A lesson in how to advertise on Craigslist, by my brother

My brother often (and by often I mean daily) cruises through the classifieds on Craigslist looking for Chris Craft boats or Jeep parts or old barns he can repurpose into a cabin, etc. You know, your general run-of-the-mill items.

He found this one: 1936 Chris Craft Double Cockpit 161 - $2000 (Grand Rapids, MI) [Link here]

I clicked the link, scrolled down to see the photos and I first glanced at this one:

And I thought, "This barely looks like a boat that would float, let alone a Chris Craft."

I glanced at the other pictures in the ad:

I think a quizzical look came over my face at this point.  

At which point my brother said, "I'd have one of those, make no mistake. But can't you just tell me your Chris-Craft is a pile of dry rot and save the 1940s nostalgic bull? Seriously. Anyone who knows that your pile of sawdust is worth $500 will know to shut up and buy without the clip art photos of her former glory. Give me a break. Know your audience. People dredging CL for wooden Chris-Craft boats do not need the fluff. PERIOD. Tell me how bad it is and where to pick it up. 

"It's a pile. Can it float again? Sure. After EVERY piece of wood is replaced!!! It has value but don't try to sucker some poor Pottery Barn wannabe into buying your boat cuz it's vintage! It's vintage refuse! List it here: boneyardboats.com. Moron. 

"Are you getting this? Have I inspired a new blog post?"

Yes, dear brother, yes you have.

Folks, don't try to shiny up your crap on Craigslist with pictures that are not of the actual item. Let the people trolling through CL find the junk or treasures that they're looking for. Like my brother said, know your audience.