be contacted only by genuine prospects and meet the perfect mate. To accomplish this one has to get their attention to make that initial contact, and then after we met and got to know each other, we would eventually see if we were meant to be. Probably a lengthy and unsuccessful process for the most part. So then I thought I want to meet “the one”. I didn’t want to meet many different potential mates and each time eventually realize it was just not meant to be, discovering (a) quintessential difference(s) which could have been discovered at the onset with complete transparency. Granted, with dating, of course this happens and is both educational and unavoidable under any “method”, but you can also hedge against this in many ways. What if I just posted who I was exactly? Up-to-date pictures, honestly who I was: not rich, not super successful, haven’t climbed Mount Everest lately (okay; ever), don’t live life out of a suitcase since I’m always in Europe or the likes, but instead just a simple person looking for true love, with even some of the things I believed would be deal killers for both of us (not that feel I’d be better than them, but if we had core differences which would result in us no way being together, why pursue a relationship in the first part? Let that person continue their search for the person who is best suit for them). I truly wore my heart on my sleeve and said exactly who I was and what I wanted. I’m a little more sensitive than most, so that was also included in my profile. Many may not want this, but at least this would not waste either of our time. So I pulled the trigger and did the “real me” approach, with zero exaggeration and puff. It was scary. Time ticked by, and I did get some mean messages, making fun of me and the likes. However, one morning, I received a message from the most amazing lady in the universe in my eyes. She read my profile and she got it! Everything. Long story short, we were married four months later, and have been very happily married ever since. Every day I thank the universe for her. Ironically, I am regularly a very slow mover on big decisions—especially a relationship—but I knew within less than a week after meeting her that she was the one.
I know I went way off on a tangent here, and it was more long-winded than I had initially planned, but if you see the point I’m trying to make, it may prove to be effective. I was honest and accurate, and attained my goal in ways I could never imagine.
In a unique way, the same applies to posting items for sale. Post what you want: Selling an item. Do it accurately. Do it honestly. And it will sell.
One method I always utilize along with what I covered above is called “The Superstar Method” (my own strategy title—kind of dumb, but it works for me). Meaning, when you list an item, focus on it and only it, and make it a superstar during that time. Don’t just consider it another boilerplate listing, with all the generic statements. Don’t oversell it and talk it up, but what I mean by making it a superstar is just fully describe it, and everything about it. Many listings I see just have the title, and no other details. Like “Sony 32” Flat Screen TV”. Okay, but how about a model number? And does it include a remote? Does it work? What’s its condition? Go into detail. “Untested” is kind of a deal killer. I mean, how difficult is it plug it in to and hook up a lead to it to test it? You will get more than double the price for it because you took a few minutes to do so. Make that TV a superstar and it’ll attain its true value, versus a gambler paying less than half its value since they’re factoring in that it may not even work. Describe the picture (bad pixels, good color, etc.), does the volume sound on both sides, and things like that. Again, this may seem like overkill for listing a TV, but I view it this way: Say the TV is worth $125 as it is in working order, and if you just post it with minimal info or as untested, you may get $50 for it. Say you spent fifteen minutes testing it, and now posted a superstar. This increased your revenue by $75 with 15 minutes’ effort. Basically $300 an hour raise. Now, I know these figures are simplified to make a point, and the numbers are not accurate when factoring in everything, BUT the point is the few extra minutes you take to test and better describe your item, you will receive significantly more for it by doing so, and it ultimately can be quantified in the form of an hourly raise by doing so.
Be honest and fair. Research your item and its value by researching comparable items, and price it accordingly—then wait for the potential buyers to contact you. And they will.
Keep in mind too that lowering the price of the item may not always be the avenue to a quicker sale. In some cases, it may actually slow your sale time down. Granted, if it’s an almost totally-liquid item (such as an iPhone, many tools, etc.), then yes, lowering the price will most often directly affect its sale time. However, on many other items (say a custom-made door, a work of art, or the likes), lowering the price often does not speed up its selling time. Simply because it has not sold yet is often due to the person who wants or needs it has not looked at or for it yet—maybe not even needing it yet (say their old custom door was destroyed suddenly and they need a nice replacement quickly. They didn’t even think they would want it yesterday, but today is a different story. Price was not the only deciding factor. Need was. The door sold because he needed a door for a fair price today, not because you listed it now for a lower-than-its-value price)—and price is not a large factor here. So just hang in there. If it’s what the buyer wants, and it’s priced fairly, it will sell, and this process will not necessarily be shortened because the price was lowered.
Thank you for reading this blog. I would like to conclude by saying we are all on this earth together. Buying and selling is part of everyday life, and when done fairly and honestly, it’s a wonderful thing and so effective for a fully-functional society. But I truly don’t believe in the “every person for themself” mentality. So many lessons focus on being “a good businessperson”, but it’s at the expense of others. Nothing is wrong with success, but there’s a way to do it without the stepping on of others. Work hard and be fair, and it will come back to you. In today’s world, it may be difficult to see this through all the clouds, but it’s there, and I hope it prospers.
