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Bad Spelling Pays on eBay

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the know-duhh dept.

peebeejay writes "People say that as long as they're understood, spelling is unimportant. These people are unwittingly making others a lot of money online, according to this article in the NY Times (DNA sample and clean boxers required). So, aside from clarity and respect for your reader, there's another good reason to either spell correctly or use a spellchecker: get bidders to find your eBay items and give you their money! Or you can go ahead and see how many people bid on your 'labtop computers,' 'camras,' and 'earings.'"

11 of 525 comments (clear)

  1. I check for this on purpose by Space+cowboy · · Score: 5, Funny

    .. whenever I use ebay, I always try "alternative" spellings of words. Of course, being from the UK, I'm used to spelling things like 'color' incorrectly [its a JOKE!] :-)

    Simon

    --
    Physicists get Hadrons!
    1. Re:I check for this on purpose by nuffle · · Score: 5, Funny

      And is Brittish your British word for British?

  2. Mother of Perl??? by Dr.+Charles+Forbin · · Score: 5, Funny

    According to the article, Mother of Perl is spelled incorrectly. Shows what they know.

    1. Re:Mother of Perl??? by liquidsin · · Score: 5, Funny

      Sweet stupid hell! I can buy Larry Wall's wife on ebay?!

      --
      do not read this line twice.
    2. Re:Mother of Perl??? by gotem · · Score: 5, Funny

      I assumed it was his cat, actually. Everyone knows the first perl script was written when she walked across the keyboard one time.

      That makes her a script kitty?

  3. no wonder they're losing by plams · · Score: 5, Funny

    unnix licsene for olny $699!!1!

  4. This, my friends... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...is why Microsoft could make the claim that people would go to mikerowesoft.com and get confused.

    Because people are that fucking stupid.

  5. *blink* by Daniel · · Score: 5, Funny

    experts say the Internet -- with its discussion boards, blogs and self-published articles -- is a treasure trove of bad spelling.

    They had to ask experts?

    Daniel

    --
    Hurry up and jump on the individualist bandwagon!
  6. Obligatory Simpson's Quote by servognome · · Score: 5, Funny


    Homer: "Look at these low, low prices on famous brand name electronics!"
    Bart: "Don't be a sap, Dad. These are just crappy knock-offs."
    Homer: "I know a genuine Panaphonics when I see it. And look, there's Magnetbox, and Sorny!"

    --
    D6 63 0D 70 89 81 BB 8E 7B 7C 5F 5D 54 EA AB 73
  7. Re:This article is ridiculous by jazman · · Score: 5, Funny

    LOL! Priceless - look at the description for http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item =3456315281&category=177

    Choice quotes

    "I am not lying when I say that this labtop is hands down one of the fastest computers I have ever seen in my entire life. On the other hand, I am also completely clueless when it comes to computers so please bare with me."

    Oo-er - are we getting our clothes off together? (It's "BEAR with me")

    "keyboard has more buttons than I know what to do with"

    "a floppy drive, a CD rom drive, and another drive that I have no clue what to do with"

    "And...a rechargable battery"

    "some disk that I suppose you'll probably need"

    and to top it off "Chances are that you'll probably want to run this computer by a shop and get it cleaned out"

    Then he says "if you have any questions email me." Yeah, like he's really going to have a clue amout MHz, GB, serial ports etc. I wouldn't recommend asking anything more difficult than: "What colour is it?"

    He also can't spell "I nicked it" - he says "this is not my computer (I'm selling it for a friend)"

  8. Lay off the NYT by Call+Me+Black+Cloud · · Score: 5, Funny


    The registration is free and you don't even need a valid e-mail address. What's with the complaints? The 20 seconds you have to spend *once* to input bogus information is certainly a fair price for the online content of the NYT.

    Sheesh. People here would complain if you hung them with a new rope.