Negative feedback - is it libel?
Hi there, Folks.
Hope all is well with you all.
I've been selling and buying on eBay for just about twenty years. I probably have seen it all.
A bit of a dilemma here (nothing new).
What irks me in this particular case (the negative review from the buyer - please see my profile) is two-fold:
1. The perpetual lack of a safety mechanism that mandates that a party unsatisfied with their eBay transaction must contact the other party before being allowed to leave a negative. No contact - no negative or neutral feedback. That simple.
In this particular case the buyer did not contact me in any shape or form.
2. eBay must mandate that the feedback provided is factual. If eBay's AI can't do it just yet then involve a human capable of making such determination.
>> "Wrong description on the unit resulted in a bad purchase." - the buyer doesn't stipulate what was wrong with the description. I, as a seller, can only take a buyer so far - multiple pictures, origin of the part, its serial number(s). The rest of the purchasing decision rests on the shoulders of the buyer (please see note below).
>> "... I will avoid this seller for bad descriptions in the future." - again, the reference is to the part's supposed bad description. Again, where is the proof? Descriptions? - as in inference that I, as a seller, have been cited for several of such?
I sell on eBay to give good parts a chance to be useful again. I wonder if it's worth my precious time. It's not.
At the end of the day who losses out the most?
Let me know what you think, my good Brothers and Sisters.
Side note: I've dealt with cases when a buyer realized that he or she purchased a wrong part (even for parts that were sold 'as is'), reached out to express their issue (brave enough to admit to their mistake) and would have their own mistake turn into a very positive outcome.
fashunu4eeuh
·2 years agoFeedback is wholly subjective and arbitrary, which is why it no longer counts in one’s seller performance metrics. Few bother to leave feedback these days and even fewer consult it when making purchasing decisions.
Most buyers are savvy enough to realize every seller will get an unhappy customer eventually and a neg will inevitably follow. It is not personal, nor is it likely to affect your long-term sales. This was a business transaction and treating it as such will save much heartache.
@argoq104 wrote:
â€Hi there. I've provided all the serial #s of the part itself and multiple pics of it. If there was a problem or a genuine mistake on your part you could've simply reach out. But you haven't. Have you read my other reviews?â€
Hi @argoq104
The above quote is your follow-up response to the negative feedback.
Pointing out that one possesses stellar reviews on many stable transactions does not help this situation nor resolves the issue this buyer had. It sides-steps the point. Those transactions have no bearing on this one, and stating it in feedback invalidates the unhappy buyer’s concern.
It is quite possible that the buyer made a mistake. To be fair, it is equally possible that you may have. It is impossible to know with the limited data shared here.
But what is certain is that refusing to even entertain one’s possible culpability serves no one and nothing. The problem is not addressed to simply blame the buyer. And doing so blocks a potential solution from being formulated.
Often it is not the initial negative feedback that impacts future buyers decision-making. What is more apt to ruin a seller’s reputation is his/her own ill-advised response in their follow-up comments.
adamcartwright
·2 years ago@argoq104
Yes, it most certainly could be libelous, depending on how it's framed.
As I recall, this has been a problem on Yelp, resultling in libel lawsuits.
To best protect yourself as a seller/buyer, it's always best to couch your feedback in terms of how you felt, not in terms of what the other party did.
12345jamesstamps
·2 years agoNot much one can do other than sending buyer a revision which is only good for '10 days'.
A new problem which sometimes might be a cause is a person making a purchase on their cellphone or in my case iPhone. On the computer you can see the 'description'...on the cell phone you have to scroll down and scroll down more and click onto it to read about a description.
And the 'no returns' kinda got misread by the buyer.
I go to the gym and everyone is on their cellphone. I am standing in line and everyone is on their cellphone.
fbusoni
·2 years agoSir: The faults / shortcomings you outline are real and may explain why eBay does not factor feedback into our metrics.
But advertising "no returns" (if true) all but guarantees that you will invite bad feedback for the simple reason that the buyer likely assumes he will not be able to deal with you and thus opts to not reach out to you initially.
frankenhobbit
·2 years agoWhen did they leave the feedback? Looks like it sold on July 2nd, so there may still be time to reach out, fix the issue and have the feedback revised?
argoq104
OP2 years agoThank you for your comment, @frankenhobbit
silverstatetreasureboxes
·2 years ago@argoq104
Please don't dwell on this, your response was good. This is just a buyers opinion nothing more nothing less.
argoq104
OP2 years agoThank you much for your comment, @silverstatetreasureboxes
We are all part of a larger community. What we do (or don't do) eventually makes a full circle back to us
chevymontecarlo88
·2 years agoProblem for this buyer was, as he expressed it, the No Returns on the item......he assumed no point in trying to deal with you.......
â˜ï¸Exactly what @dhbookds posted.
@argoq104 That is the problem when you state no returns on the item. Some may feel like it is a waste of time to reach out if they think no returns. Yes, they should of reached out to find out if something could be done but your listing gives them a reason not to.
Maybe you should have a few form response Ebay messages saved to send to the buyers once they purchase the item (qualifying that they understand what part they need and to contact you with any questions) and another message save to send once they receive the item. (thanks them and follows up to make sure they understand they can reach out with any problems) Yes it does take a little longer to do this and some may not have the time to do it, but if you have these messages prepared (just add name to message) it can take seconds and save time/headaches that can surprise you days later.
At this point it is pointless to argue who is right. Just adapt your way of selling to minimize this from happening again.
-Good luck
argoq104
OP2 years agoThank you for your reply @chevymontecarlo88
It does make sense if I do decide to continue to sell on eBay.
Completely agree with you on "At this point it is pointless to argue who is right."
The point to all of this is to get your opinions (no matter how varied they are).
luckythewinner
·2 years agoThe perpetual lack of a safety mechanism that mandates that a party unsatisfied with their eBay transaction must contact the other party before being allowed to leave a negative. No contact - no negative or neutral feedback. That simple.
I fail to see why I should be required to further engage with a seller who is rude, abusive, or has defrauded me before expressing my disappointment through feedback. And I also fail to see why sending him a message telling him he was rude, abusive, or had defrauded me would change anything.
eBay must mandate that the feedback provided is factual. If eBay's AI can't do it just yet then involve a human capable of making such determination.
There is absolutely no way that eBay - through AI or a human - can verify whether feedback is "factual". And they certainly aren't going to pay an expert to to travel to a buyer to examine and item, or hire an investigator to interview the buyer and seller.
I've been selling and buying on eBay for just about twenty years. I probably have seen it all.
Let me know what you think, my good Brothers and Sisters.
I think that anyone who has sold on eBay for 20 years and "seen it all" knows that eBay is not going to change the feedback system.
argoq104
OP2 years agoThank you for your feedback @luckythewinner
Your first paragraph - not sure how to interpret it;
Second paragraph - a bit on extreme but yes, it follows;
Third paragraph - that's a solid affirmative, Sir.
wastingtime101
·2 years agoTo this point:
eBay improved things a couple of years ago, putting a roadblock in front of buyers when they select negative. This is what it looks like on the website. On the app it's much more difficult to get past it without contacting the seller first.
This change has cut down on the number of negs left by accident, and has encouraged more buyers to contact the seller first when there is a real problem. But it's not a requirement to contact the seller and I would be surprised if eBay forced it since their current goal is to increase buyer engagement and get them to leave feedback on a higher number of transactions.
As said above, the buyer probably did not reach out because of your no returns policy so they figured there was no point.
Have you considered contacting the buyer to discuss what the [perceived] problem is? See if you can work it out? If you can come to an amicable solution you have the option of asking the buyer to revise the feedback after the issue is settled by sending them a FB revision request.
argoq104
OP2 years agoThank you for your reply @wastingtime101
As I've mentioned, I don't have a problem addressing buyer's issues (even if it's a buyer's mistake). I do have a problem with a baseless negative and for eBay's lack of oversight.
frugalmarketplace
·2 years ago@argoq104
Everyone takes returns…I would say you could have turned this around in your favor and contacted the buyer, offered to provide a return label, etc. That negative has done its damage and your response was more damaging to you.
Quit thinking about legal action…that is silly. Fix the problem with the customer, and likely he would revise his feedback. A negative isn’t worth $39.99
argoq104
OP2 years agoThank you for your reply, @frugalmarketplace
No, not everyone.
I've issued refunds on purchases done by mistake (even on items sold as is) - WHEN a person would contact me and explain the situation.
The beef is with eBay's Buyer is always right no matter the evidence approach.
dhbookds
·2 years agoProblem for this buyer was, as he expressed it, the No Returns on the item......he assumed no point in trying to deal with you.......
etsvcs
·2 years agoI have free returns and still get negative feedback. 😞
argoq104
OP2 years agoThank you for your comment, @etsvcs
I am genuinely sorry for that state of affairs. eBay could have fixed this issue eons ago if their primary motive wasn't ... fill in your own thoughts and observations.
argoq104
OP2 years agoThank you for your reply @dhbookds
As I stated in my last paragraph, I have no problem rectifying buyer's mistakes.
This is exactly what irks me - one's assumption becomes someone else's headache and eBay allows it.
ckimodog
·2 years ago@argoq104
I'm sorry for your experience. I don't believe negative feedback is libelous or grounds for a lawsuit. It's this persons opinion that the item was not described correctly. They may be very familiar with GPU's and perhaps wanted one of the same that they had purchased prior. Just a guess. Again, sorry.
argoq104
OP2 years agoThank you, @ckimodog
Would it not be the buyer's responsibility to check if the part being purchased is in fact the part that is sought?
chevymontecarlo88
·2 years agoOf course it is but the point is that selling on this platform allows the lack of common sense to prevail.
It is not about who's fault it is but what the outcome generally will be. (buyers win)
All you can do is try to minimize them but that does not guarantee negative feedback will be left.