Keywords are not false advertising

From: Innfogra_at_aol.com <(Innfogra_at_aol.com)>
Date: Sun Dec 13 16:41:08 1998

When you shop ebay you soon realize that to find anything you need to use a
search engine. Search engines use keywords. Finding the right keywords that
will find what you are looking for is difficult. I spend a lot of time going
through completed auctions to try and figure out what keywords people use to
describe their stuff.

The question then becomes "What do I list this as, that will trip the keywords
that people search for?" You end up packing the limited space for the
description with keywords that are only related to the item you are selling.
This is an unfortunate consequence of the Internet revolution, not false
advertising. The Internet revolution is about making contacts. We are making
new modes of how to do this.

I have some gold chips that would be attractive to collectors (8080s, memory,
8008, etc.) but I have yet to figure out what to call them when I list them on
ebay. I am spending considerable time to try and figure out what keywords
people search for. I suspect my listings will be a mishmash of related words
when I get done. When I list these next year I expect to see lots of chuckles
about the prices I hope I am getting.

I find the comments about high prices for collectibles very interesting. Sure
you can find stuff going for hundreds of dollars. However if you search
completed sales you will find that a full range of prices exist. What brings
in top dollar are working machines, with accessories, software, documentation
and original boxes.
If it is non-working, missing parts it often sells at a reasonable price, a
fraction of what the high end machines sell for. Another reason I see is for a
low selling price is a poor choices of keywords. If people can't find
you......

I appreciate the mention of the ebay listings. It helps me with my research
and often provides a few chuckles when I look at what people want for their
stuff.

We are at the beginning of a revolution, I don't think anyone knows where it
will shake out.
Received on Sun Dec 13 1998 - 16:41:08 GMT