Bargains in misspellings

I just watched an auction end online for a brand new pair of men’s workboots … a brand with an excellent reputation … being offered for $15 — $100 below retail!

Number of bids?

Zero. No sale!

Here’s a pretty good reason why … the boots were advertised as “Bloodstone Workboots” — but the actual brand is Blundstone, not Bloodstone.

Now there’s always been a market on sites like eBay to find a bargain via misspellings — whether a typo or simply the seller not knowing the correct spelling!

I know for sure that typo’s slip through my fingers more than I’d like, and I don’t profess to be a leading authority on spelling and grammar (an aside: why isn’t grammar spelled “grammer”, like hammer or stammer?).

If I was a smart seller, I’d at least do my research to confirm the right brand name. I’d also include the common misspellings in my listing, so it’s more easily found by people who don’t know the correct spelling when doing their search (especially on eBay when they search title and description).

Of course, if I was a smart buyer, I’d be searching on misspellings to find bargains like a pair of brand new top brand workboots for sale at $100 less than retail with 0 bids!

13 July 2008 | Filed Under Art of Selling