"Handling Marks" - Am I being too critical?

[Dorito Monk]

That is if the merchant/seller is honest. Honesty is nearly non-existent these days. The average chart today would be more like
NIB- Not used, but most likely lightly used. Hard to tell if it was used or not, but obscure picture angles will fix that.
Like new- Was carries, but the seller didn't like it. Light wear, but again, obscure camera angles.
Used- The seller is downsizing or found something else. You can tell it has been used from every angle.

Sad, but usually true. Not saying anything good or bad about the sellers on here, not bought anything here (not a fan of paypal), just speaking of sellers in general.

Sounds pretty cynical, but I've gotta say, you're definitely not far off the mark. At least in my experience with buying second-hand items, a whole lot of sellers take precisely that attitude. I bought a used Tanto blur on ebay described as "like new condition" - The photos in the auction were of a brand new knife, but the one I got looked like someone had run it over with a friggin' truck. No big deal, because the price was right and I used it as a beater work knife anyway, but it kind of goes to show what kind of bull some folks think they can get away with.

Having said that, I have dealt with plenty folks who were perfectly honest about the condition of the stuff they were selling. It's just unfortunate that it's so common to see folks being dishonest when it comes to second-hand exchanges.

 

[Pseudonym]

That is if the merchant/seller is honest. Honesty is nearly non-existent these days. The average chart today would be more like
NIB- Not used, but most likely lightly used. Hard to tell if it was used or not, but obscure picture angles will fix that.
Like new- Was carries, but the seller didn't like it. Light wear, but again, obscure camera angles.
Used- The seller is downsizing or found something else. You can tell it has been used from every angle.

Sad, but usually true. Not saying anything good or bad about the sellers on here, not bought anything here (not a fan of paypal), just speaking of sellers in general.

Thing is, I bet a fair few people take that approach with selling because they know a lot of people share your attitude towards sellers. They don't want to lose out on sales because people assume they're getting screwed on the price (i.e. they expect sellers to "overestimate" the condition of the product to get more money out of it).

Of course, in a community like this (as opposed to eBay or some such thing) I suspect it would be less of a problem, as people know they're more likely to be held accountable for their actions.

 

[RevDevil]

I do think most people selling are well-educated enough to differentiate between those terms. Truthfulness might be another matter and has little to do with education.

Mostly the people I see doing this are the newer members selling a couple items here and there. I wouldn't call them dishonest, but I would say they are overly charismatic at times.

NIB- Just as described, New in Box. Not touched.
LNIB- Taken out and handled. Marks may be left by handling, thus the term "handling marks." This includes marks from opening, closing, etc.
Used- The knife has cut something. Or you dropped the open blade on concrete and now it looks like crap.

Pretty simple to me.

That is pretty much what I go by too.

 

[JNewell]

I'd say "new" means just that, so:

NIB means new in the box, never sold to a retail customer.
LNIB/ANIB means like new or as new in the box - purchased by an end-user/retail customer, may have been touched or handled but does not show any handling marks from opening/closing/etc., and never sharpened or used.

After that, you need more words and pictures.

The thing about "handling marks" is that a lot of knives come from the factory showing handling marks from the manufacturing and packaging process, so a factory new knife may or may not be "mint."

NIB- Just as described, New in Box. Not touched.
LNIB- Taken out and handled. Marks may be left by handling, thus the term "handling marks." This includes marks from opening, closing, etc.
Used- The knife has cut something. Or you dropped the open blade on concrete and now it looks like crap.

Pretty simple to me.

 

[Reeek]

Clear, well done pictures tell 900 words and full, verbal disclosure covers the remaining 100 words . . .

As I grew better at selling knives as a private individual , I eliminated the use of NIB for any knife I sell in favor of LNIB since I have taken them out of the box before I sold them, for LNIB knives of course.

And I believe a knife can be carried and still be LNIB if that is the case and as long as the word carried is typed or uttered along with LNIB, if that classifies the knife properly.

I also like to use "lightly used" if it is all but LNIB

"User" to me means blade marks and handle marks but the knife should still function and lock up properly. I think some people mis-interpret "User" as being bad just as much as NIB is falsely used

 

[puukkoman]

If I were to receive one that had "handling marks," I would most certainly scream and cry about it. Floor-stomping, fist-twirling, writhing-on-the-carpet temper tantrum. You bet.