January 28, 2004
eBay and the price of misspelling
How is it that identical items can fetch such widely divergent prices on eBay? Sometimes it is a matter of timing, or just luck -- especially for things for which there are not many buyers. Quite a bit, however, has to do with the quality of the description, as this article in today's NY Times explains:
When Holly Marshall wanted to sell a pair of dangling earrings, a popular style these days, she listed them on eBay once, and got no takers. She tried a second time, and still no interest.I've long wondered why teachers don't take a more aggressive stand in support of good spelling, arguing strictly in practical terms. As the Times article illustrates, if you can't spell it, you can't find it (or insure that it can be found).Was it the price? The fuzzy picture? Maybe the description: a beautiful pair of chandaleer earrings.
Such is the eBay underworld of misspellers, where the clueless — and sometimes just careless — sell labtop computers, throwing knifes, Art Deko vases, camras, comferters and saphires.
They do get bidders, but rarely very many. Often the buyers are those who troll for spelling slip-ups, buying items on the cheap and selling them all over again on eBay, but with the right spelling and for the right price.
UPDATE: For those for whom revelling in the (financial) downfall of careless spellers seems too negative, Glenn Reynolds has an MSNBC column celebrating spelling bees, prompted by the 2002 documentary, Spellbound.
Posted by David on January 28, 2004 12:06 PM
I think the problem on the internet as a whole is not so much spelling as typing and the lack of any proofreading at all. I also think that this is exploited by the unscrupulous who use it deliberately to confuse or even sometimes as a kind of code. Presumably they are also the ones trawling e-bay for typos. Also, texting has changed spelling, irreversibly in my opinion, as so many people now spell in a kind of phonetic shorthand. It has been suggested that the problem could be solved to some degree by using a lot more French!
I love your site and visit regularly to read your latest wonderful and fascinating stories.
Many regards,
Alex
Posted by: Alex on January 28, 2004 7:42 PM
Just noticed in your article on this subject at the end of the penultimate paragraph: "(or insure that it can be found)" Shouldn't it be ensure not insure?
Posted by: Alex on January 28, 2004 7:46 PM
Thanks for the kind comments!
I'm sure you are right, that many misspellings are due to sloppiness rather than ignorance. I'm not so sure about the impact of texting; learning shorthand doesn't necessarily entail the abandonment of longhand (and note that text messaging has not made big inroads here in the USA).
As for insure vs ensure, that's yet another case where the determinant is on what side of the Atlantic you reside.
Posted by: David on January 28, 2004 8:30 PM
There is actually a service now that automates the finding of misspelled ebay auctions. typoBid
Posted by: Aaron Hemming on October 1, 2005 3:01 PM
I found a cool tool for finding the typos on Ebay which also means finding the good deals. htttp://www.typotool.net
Posted by: Rachel on May 20, 2006 8:34 PM
cronaca.com