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Contact Information (Phone, etc.) Essays and Information: A Divine and Delightful Madness: An Intro to W. German Pottery (The most recent essay.) Learning the Basics about West German Pottery (This is an older essay.) W. German Companies, Designers, and Studio Potters West German Picture Gallery and Identification Aid (pictures of items we've had over the last 3 years) To Buy or Not To Get the Picture Straight: The Basics of Selling Glass and Pottery on the Internet Ginfor's Odditiques
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   "Get the Picture Straight: The Basics of Selling Glass and Pottery on the Internet" by Forrest D. Poston THE WRITING: TITLE AND DESCRIPTION THE TITLE The title is essential because it's the first contact with a potential buyer, and for those people who don't click the "search title and description" box on eBay, the words in your title are the only things that will result in a hit. Use your best material in the title. I've seen pieces with a vague title when it turned out the seller knew the company name. Whenever possible, put the maker or artist in the title. There are assorted catch phrases, some fairly consistent and some that change with the winds of fashion. Get to know them and a sense of what they mean. Period or style phrases such as Art Nouveau, Art Deco, or Arts and Crafts can be your friend or foe. If you say vintage Art Nouveau for a piece marked "Made in the Czech Republic," you're off about a century, and you've lost buyer confidence. You've encountered many of the key words before if you stop to think about it. All you need to do is get used to using them. Play around a bit on eBay to find the best words. Look at some of the pieces you have and think about what words you'd use to describe them. Then go to the eBay search (and you'll get more results by clicking the "completed auctions" box) and try running some of those words through to see what comes up. Look at how those descriptions are written and see if they have other words that look fun or useful. Try those in searches, and keep a list of what words seem to be getting used------and which ones are resulting in hits and bids. You can keep a mental list of words if you like, but I tend to misplace mental lists even faster than written ones. Buy a small notebook and create your own dictionary of words that work. Avoid using words such as rare, unique, and amazing unless they really apply. Calling a Fenton bud vase from the 1970's rare isn't going to impress anyone, or at least the impression won't be a good one. Many words like these get used so much on eBay that they no longer have any meaning. There is one seller in particular who uses extreme adjectives and adverbs so much that I can usually spot his listings in a search immediately, and I tend to avoid his listings simply because his wares don't live up to his words. THE DESCRIPTION The description consists of two elements: information and style. We live in an age that treasures information, but don't overlook the importance of style because its effect on a potential buyer can be crucial in many ways. Still, I'll start by talking about the information, the what to say before the how to say it. My first suggestion is don't depend on your pictures to persuade your bidders. One picture may be worth a thousand words, but pictures have limitations, and words have certain powers of their own. Go ahead and repeat what's in the title line. In the past, I might have the height listed in the title and not bother to repeat it in the description. That always resulted in e-mails asking for the height. Tell everything you know and even most of what you're just guessing. What is it; who made it; where; when; what color; what size; what condition. You can use the old journalism questions as a guide: who, what, when, where, how, and why. The first five have been used for a long time, and the why has joined them somewhat more recently. Old guideline or not, it's still one of the best, and I keep finding more and more ways it applies. (I've begun using it more and more when I teach college composition.) Don't overlook the obvious things to include. If it's a pottery vase, say it's a pottery vase. Describe the form. In some guides, you can find descriptions of the different shapes and their names, and when you look through books to identify makers and such, notice what names and phrases they use. I recently bought what the seller called a horn-shaped vase, and so it is. However, it's better known as a cornucopia, and that word just may have pulled in the right bidder to get the seller more money. For my sake, I'm glad they didn't use it, but for your sake it would be a different story. I haven't identified the maker yet, so I have no immediate plans to sell it, but if I were to try, I might write the description like this: This horn shaped, or footed cornucopia, pottery vase has wonderful lines and proportions to go with the eye- catching mid-century colors. It's reminiscent of a horn goblet that might have been drained by a Viking or Celt long ago. The maker gave the tail a little extra curl and twist to add to the fun. The high gloss black glaze is covered with beaded raindrop forms in pastel shades of green, yellow, blue and red, almost like a raining rainbow. The droplets may have a random look, but they actually fit the form quiet nicely. The vase is made of a fairly white clay and is marked with an impressed England and a company mark in the form of an R. There's also a hand painted mark that looks like a J, which I suspect is the artist's mark. Based on the form and color, I would guess that this piece dates to about 1960, but it could go as far back as the original Art Deco era. The height is about 8 inches, and the condition is very good with only some slight wear on the tails of a few droplets, but there is no damage at all to the pottery. In a full listing, there would be more about the business terms, such as shipping, payment, guarantees, etc. This just concentrates on the piece itself. Since I enjoy writing, I've added some extra style that isn't utterly necessary, but the key information is in there, and it should be clear to any potential bidders. Notice that I didn't give every conceivable measurement. I didn't say what the diameter of the base is or the opening. There's little likelihood that anyone will care, and it doesn't really give any better mental picture. Is it a big, medium or small piece? That's pretty much what most people want to know. I do know of one person who buys according to the size and shape of the space he happens to have available on a shelf at that time, but let such people ask if they want to know more. Too much information causes clutter and confusion. In a full description, I might separate the part about condition. My regular listings are usually separated into five parts by the description, the condition (and guarantees), payment terms, shipping, and an invitation to ask questions. If I get wordy with the description, I break it into two paragraphs. Always take some pity on those viewing your listing. A full listing with no breaks is confusing and dismaying. On the other hand, listings that get too fancy with font colors, font sizes and styles, and placement can be more daunting than helpful. I've had students whose handwriting was so poor that it was almost unreadable, but I've also had students whose writing was so elegant that the swirls, while beautiful, were just as unreadable. As a guide, feel free to make your listing pretty, but the first goal is to make it work. That means getting your viewer to read and understand what's written. Don't use backgrounds for the pictures or the site that are too fancy (take too long to load or outshine the item you're selling). THE PSYCHOLOGICAL ELEMENT -- STYLE Style is overlooked by most sellers. Buyers may not notice it consciously very often, but it's almost never overlooked by the subconscious. Take the time to run some searches on eBay, pull up items from a variety of sellers and look at their listing, especially the writing. Consider how you would describe each person and how the listing makes you feel (about them, the item, and yourself). It wouldn't be a bad idea to actually jot these reactions down on paper. If so, write for speed more than consideration. Tap into some of the subconscious reactions, and see what you get. After you've gotten ideas about numerous listings, compare the listings to what you've written, and ask yourself why. What is it about the way the listings were done that generated the different responses. Don't be surprised if many of the lists have very mixed reactions. We're complicated creatures, and we're liable to react in different ways to a single stimulus. You may find that you don't get much of a reaction list the first time or two that you try it. We tend to have quite a few mental blocks in place when it comes to thinking and writing, but if you really cut loose with this idea and play with speed, you can have some fun while you surprise yourself. Oh, one word of warning. Some of the negative reactions you find may well reflect more on you than on the seller. Be honest with yourself, but don't be harsh with yourself if a bit of self-realization slips in. Anyway, there will probably be some positive realizations as well. If you're already a seller on eBay, take your list of things you like and don't like about other people's listings and compare those reactions to your own listing. Odds are you'll find that some of your dislikes are in your listing, and some of the things you like aren't there yet. Obviously, you need to edit the things you don't like, but not everything you like from other listings will have a place in yours. Consider the context. You may also find that when you change one part of the listing, a part that looked fine before now needs some tinkering. Don't worry. That's a very natural ripple effect, and it never really goes away. Noticing it simply means that you've got the awareness you need to do some revisions----though sometimes you won't notice them for days, weeks, maybe months. When you find things you like in the writing of other listings, don't take the phrasing exactly. Aside from being against the rules, it really isn't as much fun. Take the idea and make it fit you and the impression you want to make. I know that many of you don't enjoy writing as much as I do, and that's fine. All I'm really saying you need to do is become aware of the effect your writing has and make choices. If your choice is a minimalist description, that's not a problem. If every listing were as over the top as some of mine, it would drive people over the edge, then eventually become boring itself. But keep in mind that intentionally or unintentionally,
you're creating an impression. Why not have some fun with it?
Create the identity you'd like to have on the net. We all have
a kind of multiple identity anyway, the many different sides
that we show to different people under different circumstances.
Those identities sometimes shift in ways we don't control, but
your seller persona can be your own creation. Maybe there's an
extroverted comic tucked away that you've always wanted to be,
but you couldn't bring yourself to be that way around people.
Writing is a way to craft yourself into being who you really
are---if you want to go that route. Keep in mind that your created
self in your listings should be an honest aspect of yourself.
Creating a lie always has a way of coming back on you, usually
from both the outside and the inside. (You create yourself primarily
from yourself, and from outside sources through your experiences----which
then is still yourself. My two primary external sources are Jimmy
Stewart movies and Bugs Bunny cartoons.)external sources are
Jimmy Stewart movies and Bugs Bunny cartoons.) The Rushed listing tosses everything into
one long string with little or no attention to sentences, spelling,
or order. Even when I teach writing, I'm not a real stickler
for technical perfection, but when errors make the reading harder
for a potential bidder, then it's a problem. It's not that such
a listing makes you look stupid, but it makes it look like you
don't care about the item or the bidder. If you don't care, why
should I trust you? Okay, so sometimes you really aren't overwhelmed
with free time to craft your descriptions, but most of the writing
will be the same or almost the same for each listing. I have
my primary listing (everything except the description of the
specific item) saved as a PageMill file (though most processing
programs should work.) Before I start listing, I copy that file
and start my listing by pasting "the usual" into place.
After that, I just have to write the physical description and
fill in any details about condition and shipping. Every now and
then I go in and do some revisions to my saved copy, but most
of my time, energy, and immediate creativity go into the description
paragraph. If you use one of the listing programs that saves
your preferences, that can be even easier, but don't let the
program take over so much that you stop thinking. Also don't
let the bells and whistles those programs make possible dominate
the I'm not going to launch into any personal examples here because those stories last way too long, but consider how your chosen persona reflects your opinions of people and how that affects your life beyond glass and pottery. There's no denying that some people are quite untrustworthy, even if likeable, and some are downright unlikeable for a variety of reasons. I'd rather not buy from or sell to a person I don't trust or like, and I have been known to pass items on the net just because I didn't like something in the way the listing was written. There are also a number of auctioneers I haven't been back to in years. In some cases, it was because the auctioneer was simply too boring to endure, but the worst are the ones who verbally abuse the crowd for not bidding as fast or as high as the auctioneer would like. However, even though there are bad, mean, or downright nasty people in the world (and we all have that potential), that doesn't mean that I have to live as if everyone I meet (in person or in passing on the net) is out to get me. People are also capable of being surprisingly kind, and if you really pay attention you'll notice that there are more people out there wanting to be kind and happy than there are Scrooges. I think it will benefit your listings and your mood to live with a belief in the good and an awareness of the bad. In my listings, I always make a humorous reference to the possibility of someone trying to cheat me, often including something such as, "Sorry, but Monopoly money is right out," or "Please don't do anything that would make my bank huffy." For those who have no plans to plan a fiddle, it gives them a chuckle. For those who may have less charitable plans, it quietly says I'm on the look-out for such doings. I think that's part of the reason that I haven't had problems with fraud. There have been a few incidents that make me suspicious, particularly involving insurance claims, but in such cases you just keep playing by the rules, and the situation tends to play out quietly. In business, you always have to deal with the possibility of bad checks, intentional or not. I've had people bounce a few, and I've had a few of my own bounce (particularly before Ginny took over the finances), but those were honest mistakes quickly taken care of, and there's no reason to be disturbed by it. You're all familiar with the idea that what goes around comes around, and I think that applies to anger and distrust as well. If I were ever going to defraud someone, it would probably be one of those sellers who already distrusts everyone. Being assumed a thief tends to make me just about mad enough to be one. If there are people out there who get a little more annoyed with a little less control.............. And if nothing else, that assumption of the wickedness of the world has a tendency to drain your joy and energy. I'd rather be happy and get ripped-off once in a while than be able to claim that no one put one over on me at the expense of actually living. Keep in mind that it tends to be just such closing of yourself, building those internal walls out of fear, that turns people into Scrooges anyway. Back to Photography Back to Introduction and Philosophy On to "Things to Know" |
