This is for all of you folks who advertise on Craigslist. It probably applies as much to all such "classified ads" types of services but at the moment it's Craigslist that is making me both laugh and crazy at the same time. It seems that one just CANNOT word an ad so clearly that someone out there cannot misunderstand it.
What part of "call me AFTER 5 P.M." can they not understand? Yes, it was in bold caps immediately before my phone number. At least three out of five calls will come in the morning or early afternoon. One of them from a school administrator from the high school where my kids will be going. Sigh....
Also, (the turkey ad) "Hatched April of this year. Seven weeks old. Out of the brooder and no longer needing supplemental heat. I cannot tell male from female until they are four months of age. I do not have any mature birds for sale." They still call asking if I can sell them just hens or they want mature birds.
The chicken ad says "red sex-links." NOWHERE does it mention Rhode Island Reds. I do not have any!
Then there are the folks who say they'll be there noonish so I rearrange my plans to meet them since they are talking about buying twenty birds. Finally after one they call to say "they're running a little late but will be there in fifteen to twenty minutes." Fine. I'll wait. Forty five minutes later her husband finally calls to say they are hopelessly lost and can he get directions? Never let it be said that MEN never ask for directions! A half-hour later they finally made it and bought more than two hundred dollars worth of birds. Only cost me most of my Saturday afternoon, but that was the same time the folks who drove for an hour came to decide the turkeys were too young. Muttermuttermutt...
Another person called to say she wanted five turkeys and wants to know if I'll give her a discount. OK, I offered her one because at that time the pen was getting crowded and I needed the space. Then it develops she lives three hours away and wants to know if I'll meet her partway. It so happens I know exactly where her town is so I have a good idea of a meeting place that would be convenient for us both but would require me to drive an hour to get there. I explained I'd have to charge her for the mileage (a few miles is one thing, a 120 mile round trip quite another) but she declined saying "I can't afford those prices." I have my town and county listed in the ad, but she had no idea of where she was in relation to them.
People see what they want to see or perhaps more accurately what they WANT to see no matter how I word the ads.
So what sort of responses do you get to your ads? I know I can't be the only one who gets these folks.
Funny, annoying, make you crazy? Let's hear them!
What part of "call me AFTER 5 P.M." can they not understand? Yes, it was in bold caps immediately before my phone number. At least three out of five calls will come in the morning or early afternoon. One of them from a school administrator from the high school where my kids will be going. Sigh....
Also, (the turkey ad) "Hatched April of this year. Seven weeks old. Out of the brooder and no longer needing supplemental heat. I cannot tell male from female until they are four months of age. I do not have any mature birds for sale." They still call asking if I can sell them just hens or they want mature birds.
The chicken ad says "red sex-links." NOWHERE does it mention Rhode Island Reds. I do not have any!
Then there are the folks who say they'll be there noonish so I rearrange my plans to meet them since they are talking about buying twenty birds. Finally after one they call to say "they're running a little late but will be there in fifteen to twenty minutes." Fine. I'll wait. Forty five minutes later her husband finally calls to say they are hopelessly lost and can he get directions? Never let it be said that MEN never ask for directions! A half-hour later they finally made it and bought more than two hundred dollars worth of birds. Only cost me most of my Saturday afternoon, but that was the same time the folks who drove for an hour came to decide the turkeys were too young. Muttermuttermutt...
Another person called to say she wanted five turkeys and wants to know if I'll give her a discount. OK, I offered her one because at that time the pen was getting crowded and I needed the space. Then it develops she lives three hours away and wants to know if I'll meet her partway. It so happens I know exactly where her town is so I have a good idea of a meeting place that would be convenient for us both but would require me to drive an hour to get there. I explained I'd have to charge her for the mileage (a few miles is one thing, a 120 mile round trip quite another) but she declined saying "I can't afford those prices." I have my town and county listed in the ad, but she had no idea of where she was in relation to them.
People see what they want to see or perhaps more accurately what they WANT to see no matter how I word the ads.
So what sort of responses do you get to your ads? I know I can't be the only one who gets these folks.
Funny, annoying, make you crazy? Let's hear them!
Last edited: