The Power Of GREAT Copywriting […on eBay]
Ok, so by now you’ve probably heard about the father, who after finding his 15 year old son smoking pot in the family backyard, sold his Christmas present for $72 times it recommended retail value on eBay…
But if not, here’s the 411 - In a four page manifesto on eBay, the Canadian father, tells how he spent two weeks searching for the rare video game for the Nintendo Wii gaming system before buying it for his son. But later, after coming home from work early, he caught his son smoking reefer in the backyard with his “delinquent friends,” he listed it on ebay as a punishment… and the damn thing sold to an Aussie guy for $9,100.01.
Now there are two possible conclusions here…
- 1. Aussies are so dumb that we would consider paying $9,000 (plus shipping) for a game worth $125 or
- 2. Writing good sales copy will always lead to more profit.
For those of you who are playing along at home - The correct answer is 2 - Strong compelling copy is the key to success.
See, it was the story the father wrote in the ebay listing that produced a profit that would make Donald Trump proud… How can I say this ?
Well, besides the ‘drug motivated’ sale, there hasn’t been a single Guitar Hero 3 sold for above $150ish (the RRP) on ebay… and the only difference between these listings is the copy.
…Here’s the deal: So I spent who knows how many hours of my life trying to get “Guitar Hero 3” for the Nintendo Wii for my 15 year old son who has been begging for it since he was born (well not really but he’s wanted it for awhile). So after waiting in lines and going into every game store in the city over the last 2 weeks (practically being laughed at when I asked for guitar hero 3) I finally got lucky and got one at EB Games (they just got a shipment of them 25 minutes before I walked in!). …I know smoking a joint isn’t the end of the world, but if you can convince me that he deserves the gift, then I will end the auction. You will have to be very convincing. I am an elementary school teacher and I know that rewarding bad behavior is just asking for more of the same… He even took the time to ‘build a relationship with his prospects… |
p.s. Here is another great item that sold due to good compelling copy: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130144061675
p.p.s. A Very Big Merry Christmas To You All.. From myself (and Fleur), we wish you and your family a very safe, enjoyable and memorable holiday period…
Technorati Tags: ebay, guitar, hero, copy, copywriting, selling, pete, peter, williams, prenuer
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December 24th, 2007 at 8:17 am
[…] Pete Williams wrote an interesting post today on The Power Of GREAT Copywriting [â¦on eBay]Here’s a quick excerptSee, it was the story the father wrote in the ebay listing that produced a profit that would make Donald Trump proud… How can I say this ? Well, besides the ‘drug motivated’ sale, there hasn’t been a single Guitar Hero 3 sold for above … […]
December 24th, 2007 at 8:36 am
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[…] Williams via PCbanter wrote an interesting post today on The Power Of GREAT Copywriting [â¦on eBay]Here’s a quick […]
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February 5th, 2008 at 11:04 am
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