In some instances, it is appropriate to ramble on a bit, such as in the case of antique clocks. If you can create the atmosphere in the person’s mind that brings them back to a time they enjoyed as a child, or long for today, then the story line can be every bit as important as the headline. This is especially true for antiques. However, when the story line becomes a book long description, you’re more likely to lose the reader. I find this rule most often violated in the digital camera auctions where the seller includes half the manual from the camera website (they generally also forget to size the picture so that it all fits in a 800X600 window causing you to have to scroll horizontally to even read the content, but that’s a different story).
In the 2 examples of the antique clock eBay ads, one is in a nice bulleted format with a 2 or 3 sentence description that draws your thoughts while the other is in a never ending paragraph format; one that I will only read if the pictures included with the eBay auction entice me to want to know more, or if the price is so low I want to know why. Your newsletters and eBay auction copy should follow similar guidelines when it comes to the descriptive text.