07 January 2007

What, no picture?

If one is looking for things to buy, the internet is a great place. No line, no rude people, no need to find a parking space. There are many sites out there that sell everything from paper clips to houses, be it used or new. One of my favourites is Ebay. Since I am looking for a place to live, realtor.com, among others, are one of the many online 'shopping' places I visit.

Above is a good example of a photo of an item that one would look for online. It just so happens this is what I want. Actually, I just went ahead and bought it on ebay. See, it helps to have a picture. Perfect situation: I look up a desired item and there is a list of items accompanied by a brief description and at least one decent photo. The online company takes care of organizing the items in a list. It is up to the seller to provide the rest.

First the description, copy and pasting the description from the manufacture is generally fine. But, if you are selling a used item, we as the potential buyer will need details of the condition of the item and what other 'unusual' differences from a new/sealed item. This is very important especially for an item like a house. Things like square footage, address, condition, number of rooms, and if there are dead bodies in the back yard.Photos. This maybe the most important thing to include in your post. Again, manufacture stock photos are okay when items are new (and when posted by a "Power Seller"). If there is no photo, how do I know you even have the item in question. The internet is a visual medium. Images are (sometimes) the only way you can communicate to the world as to what you are selling.

Look, if you have the technology to post something on the internet, you should have technology to upload an image. How can not have a digital camera by now? Are you still renting/buying VHS tapes? Almost every personal digital device has a camera on it, my phone even has a camera on it.

Do what I do. See all these images here? I jacked them from the internet. The technology is there, embrace it.

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