Maybe You Should Check Your Work

[denverd0n]

Just saw a "for sale by owner" ad for a trawler. It has "hydrolic" steering and "hydrolic" thrusters. It has a "Stannard" Horizon radio. It has an "Ohnan" generator and a newly "painated" boot stripe. It has fire "estinguishers" and "Racon" fuel filters.



Wow. I mean, the occasional typo is one thing. This takes it to a whole new level! So I guess the lesson here is, if you write your own ad, maybe double check it before you put it out there for all to see.

 

[Comodave]

It is especially easy with spell check...

 

[Dougcole]

You know, grammar and spelling is pretty solid on this forum, but I also am a member of a college football forum...good God. Almost unreadable it's so bad.

My personal fav was the guy who wrote an entire post about the "pre madonna" players.

 

[rsn48]

I often peruse the used sections for goodies, and often pick up stuff at such a great deal I wonder if it is hot. I picked up a Fujifilm lens in Victoria BC for my XT 1, the lens was being sold for $500, but it retails for $1800. When I went to pick it up I arrived at an expensive high rise next to Beacon Hill park.

Getting bargains used is like playing the slots, quite addictive. I bought my Seawise from a guy in Campbell River, complete with dinghy brackets for around a third of what a new one would retail for and it looks just about new. PS: I don't play the slots, I get upset at a loss of a dime.

Where this is going is that I look at adverts all the time and not just boating, I've bought cameras and gear, bicycle and stuff, garden tool and power tool items, etc. And the adverts are often abysmal and I say that optimistically. There will be a picture of a bike and all the advert says is "bike." Of course the important question is what size is the bike. I've seen pics of Canon camera lenses with just the pic, no description or any hint of what size or type of lens it is.

But you can also benefit from some of those poorly written ads, the big question is why were they poorly written. Maybe the owner is just and idiot but maybe it is a relative getting rid of granddad's boat after his passing. Or maybe it is the wife writing the ad as the sale of the item is part of divorce proceeding (how I got my bike). And often these third party advertisers don't know the worth of the item.

In boating, I was looking to purchase a "like new" 9.9 short shaft. I think about 20 % of the adverts did not include the shaft length. Or another favourite, "dinghy for sale" with very little stats. If you're lucky, they included the length but didn't include what kind of bottom etc., or what material was used in the inflatable dinghy.

 

[High Wire]

Spell check or lack of it. We had a good laugh at work when one supervisor wrote a memo to his boss that he thought his shift had a "morals" problem. He meant "morale".

 

[Ted]

Here is a headline from " Global News", this type is very common.

3 killed after Australian plane fighting wildfires crashes in New South Wales: officials


Makes me wonder who killed them after the crash and why.

 

[John R M]

Or maybe it is the wife writing the ad as the sale of the item is part of divorce proceeding (how I got my bike).

There was a story years ago about an executive who was running off with his secretary, signed over his Mercedes and told his wife to sell it. She eventually handed over something like $500.

 

[jleonard]

We had a very intelligent Polish woman who had an engineering degree from Poland where I worked.
She ended up being a product manager/line supervisor. She was responsible for writing answers to customer complaints and documenting changes to prevent future issues.
She once wrote to the customer " the solenoid valve was acting erotically...." when she really meant "erratically".
Needless to say the customer liked her response and solution, but we all had a great laugh at her expense.
From then on she always asked me to proofread all of her e mails.
She was a great asset to the company.

 

[MurrayM]

I often peruse the used sections for goodies, and often pick up stuff at such a great deal I wonder if it is hot. I picked up a Fujifilm lens in Victoria BC for my XT 1...

I was pretty sure you are a solid/sensible guy, but now I'm sure of it!

Picked up an X-E1 years ago and followed that up a few years later with an X-T2. Love the ISO & shutter speed dials and the aperture ring...just like "real" cameras have

 

[BruceK]

Here is a headline from " Global News", this type is very common.

3 killed after Australian plane fighting wildfires crashes in New South Wales: officials


Makes me wonder who killed them after the crash and why.

It may have been the massive fireball from the ignited fuel load.

 

[Benthic2]

....

 

[Comodave]

I like all the boats that have a V birth in them.

 

[rsn48]

I was pretty sure you are a solid/sensible guy, but now I'm sure of it!

Picked up an X-E1 years ago and followed that up a few years later with an X-T2. Love the ISO & shutter speed dials and the aperture ring...just like "real" cameras have

Yes, but I have a mistress, her name is Canon.

 

[oscar]

I like all the boats that have a V birth in them.

That can get messy.... a full liner with drains would be an asset.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
I like the boats with salons for those bad hair days...

 

[BDofMSP]

And the endless selection of "Cummings" engines ...

 

[MurrayM]

Yes, but I have a mistress, her name is Canon.

My main flame is a Wista 45DX...Fujifilm is the hot new fling.

 

[Ventana]

I feel like any vessel that comes with a deck wench is probably underpriced.

 

[ssobol]

... Maybe the owner is just and idiot but maybe it is a relative getting rid of granddad's boat after his passing. Or maybe it is the wife writing the ad as the sale of the item is part of divorce proceeding (how I got my bike). And often these third party advertisers don't know the worth of the item. ...

You forgot "...some people have so much money that they just don't care what they sell stuff for...". They put some price on it just to help keep the total riff-raff away.

 

[rslifkin]

You forgot "...some people have so much money that they just don't care what they sell stuff for...". They put some price on it just to help keep the total riff-raff away.

And along with that one, you get people who want the item gone more than they want the maximum amount of money for it.

 

[Pete Meisinger]

The Admiral volunteers at the local animal shelter resale shop. The things people throw away or donate is almost beyond belief. In both a good and a bad sense.

Some name brand clothing, never worn. Some old rags which smell so bad of smoke and B.O. you don't even want to touch them.

pete

 

[oscar]

Some name brand clothing, never worn.

Eventually the stuff addiction with its short term gratification need referred to by the euphemism of: "retail therapy" leads to a pile of stuff that is unmanageable. Either they see the light, or their hand is forced by having to move and downsize, or having to move to the next world and the estate cleaning up the mess.

Based on retail sales figures the problem is widespread, and growing.

 

[Pack Mule]

I work for a lumber company that makes hardwood flooring. I was talking with a customer the other day about some white oak flooring he needed. I asked how soon he needed it and he said “I need it before the weekend because he wanted to let set in the house a while to get articulated.”
What he meant was acclimated.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. PM. Maybe he DID mean articulated. Did he ask for warped lumber to go around corners?

 

[Woodland Hills]

I have been involved in three house clearings: both parents and our own when we moved aboard. We all are familiar with how your stuff expands to fill the space available, it is not so easy to make it go away. It was easier with parents as we were not so invested, but I still remember writing the checks for our own belongings. Step one was to see if friends and family wanted anything which was very little. Step two was to see if Craigslist would thin things down which was also very little. Then it was on to the donation centers who turned out to be surprisingly picky. Then it was time for yard sales where we practicality paid people to haul stuff away. Finally it was time for the big dumpster.
Lessons learned? Nobody wants your antique furniture, “brown” furniture can’t even be given away no matter what you paid for it 30 years ago. The same with room size Persian carpets, plates, silverware, pots and pans and yard and garden tools. The only thing I had any luck selling was power and hand tools and shop furnishings and equipment, drill press, sanders, table saw, hydraulic press, etc.
Bottom line: nobody wants your old stuff and if you have heirs do them a favor and get rid of it yourself, don’t dump it on them.

Apologies for going off topic, but post #22 triggered me.

 

[Capitaine R]

We just purchased a used, but less than a year old aluminiun framed, adjustable boat lift cover. For about 1/3 the price of new. They even delivered it.
Thank you craigslist [emoji16]

 

[Pack Mule]

We had a new Coke machine installed last summer at the lumber mill. The guy that delivered it and put in place was very nice. He told me if we have any problems with the machine to just call the 800 number on the machine. He went on to say that I would not get a real person to talk to but I would get an animation instead.

 

[slowgoesit]

But you can also benefit from some of those poorly written ads, the big question is why were they poorly written. Maybe the owner is just and idiot but maybe it is a relative getting rid of granddad's boat after his passing. Or maybe it is the wife writing the ad as the sale of the item is part of divorce proceeding (how I got my bike). And often these third party advertisers don't know the worth of the item.

Yep, like the diesel generator I purchased for a song. The seller had drastically dropped his price because he got NO callers in about 3 weeks. I found his ad by purposely searching for "deisel" generator. I paid his last asking price, and was tickled pink!


My mother used to tell me that the written word was your first contact to many new people, be it in your job, or your private life. If you intent is to come across as an illiterate clod from from the backwoods of say Kentucky . . . wait, that's where I live right now, anyway, you are represented by your diction, and your grammar, so only you can decide how you want to come across!

 

[rsn48]

We have a local charity donation retailer much like a Sally Anne in Parksville BC called S.O.S; I have bought a lot of items from them. First used shoes that have barely been worn, look at the heel if its not worn at all, it's a pretty new shoe. I've bought a couple of Florsheims, Mephistos and other well known brand names. The average price is $10 but I had to pay $15 for the Mephistos. My boating shoes - Sperry - is from there, $10. My boating raincoat, two of my life jackets (inspected by the Coast Guard at French Creek), a number of great boating books on GPS, Radar, self teaching Navigation, and others including a second copy of Chapman's that I keep at home, the other one on the boat. I paid $5 for a 2006 edition of that Chapman.

[Short story: The first time I experienced anchor drag off of the bay and marina of Keats Island BC was back in 1976. Not only was it my first anchor drag experience, it was also my first anchoring experience. So I drop the anchor, wind comes up, boats all around me and I notice they all seem to be moving forward. Then I instantly realize they are stationary and I am going backwards. So up the anchor and reset. About 20 minutes later, the same experience - all the boats are going forward, hey wait a minute. So third time my buddy is on the tiller (26 foot Tanzer sailboat) and I am down below speed reading Chapman's chapter on anchoring and that is when I discovered Jesus.. no wait a minute... that is when I discovered "scope." After letting out what felt like a massive amount of rode, the anchor set (Fortress) and there was happiness through out the land, or at least in the bay. This story is why I always keep a copy of Chapman's on board.]

And my wife gave me a hard time after I brought my tenth shoes home from SOS. So I said to her, I paid ten dollars for this pair, how much did you pay for your last pair of shoes?

 

[Woodland Hills]

I like “shopping” in pawnshops. I’ve bought a lot of precision measuring tools, micrometers, dial indicators, torque wrenches, snap gages, etc as well as binoculars. That’s where I got my Canon 18x50 stabilized and my Steiners. All for dimes on the dollar!