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Thread: Poor English in Ads

  1. #1
    Registered User dcoventry's Avatar
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    Default Poor English in Ads

    Just a mention.

    I love looking through the ads to see what is for sale, and I am often shocked by the descriptions, or lack thereof.

    I would love to think that that mandos are so cross cultural that English as a second language becomes an issue. But, I think that is not it.

    No real issue here, just a-wondering about the this-witch.
    2005 Rigel G5 #2196
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  3. #2

    Default Re: Poor English in Ads

    I've got a couple of pieces of string here, and I was wondering how long they should be?

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  5. #3
    Registered User Petrus's Avatar
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    Default Re: Poor English in Ads

    You think it's bad here, try Craigslist or eBay. Of course, sometimes English is a second language to some advertisers, but you'd think they'd make the extra effort if they're serious about getting their item sold.

    Here's a doozy from eBay -- some guy in France trying to sell a vintage Selmer tenor guitar for $50,000:

    very rare old selmer guitar one of the last in the world tenor model eddy freeman for some restoration must be do the number of stamp is 322 the head need to restored but it s cheap to do it with a good luthier maker one key miss a part see pictures the back the neck was very good. this is a very good guitar for jazzman and other colector. please PAYPAL ACCEPTED BUT YOU NEED TO TAKE UPS TO MY HOME AFTER PAIEMENT ACCEPTED OR WIRE TRANSFERT AND YOU NEED TO TAKE ¨PLANE TO PARIS OR BRUXELLE TO PICK UP AFTER PAIEMENT
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/very-rare-gu...-/271355383584


  6. #4
    Registered User G7MOF's Avatar
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    Default Re: Poor English in Ads

    It says the neck WAS very good, what is it now???
    I never fail at anything, I just succeed at doing things that never work....


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  7. #5
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    Default Re: Poor English in Ads

    Not every person is articulate. Not every person is educated. Each is still a person attempting to communicate. I appreciate attempts to communicate. Communication is the essence of being human.

    I make the best sense I can of communications and then test to determine whether or not my understanding is correct.
    Stephen Perry

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  9. #6
    Mandolin Botherer Shelagh Moore's Avatar
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    Default Re: Poor English in Ads

    I don't mind bad English at all as long as there is some attempt to accurately describe the instrument in question. However, I'm not keen on those ads that say absolutely nothing or make you feel as if you're unworthy to read them

  10. #7
    F5G & MD305 Astro's Avatar
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    Default Re: Poor English in Ads

    So does this thread's tittle suffer from "Poor English" ?

    Are we talking poor "English" or poor Syntax ?

    I'm just trying to grow legs on this thread to see if it can be pounded out a little more. Its slow here.

    Digression: in general, the ads that bother me most are the ones with no price. Runners up are the ones with the single picture of the back of the instrument, scant info on the specs, and no link for more pictures or info.

    Finally, in this day and age as we all sit searching the internet for minute details on the next motor oil we buy for the lawnmower, is there any excuse under heaven for a three thousand dollar (and up) hand built instrument to not include a sound clip in the ad?

    As far as what would drive me to purchase sight unseen, I can tell more from a 10 second utube clip than three paragraphs of subjective descriptions of the same meaningless cliché's.

    I want another mando. A nice 2-5 k hand built instrument with pleasant voicing (to me) and remarkable playability. I dont care what it looks like or if its used a bit. As much as I've lusted and been tempted to buy through the internet ads, I've decided that would be foolish (for me). So the journey begins, and the quest is on. The hard part is finding the mando I want to test drive and then getting to it before its sold. It takes me awhile to have time to get there. Seems everyone else is OK with buying sight unseen (and unheard).

    My guess is that for internet purchases, the thrill and reward of the purchase itself adequately fulfills us to carry the momentum towards satisfaction... For awhile. I went through it with guitars a decade ago. But I'm over the "shiny new toy" syndrome. I've played that out with GAS. No thrill to the purchase for me (I dread it now like buying a car). And I hate selling the hangers-on. Its so much effort getting rid of the ones that fall a little short. They are still good instruments for something. We rationalize keeping them mostly because its such trouble to sell them.

    I just want to get on with it... with the right mando.

    Anyone want to buy a few 2k guitars ?

    Rant over. I hope most of you skipped it.
    Last edited by Astro; Jan-04-2014 at 8:45am.
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  12. #8

    Default Re: Poor English in Ads

    I'll take a few mis-spellings any day over the depressingly normal cliche-filled, imagination-free rubbish about the 'hoss' that 'plays like butter', is a 'banjo killer' - and, of course, is 'awesome'. When I was a kid my Dad, a high school English teacher, told me to avoid the word 'nice' whenever possible. 'Awesome' is the new nice, only far, far worse.

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  14. #9
    Registered User Tom Haywood's Avatar
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    Default Re: Poor English in Ads

    Where I live, the ability to misuse the English language makes you welcome in various cultural surroundings and lends a certain air of authority within that setting. When I see an ad where the poster describes the instrument well and then says "this is one of the best bluegrass mandolins I have ever saw", I tend to think that I should give his opinion greater respect.
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    Default Re: Poor English in Ads

    Spell check is no substitute for a good teacher .... that's a fact Jack.... R/
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    bon vivant jaycat's Avatar
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    Default Re: Poor English in Ads

    Quote Originally Posted by Astro View Post
    . . . this thread's tittle . . .
    Are you allowed to say that?
    "The paths of experimentation twist and turn through mountains of miscalculations, and often lose themselves in error and darkness!"
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  18. #12
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    Default Re: Poor English in Ads

    Over the years it seems like the mandolin descriptions are boasting of greater tonal qualities. So much of this across the board makes me a little suspicious.

    But the biggest change i'd like to see is to have a required field for price. It's such a time waster to have to make so many inquiries just because the seller won't state his price. Money just might be a universal language.

  19. #13

    Default Re: Poor English in Ads

    Quote Originally Posted by Astro View Post
    Digression: in general, the ads that bother me most are the ones with no price. Runners up are the ones with the single picture of the back of the instrument, scant info on the specs, and no link for more pictures or info.

    Finally, in this day and age as we all sit searching the internet for minute details on the next motor oil we buy for the lawnmower, is there any excuse under heaven for a three thousand dollar (and up) hand built instrument to not include a sound clip in the ad?

    As far as what would drive me to purchase sight unseen, I can tell more from a 10 second utube clip than three paragraphs of subjective descriptions of the same meaningless cliché's.

    I want another mando. A nice 2-5 k hand built instrument with pleasant voicing (to me) and remarkable playability. I dont care what it looks like or if its used a bit. As much as I've lusted and been tempted to buy through the internet ads, I've decided that would be foolish (for me). So the journey begins, and the quest is on. The hard part is finding the mando I want to test drive and then getting to it before its sold. It takes me awhile to have time to get there. Seems everyone else is OK with buying sight unseen (and unheard).

    My guess is that for internet purchases, the thrill and reward of the purchase itself adequately fulfills us to carry the momentum towards satisfaction... For awhile. I went through it with guitars a decade ago. But I'm over the "shiny new toy" syndrome. I've played that out with GAS. No thrill to the purchase for me (I dread it now like buying a car). And I hate selling the hangers-on. Its so much effort getting rid of the ones that fall a little short. They are still good instruments for something. We rationalize keeping them mostly because its such trouble to sell them.

    I just want to get on with it... with the right mando.

    Anyone want to buy a few 2k guitars ?

    Rant over. I hope most of you skipped it.
    I wonder, though, if it would be so bad if you just bought and sold a few over the Internet. You might lose 100 dollars or so on each deal, but then traveling anywhere costs a similar amount. And you can hunt down a mandolin, play it for hours in a shop, and yet three months later you can start to be a little jaded toward its tone. But if you buy one, try it out for a few months and decide against it, you've still gained valuable experience and had the use of it all that time. Most well-made mandolins have something to offer, so maybe this process can be more fun than you think?

  20. #14
    F5G & MD305 Astro's Avatar
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    Default Re: Poor English in Ads

    I can mis spell anythin, and usually do

    I almost always mis spell "misspell". "Title" gets me every time, and so does "rhythm".

    If it weren't for spell check, I'd never get through a post.

    I figure I must have been dropped on my head or something.
    No matter where I go, there I am...Unless I'm running a little late.

  21. #15
    F5G & MD305 Astro's Avatar
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    Default Re: Poor English in Ads

    Quote Originally Posted by OldSausage View Post
    I wonder, though, if it would be so bad if you just bought and sold a few over the Internet... so maybe this process can be more fun than you think?
    Wise words, and I am reconsidering. Its just I really hate the process of selling instruments that I am ready to let go. So I am trying to be extra cautious. Also part of it is that I have played so few nice mandos that I'm afraid I don't really know what I want yet.
    No matter where I go, there I am...Unless I'm running a little late.

  22. #16
    Registered User Petrus's Avatar
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    Default Re: Poor English in Ads

    Eh, I'm tired of cheezy instruments too. One of these days I'll just spring for a quality fiddle I've been on the lookout for, like this 1695 Cremona.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    http://www.ebay.com/itm/An-old-Itali...-/290959101259


    Or why cut corners ... I should just go all out for this "hillbilly strad violin" that's "extream very rare." Just a buck short of $10M, and the seller is even nice enough to throw in free shipping.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    http://www.ebay.com/itm/hillbilly-st...-/131029555866

  23. #17

    Default Re: Poor English in Ads

    Quote Originally Posted by Astro View Post
    Wise words, and I am reconsidering. Its just I really hate the process of selling instruments that I am ready to let go. So I am trying to be extra cautious. Also part of it is that I have played so few nice mandos that I'm afraid I don't really know what I want yet.
    Well, that's where I think it could particularly useful: you probably still won't know until you've had a number of these in your hands for quite some time, and even then you may not know. Ears and hands are not what people think they are. They are attached to a wet-ware computer that silently reprograms itself every day. And any mandolin anyone buys at whatever level is to some extent a compromise. You've been on here long enough to know what the good choices are, so you can't go that far wrong. I agree it can be a pain to sell things, although sometimes you meet nice people and then that's fun too.

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    MandolaViola bratsche's Avatar
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    Default Re: Poor English in Ads

    Quote Originally Posted by Astro View Post
    If it weren't for spell check, I'd never get through a post.
    Spell check has saved these aging eyes from missing what these poor-typing fingers have done on plenty of occasions, so I won't knock it altogether. But I do wish that the Spell Check Authorities would get their dictionary up to date already.

    I just grit my teeth whenever I read that all one needs to do is this, that and the other thing... and, VIOLA!... it'll be just right.

    Big ol' pet peeve of mine... for some darn reason.

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  26. #19
    Registered User BlueMt.'s Avatar
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    Default Re: Poor English in Ads

    The poor grammar doesn't bother me as much as not including a picture or price. Sound clips are great except that a lot of what you hear is from the player. I've purchased a couple of fiddles from a dealer that has great sound clips of the instruments, played by pros. The problem is that I can't make them sound as good; I've had the same happen with mandos.

    I agree with OS, I've had mostly good experiences buying online, especially on the Cafe classifieds. I've chosen to live far away from big cities and don't like to visit them, so buying via Internet is a must. Shipping is the worst part of buying online but I've been lucky, so far.
    Eric

  27. #20
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    Default Re: Poor English in Ads

    English usage bothered me at first but then I realized that this is an interest group about mandolins, not spelling and grammar.
    Bart McNeil

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    Registered User Bill Snyder's Avatar
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    Default Re: Poor English in Ads

    Bratsche, that is how you spell viola. Name:  viola.jpg
Views: 798
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    Of course if it was a word usage check it would correct it to voilà.
    Bill Snyder

  30. #22
    Registered User Elliot Luber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Poor English in Ads

    Saw this on Facebook the other day… How do you calm an English critic? "There, they're, their."

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  32. #23
    MandolaViola bratsche's Avatar
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    Default Re: Poor English in Ads

    Not sure if you're being serious or facetious, Bill, but if you type in "voilà", spelchek doesn't recognize it, and if you have that awful auto-correction feature turned on (which I don't, and won't), it will override you and make it "viola" instead, which I guess is the closest recognizable word it has in its meager vocabulary. That is the cause of my pet peeve.

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  33. #24
    Registered User Charley wild's Avatar
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    Default Re: Poor English in Ads

    Using poor English along with poor spelling in an ad does make a difference to me. Maybe it shouldn't but it does. It's a knee jerk thing. There is an implied laziness or maybe shoddiness that makes me instinctively wary. Add poor English and spelling to no price included, a photo of the back, and a cliche filled ad and it's an automatic no sale as far as I'm concerned.

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  35. #25
    but that's just me Bertram Henze's Avatar
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    Default Re: Poor English in Ads

    Quote Originally Posted by Tommando View Post
    When I see an ad where the poster describes the instrument well and then says "this is one of the best bluegrass mandolins I have ever saw", I tend to think that I should give his opinion greater respect.
    How about "this one ain't no part of nothing"
    Who are we to judge after accepting that...
    the world is better off without bad ideas, good ideas are better off without the world

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