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Suggestion for selling effects

#22
I've sold a lot of effects on here and I go back and forth on this. The more popular pedals I feel speak for themselves (bass whammy, ditto looper, wooly mammoth, etc) but when I sold less "known" pedals I would put a line or two in the description saying what they did or what more common pedals they sounded like. Maybe it was just laziness, but I felt like those pedals would be snatched up by people who knew what they wanted before someone would stumble across them and the description would be redundant.

It is definitely a fair point though. When I first started learning about effects I spent a lit of time googling pedals I had seen in the classifieds. :/
 
#23
OK, I'm really not trying to be a jerk here, but you're already online - you can't just open a new tab and google the name of the pedal? It takes less than ten seconds. You don't even need to click through to a page, most of the time the search results page will have enough information to at least let you know what type of effect it is. Heck, the google suggested search terms might even fill in the blank for you.
 
#24
thats why I like the mxr pedals....no question on what they are.... 10371341_10203624152384558_3436562588602705672_o.jpg
10371341_10203624152384558_3436562588602705672_o.jpg
 
#26
ddnidd1 said:
If you can find a manufacturer's marketing blurb or a Youtube demo you'll know a lot more than you will from a seller's brief description.

C'mon, it's not that time consuming.
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The_Janitor said:
OK, I'm really not trying to be a jerk here, but you're already online - you can't just open a new tab and google the name of the pedal? It takes less than ten seconds. You don't even need to click through to a page, most of the time the search results page will have enough information to at least let you know what type of effect it is. Heck, the google suggested search terms might even fill in the blank for you.
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You are both missing the point. Of course you can google one pedal, or even two or three. When there are 100 new pedals put up every day, I'm not going to google every one I don't know.

Are you saying it is too much trouble to put the word fuzz, distortion, overdrive, compressor, synth in your ad? If I was trying to sell something, I would make it as EASY as possible for the buyer, but that's just me.
 
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#27
lfmn16 said:
I was scrolling through the effects pedals, looking for my next impulse buy, when it occurred to me, and not for the first time, that I'd probably have even more pedals if I knew what even half of the pedals that were for sale did.

If something looks particularly interesting, I'll look it up, but a lot of times the name of the pedal doesn't really tell what it does, and if you are not familiar with pedals, it's not always easy to figure out.

So I'd like to make the suggestion that even a one line blurb telling exactly what the pedal does would probably help it sell quicker.

Just my 2 cents.
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My 2 cents--- a brief, general, one word description would be OK--- distortion, chorus, flange.......

After that, if you need more info, do a search---- or you probably don't need it.
 
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#28
Slevage said:
My 2 cents--- a brief, general, one word description would be OK--- distortion, chorus, flange.......

After that, if you need more info, do a search---- or you probably don't need it.
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Yeah, I think that is all that would be needed, just one word or abbreviation in the title. It could even be added as a special metadata field in the site so it can be a pull down menu with 10-15 choices and a catch all "other".
 
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#29
jbybj said:
http://www.talkbass.com/threads/a-request-to-sellers.1081212/

When I posed the same request I was kind surprised that I got any resistance at all. Sounds like a no-brainer to me
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Some people have no idea how to sell something. In all seriousness, as the seller you should make it as easy as possible to buy and you should be encouraging the impulse buy. I've bought more than one pedal because it had an enticing description with links to demos and reviews.

Is there some kind of purist thing going on here - we have to earn our right to buy a pedal???:laugh:
 
#31
I agree with the above post that says it depends on how obscure/boutique a pedal is. A Darkglass VMT pedal does not need a description of what it does. If I have found a setting/use that isn't commonly discussed on the forum, then by all means, I'll share that. Otherwise, it's only important to know the condition, use, etc. Maybe it's old school, but I just think that if you don't know what it is, then you don't need it.
 
#32
I get that it doesn't seem that big a deal to add a description to help sell the pedal, but here's the thing. I'm not in the business of selling pedals. I don't want to "sell" you a pedal. I want you to buy a pedal that you know you could use or that you know you want to try. It's not my priority to sell you on it. I want to pass on a pedal that is no longer working for me or that I'm just not interested in keeping. If I want to speed up the process, I'll lower the price. BTW, nothing irks me more than selling something for a really good deal to hook someone up and then seeing them turn around a week later and sell it for well more than they just paid. It's totally their prerogative, but it just kills the community feel.

IMO the classifieds are not the place to learn about pedals. Maybe to learn what's out there on the market, but the forums are a much better place to learn about pedals. Need a chorus? Do a search for best chorus to start. A high end boutique effect is not the place to start. Even if it is all you'll ever need, it's usually better to have tried lower end pedals to know for yourself that what you have is worth the money you paid. OR know from the forums that it's something you want to go for.
 
#33
lfmn16 said:
Some people have no idea how to sell something. In all seriousness, as the seller you should make it as easy as possible to buy and you should be encouraging the impulse buy. I've bought more than one pedal because it had an enticing description with links to demos and reviews.

Is there some kind of purist thing going on here - we have to earn our right to buy a pedal???:laugh:
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Pretty much :) As a member of a community, I really don't want to saddle people with impulse buys and buyer's regret.
 
#35
jumblemind said:
I don't want to "sell" you a pedal. I want you to buy a pedal that you know you could use or that you know you want to try. It's not my priority to sell you on it. I want to pass on a pedal that is no longer working for me or that I'm just not interested in keeping.
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This is the disconnect. I coming at it from the seller want to sell a pedal and the buyer wanting to buy (and maybe not knowing exactly what they want).

I don't think there is a right or wrong approach. My only point is that if your objective is to sell a pedal, you should make it as easy as possible for the buyer.
 
#40
lfmn16 said:
I don't think there is a right or wrong approach. My only point is that if your objective is to sell a pedal, you should make it as easy as possible for the buyer.
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Wholeheartedly agree. Which is why i focus on honest descriptions, good communication, response time, packaging, shipping, etc.

I think it's important to include full titles and basic descriptions to help people trying to perform site searches, so we're all advocating a similar end. I just strongly disagree that my job as a tb seller is to "sell" someone on something. Like I said, this isn't a business for me (and shouldn't be per rules). My job is to be a good member of the community.
 
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