Freakonomics Critical Response #2

A real estate agent uses insider terminology and particular language to describe houses. These terms are all disguised to be interpreted as positive attributes about the home but in reality not all of them actually convey a positive attitude about the house. The terms that are positively correlated to a high sale price of a home are generally not very broad words. Words like "state-of-the-art" and "gourmet", "seem to tell a buyer that a house is, on some level, truly fantastic" (Levitt and Dubner 68). However broad words that have a positive meaning in everyday life, such as "fantastic" and "charming" do not necessarily indicate a spectacular house. The words fantastic and charming especially "seem to be real-estate agent code for a house that doesn't have many specific attributes worth describing" (Levitt and Dubner 68). If the general public possessed this knowledge they may be able to buy a house for cheaper than advertised as they would be able to knowledgably negotiate a deal with the real-estate agent.

Another place where insider terminology is prevalent is Craigslist. When someone chooses to post on Craigslist, they consider how to describe the item they are selling. Whether it is to be completely honest as people usually are with smaller items, or to skirt around some of the major issues and not tell the complete truth as people do quite frequently when they are selling vehicles. Also in consideration is whether or not to post a picture. What you are selling influences both of these factors. One of the biggest issues with Craigslist terminology is in the emails however. Craigslist is filled with scammers who are constantly attempting to pursuade sellers to sell to them. It is easy to decipher a scamming email from a legitimate customers email if you know what to look for. For example, a scammers email first words will usually be "Hello seller,". The rest of the email will include a generic understanding of the item you are selling. The email's rarely request information specific to your item because they are tailored to be a mass response email, not specific in any nature. Scammers usually want to do business through money orders or through fake checks. Witnessing any of these elements listed is usually a dead giveaway of a scammer.

Using and understanding insider language may prove to be tremendously beneficial for anyone involved in an industry where it can be applied. It gives you an advantage over other people, whether it be the real estate agent, or the email scammer from Craigslist.