Your Craigslist Classifieds Authority Site

4. List the main specs of the unit: One thing that really annoys me is when someone posts an item and just does a cut and paste of a mile long list of specs as their entire description. There is no human element to the description and it always leaves me a bit suspect of the true condition of the item.

So my advice is, list the specs of the unit, but not every single spec down to the last millimeter. List the main specs, the ones that the customer is actually interested in. And the ones that accurately describe the item.

Here's an example of a post I found on Craigslist that illustrates what NOT to do in your description in regard to specs:

Dell XPS-410 Desktop Computer w/20" LCD Monitor - $1000
Reply to: sale-xxxxxxxxxxxx@craigslist.org
Date: 2007-10-19, 12:15PM EDT

Brand: Dell Memory (RAM): 2,046 MB
Family: XPS Hard Drive Capacity: 222 GB
Processor Type: Intel Core Duo Operating System: Vista Ultimate
Processor Model: -- Primary Drive: CD-RW/DVD Combo
Processor Speed: 6,300 MHz Condition: Slightly Used
Bundled Items: Keyboard, Modem, Monitor, Mouse, Network Card, Speakers

Dell XPS 410 Specifications
Case: Dell custom BTX case with 375W PSU
Motherboard: Dell P965 BTX motherboard
Processor: Core 2 Duo E6600 (2.40 GHz 4MB shared L2 cache)
Heatsink/Cooling: Custom BTX CPU HSF with 120mm fan
80mm bottom fan near HDDs
RAM: 2x1024MB Nanya PC-5300 5-5-5-15
4x1GB Max supported RAM

Note: A 32-bit OS will only show 3GB; a 64-bit OS is required to properly address the full 4GB.
Graphics: Dell GeForce 7900 GTX (extra long PCB)
Hard Drives: 2x320GB Western Digital 16MB 7200 RPM
Optical Drives: Toshiba TS-H553 16X DVD+RW SATA
Philips 16X DVD-ROM SATA
Expansion Slots: 1 x PCIe X16
1 x PCIe X4
1 x PCIe X1
3 x PCI
Expansion Bays: 2 x 3.5" internal bays
2 x 3.5" external
2 x 5.25" external
Audio: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic
TV Tuner: Lumanate Angel II MPEG Dual-TV Tuner
Power Suply: Dell 375W
1 x 24-pin ATX; 1 x ATX12V
1 x 4-pin mini Molex
6 x SATA
Operating System: Windows Vista Ultimate Home Edition
Front Ports: 2 X USB2.0
2 X 3.5mm Audio (Headphone and Microphone)
1 x 6-pin Firewire (optional - requires expansion card)
Rear Ports: 1 x Audio I/O Panel (six jacks)
1 x Optical S/PDIF Out Port
1 x RJ45 GbE
6 x USB2.0
2 x 6-pin Firewire (via optional expansion card)
Monitor: Dell 20" 2407WFP Widescreen LCD Monitor

It's just a list of specs! I don't even know what a “RJ45 GbE” is! There is no human element to this posting and it shows little care went into posting it. To me it is a turn-off and I may look for another seller. Any clown can do a cut and paste off of Dell's website.

Now for an example of a good use of specs in a posting:

Dell Dimension 3000 P4 2.8 Ghz 2 GB RAM Desktop Tower - $250
Reply to: sale-xxxxxxxxxx@craigslist.org
Date: 2007-10-19, 6:38PM EDT

This is a sound computer that I have basically maxed out. I bought especially for playing World of Warcraft, my favorite game. It has been an amazing computer for me and still is. I just have to have the newest and greatest and am building a brand new computer and need the money. This would be great as a second computer or for someone looking for something pretty powerful on a budget.

Here it is - Processor is a P4 2.8 Ghz, It has 2 GB DDR2 533Mhz Ram (most supported for this motherboard), GeForce FX5500 258 Mb Graphics Card, 80 GB Hard drive, CD RW drive and I can throw in a brand new DVD-R with Lightscribe for $50 more.

Programs - comes with fresh XP install, Photoshop Cs2, Microsoft Office 2007.

This sale is for the tower only.

In the above posting, the seller describes the main specs, but does not overkill the reader with a oversized list of useless specs.

If you want, you can tell the reader “for full detailed specs click this link” and send him to the manufacturer web site, or “for full list of specs see the end of this post” and then add the list of specs to the very end of the post. See the pic below.

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