Shake Gently - advertising technology blog

Amateur marketing shines on craigslist, eBay

I enjoy the creativity used to buy and sell stuff on craigslist and eBay, particularly when it comes to jewelry.

I provided just a few stellar examples below from craigslist, but there are probably millions that are just as hilarious. Or sad, depending on how you look at it.

The first listing is from a student looking to pick up a diamond ring on the cheap through an exchange for booze, with a display and description of the stockpile. The second listing is from a recently divorced woman that is disposing of her marriage ring after a few failed attempts of destroying it by running it over (the ring that is, not her ex-husband).

I have $1,000 in booze, you have a failed marriage
Not to put too fine a point on it, but I want to get married. I’m a student with a couple of part time jobs, and I’m just trying to get my education finished quickly so I can go back to working full time. I’ve got a great girlfriend, and I think that it’s finally time to bump it up a notch.

What I’m looking to do is to help some poor dude who spent way too much money on a diamond ring, and then watched his life fall apart into a crushing pit of despair. Maybe you finally got rid of your evil ex-wife and you’re looking to booze it up with some floozies. You’ll need a bunch of great booze to begin your new life of intoxication, and this is what I can provide to you.

We all know that the jewelry business is pretty rough on the little guy; the cartel pricing structure makes anything of a respectable size very expensive. Try to sell that $5,000 ring back to a jeweler and you’ll be extremely lucky to be offered $1,000 on a good day. Let’s help each other out.

I have a bunch of great booze to trade, and I need a diamond ring. Ideally, I’d like a solitaire set in either white gold or platinum. Loose stones are perfectly acceptable, too.