Sorta OT: e-Bay Item Description Pet Peeves

May 28, 2005 28 Replies

Rant Mode to the ON position:



L@@K! (Irritating and overused)



CHEAP! (How about letting us decide that on our own!)



Great Kit!!! (I've seen this as descriptors for Starfix kits!!!)



Not Tamiya Not Hasegawa (for those who set their searches up based on kit manufacturers. Seems to me like blatant false advertising)



Pro Built (kit that looks like my 8-year old nephew put it together and painted it)


Rant Mode - OFF



Anybody got any others they'd like to share?


Don McIntyre Clarksville, TN



How about - RARE!!!

Which is always amusing, especially when you see 6 or 7 of the same item up for bids at the same time. Maybe the seller really means: "This kit is not often placed at auction with such a ludicrously high initial bid. It is therefore RARE!"

NIB (New in Box) or other similar terms and then the photo shows the box open and the pieces scattered about. Invariably, one or two smaller pieces are missing.....

ISTR that using the "not" manufacturers is supposed to be against eBay rules.

What gets me is something like "kit is complete in sealed box". So, how does one know it's complete, or even the right kit, if it's never been opened?

I really like the ones that are "MISB," for kits that weren't sealed when they left the factory! (older ESCI and Italeri kits come immediately to mind).

Don McIntyre Clarksville, TN

It is. eBay will pull the ad if you complain about it. Their term is "key word spamming."

Ed Robbeloth Ft Walton Beach, FL

Carnac told him? Seriously, when I have a sealed kit (not many of those) I always mention that one has to assume all the parts are there as I am not going to break it open to check. The risk is theirs if they bid.

Bill Banaszak, MFE

To me, MINT means it has never been opened, the sealings are still whole (if they came that way) and shelfwear is minimal. I've seen all sorts of variations on that definition.

Bill Banaszak, MFE

Is that limited to the headings or any phrase buried in the description text also? I have used that in some descriptions by way of explaining the quality of the kit. BTW, I just recently sold a Dornier Do 17E with complete markings. Fortunately there was another model's wing blocking a complete view of the tail. Some light colour was showing but not enough to distinguish what it was.

Bill Banaszak, MFE

i know it's factory sealed, i checked it just before i sealed it....actually saw that in an ad. not eekbay.

There's a difference in assuming it to be complete & correct instead of a blanket statement that it is.

Mad Modeller wrote:

people with 78% good feedback who start their spiel with "honesty is the best policy."

"if a man talks about his word, make him pay cash." robert heinlein

I think in the item description it would be ok, but when it's in the title, I think that's being blatently dishonest.

On some of my older kits I've put something like, "this is not a modern Tamiya or Hasegawa kit, you'll need to use your modeling skills to get an acceptable build out of this kit."

Don McIntyre

At least you wouldn't be cold this time of year......

Bill Banaszak, MFE

;)

A feminine undergarment that replaces a bra but runs down from there to the waist. It also, IIRC, has some qualities of the corset.

Bill Banaszak, MFE, purveyor of trivia useless for modelmaking purposes

Oh! You mean a teddy. Jerry 47

Um, no, actually. A teddy snaps in the crotch and has no corset qualities. A basque doesn't extend that far down the torso.

Bill Banaszak, MFE

This is what I get for being 'cute'...:8|

Join the Discussion

Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.

Didn't find your answer?

Ask the community — no account required