My list of seller red flags


I’ve compiled a list of annoying things sellers do. If I see any of these red flags I will not buy from them. Ideally every seller should agree to not do any of these before they are allowed to sell online.

- Overpriced
- Don’t talk about any flaws
- Keep re-posting
- Use unrelated keywords in ad so ad comes up when you search for different brand
- Paranoid language like " Cash and Carry only", "No spammers", No Trades...
- Using all CAPS and !!! marks

- Used car salesman lingo like"only $xxx , a great deal, a steal , and the worse, RARE "
- Ad consists entirely of copy/pasted info. from manufacturer website
- Any textspeak
- Gimmicky pricing like $999 or $995 or the worse, random price like $927
- Saying price is "Firm"..

- Reducing price by insignificant amount to bump ad
- Tooting own horn, i.e describing how awesome their product is.. Comes across as desperate to me..
- Seller saying they will lose money or taking a big loss .. Not my problem..

- Selling several items in one ad and updating the ad to say "SOLD" on certain items.
12inch45rpm
My indicator of true marketing skills is when seller posts an ad that reads, "If you are looking at this, then you know what it is all about."

Or, whenever I see "stunning" in ads or reviews, for that matter. So, you are selling it because it is "stunning".
This is more of a pet peeve, but sellers who claim the item is brand new in box never used...only opened to inspect and test and list the condition as new instead of mint. 

And then we have items with some pretty good scratches listed as a 7/10. The Audiogon scale is not forgiving and these items should be a 4/10 or 5/10. I go to sell an item that is truly a 7/10 and get comparable links sent to me...it used to be that I could say, okay that item was pretty beat up compared to mine...but now you can't see the photos on old listings...God I'm rambling. sorry
If you buy on a very reputable site like Audigone, much of that inherently gets filtered out.  I don't see a lot of what you're describing in your post, other than the sometimes questionable pics/stock photos.  I'm not sure what's wrong with "gimmicky" pricing, as we 2nd hand sellers take our queues from retailers.  We wouldn't say $995 at BB is gimmicky.  Also, you'll pass on a lot good deals if you read too much into firm pricing.  If it's more than you want to pay, move on.  I've bought things at firm prices and snagged really good deals to the extent that had I waited another x minutes, it would have been gone.

If I'm interested in a product, I'll ask the seller a question to gauge responsiveness, tone, etc.  I was interested in a Parasound amp one time and did just this.  The seller took days to answer my questions and tried to answer in one word or less.  I didn't care about the seller ratings at that point- I moved on.  By and large, I too base most of my decision on the seller ratings, as they speak volumes.  But pay careful attention to the reviews.  Sometimes they're through no fault of the seller and the buyer wasn't reasonable, if they're limited in number.         
agree, items listed as New, then the description says only used 20 hours...
OK, OK, I adjusted my "Gimmicky Pricing" from $1899 to $1875.

Will it fly off the shelf now?