See, I get what you're saying and I largely agree, but this is one of those blatant lies that are just insulting to the average person's intelligence. He could've gone with 'It's an art installment' or similar, and gotten far less raised eyebrows.

I feel like a salesman who takes a rusted out husk of a car on two cinderblocks and tries to pitch that 'It runs great, it just needs a little TLC' will lose out on the sale he could've made if he'd just put it out there as scrap metal, as well as any sales from others that might've been suckered in by less obvious lies.