All About Pocket Knives

Because of false description.

On ebay listings they are using stock AI (Artificial Intelligence) to describe the knives in the photos:

For auction is a diverse collection of 18 vintage folding pocket knives.
Each knife is unique and boasts intricate design details, making them perfect for collectors or enthusiasts.
The lot includes a variety of blade shapes and lengths, as well as handles made from different
materials such as bone, wood, and metal.
These knives are sure to make a great addition to any collection or as a gift for
someone who appreciates the artistry of vintage knives.

So weak and untrue....

Scott, I posted about this about a month ago. It’s rampant on eBay. I am now stating on my listings on eBay that I do not use AI for knife descriptions. These AI generated descriptions are deceiving and tell you nothing about the snap, fit and finish, chips or cracks and wobble. That is not a part of the AI lexicon I guess. I find it irritating.

Lost in translation.

playing devil's advocate a bit but how would you desribe a collection of 18 knives ? From my observations most sellers would say "here are some knives, look at pics for desription". AI or not, it's not untrue maybe just not very authentic. Does lose something without a reference to the listing of course.

OK, did a search and found this 18 knife listing, funny part is that it's only for 9 knives.

If you wanna sell 18 knives at one time, then take the time to say something about each one instead of being lazy. My pet peeve? “See photos for description.”

SwedgeHead wrote: ↑Wed Jan 10, 2024 4:13 pm how would you desribe a collection of 18 knives ?

IMO it depends on the quality of the knives.

If the knives are all new or of decent quality or constitute a collection, then the seller should take the time to describe each one in detail. If the seller doesn't include an adequate description in the listing, then the buyer should message him and request the specific details desired prior to bidding or purchasing.

However, as is frequently the case with knife lots, when someone sells a batch of used knives it's because each knife is not worth enough on its own to merit the time and hassle to sell individually. Buyers of knife lots like these should understand this and just accept a superficial description.

I also think that buyers who purchase a batch of used knives are generally interested in them either for parts (for repairs) or are interested in only one or two particular knives in the lot. If the seller cares enough to accommodate these potential buyers, in the description he could include a simple statement such as this:
"Please message me with questions regarding any individual knife in this lot and I will send more photos and describe its condition in more detail."

tvic wrote: ↑Wed Jan 10, 2024 4:45 pm My pet peeve? “See photos for description.”

Thank you.

___________
Mike

Have to agree with all of this. Its pretty typical to see minimal descriptions, and sadly many that say "contact me for more info" , don't respond... thats the nature of the beast I suppose. Sometimes still you see these large lots going for a good chunk of change, meaning someone spotted something of interest in the pics or got some insights from the seller.

Back to OPs post, if AI it wasn't all that bad a job considering, well except that smal discrepency between nine and EIGHTEEN knives.

Everything said here is very accurate, I think a lot of times several knives
sold in a group ( like lot of 9) are from people who don’t know much
about knives. They very often do not answer you when you ask a
specific question.

Bob

My 1.5 cents here is that I buy knives in lots to save money. If there's an AI description I assume it's not a "knife guy" selling the lot, which means that there could be some gems in there.

Accurate description of each knife means the seller is knowledgeable about knives and picked out the goodies already, and I can probably scroll through their other items and see all the big names and heavy hitters listed individually for top dollar.

The ai descriptions are dogwater for knives. And pretty bad for everything else. "See photos for description" is ok with me as long as the photos at least show blades and tangs. Whether they snap or not is the gamble i take for being cheap.

Here is one that I found recently, buried in a random lot on eBay. Near pristine, never sharpened. Marshall Wells with the ZENITH etch.

Regarding the general topic, if I am listing a lot of several decent knives on eBay, even if they are just "users", I provide a description of each individual knife and its flaws, etc., even if they are non-collectible low dollar knives.

OTOH, for broken "parts" knives I just provide a general overview.

If I am selling a large lot of real "cheapo" knives, I group the ones that have no flaws together, then just provide a general overview so that I can at least say that all knives in the lot have no damage, all have strong snap, no wobble, etc.

I agree that the stupid AI generated descriptions are WORSE than useless, these sellers would be better off just saying "see photos".