American English is not English?

Emily_Joy

I've sold a book on eBay and the buyer claims it is not as described because the listing didn't say it's American English and not British. The listing did have photographs and it was blindingly obvious that it is was written by an American and the language is American. The buyer, however, states that "she was too busy to study the pictures" and was relying on description.

On the very last day (40 days after the sale took place) the buyer left a negative feedback stating the description was misleading.

Any thoughts?

soolin

Was the book sold against the catalogue on ebay UK as if so that would pick up all of the relevant information and ebay might remove the neg.

Books are funny things, obviously the US ones printed for the US market are different- I went to a fascinating discussion about collecting books and they went through how different the same book could be depending on where it was printed with many terms and descriptions being changed to suit the home market (even UK and US) . If this is a book that would reasonably be expected to be in UK English then I would apologise to buyer and ask them to return it for a full refund and remove the neg. If however if was a book that would be expected to be issued in the US then again I would phone ebay and try and get the neg removed. By that I mean if it was for instance a Harry Potter book printed in the US for a US market and this wasn't outlined in the description then the listing was incomplete, if it was a Martha Stewart book issued in the US for a US market and not likely to be a UK edition I would argue the case.

ElefantEd

I presume your thread title is a rhetorical question!


(But the buyer has only themselves to blame, they should just suck it up. If you're too busy to check what you're buying properly even though the details are important to you, don't buy.)

Emily_Joy

soolin wrote: »

If it was a Martha Stewart book issued in the US for a US market and not likely to be a UK edition I would argue the case.

It was a book of baking recipes by an American chef which I originally bought in the US. All measurements there were in oz and cups which was evident from listing pictures.

Gary123456790

I think people take less and less notice of what they buy. Whatever turns up they can always claim its not as described and get a free return.

Using the ebay mobile app you have to open the description to view it, i think lots of people dont bother. One of the things I sell I have been asked more than once "how long is it?". In the description it says "length 60cm"...

soolin

Emily_Joy wrote: »

It was a book of baking recipes by an American chef which I originally bought in the US. All measurements there were in oz and cups which was evident from listing pictures.

I probably would have mentioned that especially as people buying on some of the ebay apps can't see all the photos.

Gary123456790 wrote: »

I think people take less and less notice of what they buy. Whatever turns up they can always claim its not as described and get a free return.

Using the ebay mobile app you have to open the description to view it, i think lots of people dont bother. One of the things I sell I have been asked more than once "how long is it?". In the description it says "length 60cm"...

Which is why I checked what the description said. Ebay will often remove poor feedback if the item description or more importantly the item specifics clearly mention something that buyer later complains about. Having won a few cases and had a few poor feedback removed I now add everything not only to the description but to item specifics.

OP, if item specifics or ebay catalogue clearly indicated this was a US book then it's definitely worth phoning ebay to see about getting the neg removed. If it was not mentioned in the item specifics, or if the place of publishing was left blank you are probably stuck with the neg. One neg though on an otherwise healthy account is not going to be an issue - just keep an eye on your detailed seller dashboard (as should we all!) to make sure nothing else is lurking to affect your overall status.

Emily_Joy

Gary123456790 wrote: »

One of the things I sell I have been asked more than once "how long is it?". In the description it says "length 60cm"...

Quite often on eBay app the description is cut short. Have no idea why

QuackQuackOops

Emily_Joy wrote: »

It was a book of baking recipes by an American chef which I originally bought in the US. All measurements there were in oz and cups which was evident from listing pictures.

To be honest, I would expect to see "This is an American recipe book, therefore measurements are different to ours here in the UK" written within the description. (or words to that effect) as it is a relevant piece of information to do with the book itself.

I wouldnt have minded though. American recipes are much easier to deal with using cups.