It started out as a twenty-five cent item at a yard sale - a bit of 1960s ephemera in the form of a "silent butler," which is a small trash receptacle that comes in two types. One is a little box about four inches long, used to catch crumbs brushed from the dinner table. The other is a pocket ashtray.

The silent butler I bought was a pocket ashtray, a thin brass box about 1-1/2 inches square, with a short handle and spring-loaded top. Generally speaking, these are not uncommon, but this one bore an unusual decoration. Affixed to the top was a full-sized tin reproduction of an ugly, squashed cigarette butt, complete with filter - all in realistic color!

I bought it on a whim, thinking I could sell it on eBay because it was different enough that some collector would just have to have it. But, how to describe it in the auction's subject line? Back in the days of eBay's short subject lines, I really couldn't describe the item the way I would have liked, something like, "A pocket ashtray with an authentic-looking metal smashed cigarette butt on the top."

I'd almost given up when it came to me: just say what it is! So I wrote "The Ugliest Silent Butler Ever Made" and put it up with a minimum bid of $3.50.

It got scores of looks, and sold for over $25. The moral of the story: If you can't say anything nice about an item, say something unusual.
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About the author:
Michael A. Banks is the author of The eBay Survival Guide: How to Make Money and Avoid Losing Your Shirt (No Starch Press, 2005. ISBN: 1-59327-063-1). He has written 39 books and more than 3,000 magazine articles and short stories. A full-time freelance writer and editor since 1983, Banks has written for most major computer magazines, and has served as a Contributing Editor for such publications as Windows Magazine, Computer Shopper, Connect Magazine, and others. He began writing about computing for Popular Computing in 1981. In addition to writing for the computer press, Banks has contributed to a diverse range of magazines, including Writer's Digest, Science Digest, Analog Science Fiction, Cavalier, Grit, Visual Merchandising, Starlog, Modern People, Good Housekeeping, and many other special- and general-interest publications. His work has been reprinted in Japan and South America, and he has written features and columns for magazines in Japan and England. His latest book is How to Become a Full-Time Freelance Writer, published by The Writer Books. http://members.aol.com/banksbook