All My Life For Sale Analysis

Ebay auctioneers let their pictures do the talking. They post several pictures to try and sell an item. The author of All My Life For Sale, John Freyer, only needed one because he painted pictures with words that that would entice a buyer more than photographs would. Each item he sells comes with a short story that captivates the reader/potential buyer. Which is much more effective than just pointing out obvious selling points like most sellers do on the site. One of the best examples of these stories is when he is trying to sell a box of used hard taco shells. He says, “Does everyone have childhood taco memories? We never used the hard shell type, my mom would fry up the corn shells in oil and keep them warm in tin foil. My mom never seasoned the ground beef... not even salt. Bowls of red onion, white cheddar cheese, iceberg lettuce, and mealy tomatoes, hardly a recipe to be found in Martha Stewart. But even now when I make tacos I make them the same way. I even use canned picante sauce instead of my home made chunky salsa.. The last time I made tacos I couldn 't find the soft corn shells in a can that my mom used to use, so I bought these instead b/c the packaging is

Meanwhile, John Freyer was able to beautifully blend subjective and objective descriptions to sell his items. He likes to give facts about the items followed up with statements that invite interpretation. For example when talking about some yellow shoes he is trying to sell he says, “They are a size 9 and I wear a size 10 making these the most uncomfortably shoes that I have ever worn. But I did look rather dapper in them.” So while he is stating the fact that the shoes are a size 9, he also states that he looked rather dapper in them. Leaving some room for interpretation, because some may say the “fine shoes (as he said in his description)” would in fact, not make anyone look dapper at