For a few years now I've been selling knives on e bay and also watching fellow sellers advertise their knives , and for the most part it's been pretty amusing.  Here are a few tips on becoming a good knife sales person who will always have repeat customers. 

                                      Sellers Bible

 Quit using the word mint condition , That word may mean  good to you but for potential buyers it means  brand spanking new , never used in the box ,  and not almost brand new.

 Quit telling bidders that the knife is razor sharp , a $16.00 piece of chinese crap isn't nor will it ever be razor sharp , because of poor quality steel and lack of proper heat treatment. Knives with properly heat treated blades will run at least $100.00  so there goes lie # 1 

Quit showing pictures of a box that no one gives a rats ass about. It dosen't make the knife any more valuable. Too many sellers use a whole paragraph describing the box better than the knife. And if all you are selling is the box, you have hundreds of potential buyers laughing at you.

Don't use stock photos bidders like to see what they're buying. Don't give bidders fuzzy pictures that were taken 10 feet away. If you have more than 1000 feedbacks, you should know how to take good pictures by now. So when you have that much feedback and there is a fuzzy blurred picture, that tells the customer there is a reason behind it.    Is there?

Quit saying that the knife will make a great addition to your collection.  It's dumb and it's usually added because you ran out of words to describe the knife your selling.

 If your selling a vintage knife  quit saying the knife is in good condition for its age. What age is that? You probably don't know,  It doesn't matter what the age is , it's either in good shape or a piece of crap , be honest.

Once again if the knife your selling is an antique , quit saying that the knife could be easily cleaned up but you will leave that to the buyer. First of all, you probably don't know what it takes to clean it up unless you have my restoration experience ,    Second, if you did know how then you are telling the bidders that you are just to lazy to do it yourself or just plain don't care.  

Marbles ,  Rough Riders , K Bars , Bulldogs , Fight N Rooster and most WR Case knives ( including Elephant Toenails ) are not rare , their are millions of them around.  Saying that they are will not get you any bids. The buyers who have them are pretty savy.

Quit telling bidders that the handles on your  knives are authentic ivory.  You and I will probably never come across  authentic elephant ivory  in our life times ,  they are most likely shaved and polished cow bone and once again you've made an ass of yourself and lost any potential bidders. 

Don't call your knives rare collectors pieces unless you know what you are talking about. Buyers will know if it's rare, so if you are incorrect, you lose credibility and potential sales because you are no longer believable. 

Do not report rusty pitted blades or chipped & cracked horn or stag handles as being natural patina ! 

Finally be clear on the origin of manufacture.  I see sellers advertise Boker Magnums as being genuine German made knives when most of us know they are made in Taiwan these days.  That also goes for CRKT , Smith & Wesson and Gerber.  So you already have the long ears now your growing the tail. 

And for you stiletto sales people ,  I love it when you say the knife is stamped Rostefri or Inox.  Rostefri is German for stainless and Inox is French for stainless and these blade stampings don't make the knife ( or lack there of )  your selling any more of a rare valuable collectors piece , basically your saying you have a stainless knife for sale.