@meelodarling wrote:
Regarding listing silver tone and gold tone items, I have updated my auction adding the word "tone" to both the images and the description. Would this be adequate for Ebay and for buyers? The reason is "tone" (with a space) requires 5 more characters out of an already short title.
Where my confusion lies is that gold and silver are not only a metal but also a color. As in "what color blouse is that?" "It's a gold blouse." I am not trying to mislead buyers, but are my necklaces not a color (gold or silver)? To say a shirt is gold, one would not assume it's 24 karat.
Is it true that in this market, the word gold in the title is assumed to mean not a color but 24 karat??
I hope you can understand my confusion and I appreciate the advice. Do you think having the words "tone" in the image is correcting the issue enough?
@meelodarling wrote:
Regarding listing silver tone and gold tone items, I have updated my auction adding the word "tone" to both the images and the description. Would this be adequate for Ebay and for buyers? The reason is "tone" (with a space) requires 5 more characters out of an already short title.
You have done a very good job adding the word "tone". If it is not practical to add it to the title I would remove the words gold or silver. I know it sounds nit-picky but if you read the boards you will see that there have been numerous threads about misleading listings for jewellery. A lot of sellers have been in trouble for listing Sterling silver jewellery when it is just silver tone.
Where my confusion lies is that gold and silver are not only a metal but also a color. As in "what color blouse is that?" "It's a gold blouse." I am not trying to mislead buyers, but are my necklaces not a color (gold or silver)? To say a shirt is gold, one would not assume it's 24 karat.
I think a bit of common sense is needed here.....where the confusion comes in is in listings for metal items where they could be real gold/silver or a base metal that is gold or silver coloured. No-one would ever think that a fabric garment would be real gold or silver.
Yes, your necklaces are gold or silver coloured. If you prefer not to use the term gold/silver tone you can say gold/silver coloured.
Personally I think "tone" is a bit more upmarket than "coloured" in this case but you can use whatever you want.
Just because a listing is gold it does not mean that it is necessarily 24ct. That is a North American term. In Australia we have 9ct and 18ct gold used in jewellery. You can also have rolled gold, filled gold, gold plated....all of which are perfectly legitimate forms of gold but not "solid" gold.
I have lost count of the number of threads I have seen on the boards regarding "real, solid" gold and other forms of gold....and all because both buyers and sellers do not know what they are talking about.
It is not uncommon to find antique and vintage jewellery listed as gold filled. It is often rather expensive and very intricate in design but buyers will not accept it because it is not "solid" gold. I would have it in a heartbeat....I have several family heirloom pieces well over 100 years old....still worn regularly and still in pristine condition.
Is it true that in this market, the word gold in the title is assumed to mean not a color but 24 karat??
In Australia the word gold/silver in a title is more likely to be assumed to be "solid" gold or silver when it is describing a metal but in a listing for clothing for instance it is more likely to assumd to be the colour of the item.
This is why it is important to accurately describe what the item is made of.
Personally I would not assume that your items were anything other than gold/silver tone at the prices you listed, but here on ebay Australia you need to cater to the lowest common denominator. Never assume that all members use common sense.
There is a common perception that ebay is the place for bargains and no matter how often the responders here try to convince them otherwise they still get ripped off when they buy cheap junk from China that is listed as gold, silver, precious stones etc.
I hope you can understand my confusion and I appreciate the advice. Do you think having the words "tone" in the image is correcting the issue enough?
Personally I think you need to make it clear from the title that it is gold/silver tone. It is a well known fact among the sellers here that a lot of buyers just look at the title and the picture and hit the button to buy without even reading the description.
