Biggest turn-off in a guitar ad?

[383roller]

What’s your greatest deterrent in a for sale ad?

Mine has to be skills at bad photos: poor lighting or no lighting, guitar laying on an unmade bed that has dirty sheets or adjacent to a laundry pile.
Makes me cringe.

My runner up is the statement to ask questions, usually after a very non-detailed description.
I’m out!

[beatcomber]

When it comes to magazines, I'm not impressed with tacky, sexist ads featuring scantily clad women. Those are more common in the electric guitar world; acoustic players, of course, have better taste!

[Mezner]

Nitpicky, but if I see strings that are uncut or have a good length curled up along the posts I consider it a turn off. It takes just a few seconds to clip them before taking photos.

[dnf777]

Nice guitars leaning against walls or any pose you would NEVER prop a guitar out of fear of falling.

[H165]

I hate stupid wording. Mostly describing the instruments in terms usually reserved for use by pretentious wine "connoisseurs" who have run out of vocabulary to describe flavor.

BTW - The above knee-jerk reaction applies ONLY to advertising descriptions. I love these idiotic terms when used by reviewers- they add some fun and flavor to the review, and many of these are tongue-in-cheek. The all-time classic for us guitar-weenies being Spoon's description of a particular guitar's tone with the modifier: "...toasted wheat underpinnings".

[loco gringo]

No pictures. Or, a link to Reverb.

[JMW01]

I hate it when people have their bare feet/toes in the picture!

[brencat]

"I can't figure out how to post photos so please email me for pictures"

...on a guitar costing 5k or more

[llew]

Originally Posted by H165

I hate stupid wording. Mostly describing the instruments in terms usually reserved for use by pretentious wine "connoisseurs" who have run out of vocabulary to describe flavor.

BTW - The above knee-jerk reaction applies ONLY to advertising descriptions. I love these idiotic terms when used by reviewers- they add some fun and flavor to the review, and many of these are tongue-in-cheek. The all-time classic for us guitar-weenies being Spoon's description of a particular guitar's tone with the modifier: "...toasted wheat underpinnings".

Yep...that's as classic as Tony Polecastro's gorilla suit Esteban Bedazzled guitar review!

[jimmy bookout]

Originally Posted by Mezner

Nitpicky, but if I see strings that are uncut or have a good length curled up along the posts I consider it a turn off. It takes just a few seconds to second to clip them before taking photos.

My biggest pet peeve!
You want me to buy a guitar and you can't take 30 minutes to clean it up, put new strings on it, and make it look nice?

No different from selling a used car...who would run an ad for a used car for sale and include pictures showing burger wrappers on the floor and filthy paint?

[Mirosh]

Poorly composed or focused photos. Photos with a reflection or shadow on the guitar. Photos that over-emphasize any contrast between the left and right sides of the top wood (or is huge contrast more common than I think?)

[TorzJohnson]

In electric guitar ads, you'll sometimes see "this guitar has been HUGELY improved by sanding the finish off the back of the neck!!!"

Home made relic jobs also motivate me to click away at top speed.

[DungBeatle]

Dirt and dust on the item for sale. Missing particulars. Bad lighting. Person taking the picture has their shadow in the picture. Expensive item sitting on the lawn.
~Bob

[Mezner]

Originally Posted by jimmy bookout

My biggest pet peeve!
You want me to buy a guitar and you can't take 30 minutes to clean it up, put new strings on it, and make it look nice?

No different from selling a used car...who would run an ad for a used car for sale and include pictures showing burger wrappers on the floor and filthy paint?

Right? Also, I'm sure if they leave the strings uncut and flopping about, the finish around the headstock is all scratched up. It's usually a sign of other types of neglect as well. I typically don't even bother at that point.

[Brent Hahn]

Originally Posted by 383roller

What’s your greatest deterrent in a for sale ad?

Mine has to be skills at bad photos: poor lighting or no lighting, guitar laying on an unmade bed that has dirty sheets or adjacent to a laundry pile.
Makes me cringe.

I dunno. People who are bad at that stuff are often bad negotiators, too. And I'd rather deal with a guy who does his own laundry (eventually) than some Blues Doctor who doesn't need the money, he's just clearing out space.