Knowledge Graph / Buying, Collecting & Value
How to read a Russian listing
A typical Telegram sale post taken apart, and the Russian trade words for intent, identity, condition, completeness, terms and parts that a machine translation gets wrong.
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A machine translation gets the sentence and loses the trade words, and the trade words are where the intent, the condition and the terms sit. A typical post on the Telegram board reads like this:
Продам МБШ F95 NL, M390, осевой MRBS. Лёгкое б/у, на кармане пару раз. Не разбирался, не точился, РК завод. Механика отличная, клин по центру. Плашки без царапок. Полный комплект. Цена … т.р., торг. Обмен с вашей доплатой. Москва, личная встреча или пересыл СДЭК за счёт покупателя. Вопросы в ЛС.
Selling a Shirogorov F95 NL in M390 on MRBS. Lightly used, carried a couple of times. Never taken apart, never sharpened, factory edge. Action excellent, blade centered. Scales without scratches. Full set. Price in thousands of rubles, negotiable. Trades considered if the buyer adds cash. Moscow, handover in person or CDEK shipping at the buyer’s cost. Questions by private message.
A translator turns “осевой” into “axial”, “клин” into “wedge” and “плашки” into “dies”, and leaves “МБШ” and “РК” as it found them.
What kind of post is it, and is the knife still there?
| Word | Reads as | On a listing |
|---|---|---|
| продам, продаю, в продаже | prodam, prodayu, v prodazhe | Selling. |
| куплю, ищу | kuplyu, ishchu | Want to buy; looking for. |
| обмен, обменяю | obmen, obmenyayu | Trade. “Без обмена” and “обмен не интересен” mean cash only. |
| рассмотрю | rassmotryu | “Will consider”: offers or trades, whichever the post names. |
| актуально | aktualno | Still available. |
| резерв, бронь | rezerv, bron | On hold for a buyer. Not sold; holds lapse. |
| продан, продано | prodan, prodano | Sold. Sellers edit it over the price, so a sold post often shows no figure. |
| ушёл, выбыл | ushel, vybyl | Gone. The same as sold. |
What is being sold?
| Word | Reads as | On a listing |
|---|---|---|
| МБШ | MBSh | Мастерская братьев Широгоровых, the Shirogorov Brothers Workshop. “Продам МБШ” is how a Shirogorov sale post opens. |
| скрепки | skrepki | “Paperclips”: the F95 Braces series. |
| черепаха | cherepakha | “Turtle”: the F95T. |
| стихии | stikhii | “The elements”: the Elements editions. |
| выставочный | vystavochny | A show edition. |
| лимитка, тираж | limitka, tirazh | A limited edition, and the run size that backs the claim. |
| номер | nomer | The serial number, quoted on numbered runs and beads. |
| кастом | kastom | Looser than “custom” in English. Most often a modified piece or a one-off (“кастомные накладки” are aftermarket scales); sometimes a maker’s full custom. The papers settle which. |
What condition is it in?
| Word | Reads as | On a listing |
|---|---|---|
| новый, абсолютно новый | novy, absolyutno novy | New; brand new. |
| минт | mint | Mint, borrowed from English. |
| идеал, в идеале | ideal, v ideale | Perfect; in perfect condition. The seller’s grade, not a standard one. |
| б/у | b/u | Used. “Лёгкое б/у” is lightly used; “условное б/у” is used in name only. |
| состояние | sostoyanie | Condition; the word that introduces the grade. |
| не разбирался | ne razbiralsya | Never taken apart. Its absence is worth a question about who reassembled the knife. |
| не точился, точился | ne tochilsya, tochilsya | Never sharpened; sharpened. “Заводская заточка”, “родной угол” and “РК завод” all claim the factory edge or its angle. |
| не резал | ne rezal | Has not cut anything. |
| не носился, на кармане | ne nosilsya, na karmane | Never carried; carried. “На кармане пару раз” is a couple of times. |
| лежал на полке, полочник | lezhal na polke, polochnik | Sat on the shelf; a shelf piece. The Russian for safe queen. |
| доставался только для фото | dostavalsya tolko dlya foto | Out of the box only to be photographed. |
| нюансы | nyuansy | Flaws. “Без нюансов” claims none; “из нюансов” opens the list of them, and that list is the part to read twice. |
| царапки | tsarapki | Small scratches. |
| механика | mekhanika | The action: flip, detent and closing. Lockup is stated separately (“замок в начале”, early lockup). “Механика отличная” is the seller’s word; ask for the video. |
What comes with it?
| Word | Reads as | On a listing |
|---|---|---|
| комплект, полный комплект | komplekt, polny komplekt | The set the knife shipped with. “Полный комплект” is a claim that moves the price, so check it against the photos. |
| коробка | korobka | Box. |
| салфетка | salfetka | The cloth. |
| сертификат | sertifikat | The certificate of authenticity (COA). |
| чехол | chekhol | Pouch. |
| тул, отвёртка | tul, otvertka | The tool; a driver. |
| бусина, темляк | busina, temlyak | Bead; lanyard. Beads are also sold on their own on the same board. |
What are the price and terms?
| Word | Reads as | On a listing |
|---|---|---|
| цена | tsena | Price. |
| т.р. | t.r. | Thousand rubles. Also written “тыс”, “тр” or “к”. |
| торг | torg | The price is negotiable. “Без торга” means it is not. |
| цена вниз, снижу | tsena vniz, snizhu | Price lowered; will lower. A repost at a lower figure. |
| доплата | doplata | Cash added to even out a trade. “С вашей доплатой” means the buyer adds it. |
| предоплата | predoplata | Payment in advance. “После полной оплаты” means the knife ships once paid in full. |
| личная встреча, из рук в руки, самовывоз | lichnaya vstrecha, iz ruk v ruki, samovyvoz | Handover in person; collection from the seller. |
| территориально | territorialno | Where the knife is. Мск is Moscow, СПб is Saint Petersburg. |
| пересыл, отправка | peresyl, otpravka | Shipping. |
| СДЭК, почта | SDEK, pochta | CDEK, the courier most sellers use; the post office. |
| за счёт покупателя | za schet pokupatelya | The buyer pays the shipping. |
| под ответственность покупателя | pod otvetstvennost pokupatelya | Transit risk is the buyer’s. |
| ЛС, в личку | LS, v lichku | By private message. |
| фото и видео по запросу | foto i video po zaprosu | More photos and video on request. |
| отзывы | otzyvy | References from earlier deals. |
Which parts does a translator get wrong?
| Word | Reads as | On a listing |
|---|---|---|
| клин, клинок | klin, klinok | The blade. “Клин по центру” means the blade is centered. |
| РК | RK | Режущая кромка, the cutting edge. |
| осевой | osevoy | The pivot. “Осевой: MRBS” and “осевой узел” name the bearing system. |
| подшипники, шайбы | podshipniki, shayby | Bearings; washers. |
| плашки | plashki | Scales. |
| рукоять | rukoyat | Handle. |
| клипса, спейсер, винты | klipsa, speyser, vinty | Clip, backspacer, screws. |
| сталь | stal | Steel; the grade follows it. |
| выборка | vyborka | A milled relief: pockets inside the scales (“без выборок в плашках”) or a cut on the blade or flipper. |
For the knife itself, the checks are the same in either language: Authentication guide before the money moves.
What the two markets pay, and why the Russian board is the low-price venue, is on Buying, selling and value.