Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Buyer sued for posting factual negative review on eBay

popehat.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 118 posts

Re: Buyer sued for posting factual negative review on eBay

#21

Post by lowboy »

jvdh wrote: post #8

This seems like a very unfair situation for the company. Think about what would happen if this were the other way around. For example, buyer returns an article, sends it through the post, and for some reason it ends up at Med Express door with postage due. They leave a negative feedback on eBay about the user. The Internet would then also be up in arms about the company, 'abusing' its position to harm an underdog use…

People aren't up in arms about a negative review, they're up in arms about suing someone over a review. I think the reaction would be the same against the plaintiff if the roles were reversed and she sued Med Express for an negative review.

Re: Buyer sued for posting factual negative review on eBay

#22

Post by pointyhatuk »

Med Express is being an asshat. The buyer is being an asshat too.

Med Express have a supposed reputation to defend which they have obviously really shown here i.e. sue anyone who says anything bad. The buyer also has a trigger finger for leaving negative feedback.

Having been on the end of import duty having to be paid AND on the end of negative feedback for misquoting postage I understand both sides.

However, eBay is a feedback battle ground these days to the point the feedback system is worthless. Buyers bend over and take anything from sellers who threaten them with fraud reports to PayPal, retaliation for leaving negative feedback and occasionally physical violence. Sellers bend over and take stuff from buyers who make false claims, leave negative feedback for terribly minor things and don't send payment.

All of this results in a stalemate where both sides are forced to leave positive feedback. If you dare do anything else, shit will hit the fan, even if the service is a POS. It's a form of mutually assured destruction.

All of the above is why I don't use eBay any more.

There isn't an honest feedback rating anywhere on it.

Let them fight - they are as bad as each other.

Re: Buyer sued for posting factual negative review on eBay

#23

Post by qb45 »

jvdh wrote: post #8

This seems like a very unfair situation for the company. Think about what would happen if this were the other way around. For example, buyer returns an article, sends it through the post, and for some reason it ends up at Med Express door with postage due. They leave a negative feedback on eBay about the user. The Internet would then also be up in arms about the company, 'abusing' its position to harm an underdog use…

The buyer was indeed an assshole, but by filing a meritless lawsuit to force settlement the seller proved to be one as well.

I couldn't care less about them. Until they went to court, that is. At this point the buyer should win because between these two assholes she's the one who did nothing illegal.

Re: Buyer sued for posting factual negative review on eBay

#24

Post by joahua »

jvdh wrote: post #8

This seems like a very unfair situation for the company. Think about what would happen if this were the other way around. For example, buyer returns an article, sends it through the post, and for some reason it ends up at Med Express door with postage due. They leave a negative feedback on eBay about the user. The Internet would then also be up in arms about the company, 'abusing' its position to harm an underdog use…

The notion that negative feedback ought somehow only be posted in event of egregious misdescription is a bizarre, Ebay-centric one.

It was a bad customer experience - of course her response is negative!

eBay have designed it this way, but many users probably aren't aware of the consequences of leaving feedback.

You'd write a complaint card in a hotel with nary a second thought and no ill consequences. To be sued for what appears to be the same thing online is at best a gross overreaction.

Re: Buyer sued for posting factual negative review on eBay

#25

Post by jvdh »

lowboy wrote: post #21
jvdh wrote: post #8

This seems like a very unfair situation for the company. Think about what would happen if this were the other way around. For example, buyer returns an article, sends it through the post, and for some reason it ends up at Med Express door with postage due. They leave a negative feedback on eBay about the user. The Internet would then also be up in arms about the company, 'abusing' its position to harm an underdog use…

People aren't up in arms about a negative review, they're up in arms about suing someone over a review. I think the reaction would be the same against the plaintiff if the roles were reversed and she sued Med Express for an negative review.

I agree, but the negative review does hurt their business, as much as it would hurt the reputation of the user in the other scenario.

Of course, the user would not sue the company, but just use the Web to do some "swift justice" by spreading the word.

Re: Buyer sued for posting factual negative review on eBay

#26

Post by adamors »

lucaspiller wrote: post #10

I'm guessing his comment is a bit more like "THESE GUYS SUCK!!!!1111111" than "I had to pay $1.44 more for postage". IMO that is fair enough, he is in the wrong. OTOH I'm sure eBay have a process in place for this - I think suing him is a bit much. They could also just leave him negative feedback...

http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&...

Re: Buyer sued for posting factual negative review on eBay

#27

Post by Aardwolf »

I think this is a problem with eBay. For some reason, sellers desperately need and want your good feedback, and a single bad feedback, even for something as tiny as a $1.44 postage stamp, seems to have a very bad impact on the seller. In real life, one bad review about something like this on someone with a good track record doesn't hurt the slightest bit. Why does it hurt so much in the eBay review system, and can't they improve that? (So that I don't have to feel guilty when not saying "super awesome 5 stars" to a seller who was just "good").

Re: Buyer sued for posting factual negative review on eBay

#29

Post by DanBC »

Aardwolf wrote: post #27

I think this is a problem with eBay. For some reason, sellers desperately need and want your good feedback, and a single bad feedback, even for something as tiny as a $1.44 postage stamp, seems to have a very bad impact on the seller. In real life, one bad review about something like this on someone with a good track record doesn't hurt the slightest bit. Why does it hurt so much in the eBay review system, and can't…

I've just started using ebay. I look at the feedback because I realise (from years of reading Amazon reviews) that people sometimes give bad feedback for something outside the seller's control, even if the seller tried to correct the error.

So this bad feedback wouldn't have bothered me.

But I guess some / many people don't check the details. When you have two sellers listing the same item with similar 'buy it now' prices and packaging I guess feedback is the only other metric someone can check.

Since ebay sellers cut costs and profits as far as possible having similar prices is pretty common.

Re: Buyer sued for posting factual negative review on eBay

#30

Post by tachion »

Aardwolf wrote: post #27

I think this is a problem with eBay. For some reason, sellers desperately need and want your good feedback, and a single bad feedback, even for something as tiny as a $1.44 postage stamp, seems to have a very bad impact on the seller. In real life, one bad review about something like this on someone with a good track record doesn't hurt the slightest bit. Why does it hurt so much in the eBay review system, and can't…

Perhaps there should be some weight parameter added to both positive and negative feedback, where the value of the sale is being compared to total sold goods value makes the feedback more or less relevant: if you're mostly dealing with expensive laptops, and then you've sold broken pair of cheap headphones, then it should matter less, than when you're selling cheap headphones and you've sold broken expensive laptop. This is from top of my head, but I bet there are many other ways to improve rather old, and no more ideal eBay feedback system.
Post reply on HN