Bad review from a Negative Hubber

[CycleGuy10000]

Good morning Hubbers, I hope all of you are well. I have just received a 1 star review from a fellow Hubber named DMH. Firstly, he enquired about a Garmin Epix Gen 2 which I have listed about a week ago. He then called me and sent a voice note claiming he was a bit under the influence of alcohol and will only proceed to make a decision in the morning when sober.

I did tell him I would give him first option, but then rather decided that someone enquiring and calling a seller drunk is not my ideal buyer. He also sweared a lot, which I see as an unprofessional way of doing decent business. I have a voicenote to back this statement. Later an individual from Marketplace then contacted me and I sold it offline without any hassle and removed my ad from Marketplace aswell as Bikehub.

He then contacted me with an negative attitude aksing why I didn’t give him the first option while he was clearly intoxicated and didn’t communicate properly to my liking. I didn’t want to lose the potential buyer and sold the Garmin to him. He gave me a 1 Star whilst I clearly have a excellent review history. What could I possibly do in this situation? 

Edited March 16 by CycleGuy10000

[Arrie]

It depends what he said in his review.To me, if I am interested in an item and a person has a bad review for not responding or something similar to the situation you have, it would not deter me, especially if the seller has other good reviews. If someone was dishonest it would be different. You could also give him a bad review if you feel you need to.

You can message admin to review it.

Edited March 16 by Arrie

[RobertWhitehead]

@Matt

[DMH]

I have our entire chat history on Whatsapp that I'd be very happy to share here.  I will share the last part shortly.  

He was very pleasant throughout until the ghosting.  His story also doesn't add up.   Yes I was tipsy when we'd spoke the night before and I indicated such and that it wasn't a good time to make a purchase decision.  We laughed about it.   The 'swearing a lot' was in the course of the voice note - nothing negative at all, just part of banter - he is most welcome to share it here.  

I gave him more than enough time to respond to me - we engaged last on 5th March. I sent him 2 messages the day after and then another last Wednesday.  

Sharing screenshot below shortly. As well as the review.  AITAH? 

 

[DMH]

Screenshots attached. 

 

[CycleGuy10000]

10 minutes ago, Arrie said:

It depends what he said in his review.To me, if I am interested in an item and a person has a bad review for not responding or something similar to the situation you have, it would not deter me, especially if the seller has other good reviews. If someone was dishonest it would be different. You could also give him a bad review if you feel you need to.

You can message admin to review it.

I does bother me a bit, as I am keen on good reviews from fellow Hubbers. Thanks for the advice, I will ask admin to review. I don’t want to be petty by giving bad reviews to one another like little school children.

[Alouette3]

If I recall something along the lines, you have to purchase an item in order to give a valid review?

[DMH]

My review that I posted earlier today - it's not sour grapes from losing the sale.  These things happen.  It's the ghosting since that irked me.  And the chance to warn Hubbers of someone that I don't believe is a desirable seller.  

 

Wanted to buy a Garmin Epix Gen 2 from him. Had asked him to give me first option. Which he assured me he would do. I then confirmed a couple hours later that I would take it. And tried calling him. He messaged me later that evening noting it had been (allegedly) sold. I tried enquiring several times as to why he sold it but he's just ghosted me since.

I'd asked several questions about the condition of it - especially the battery life and asked him to send a photo showing estimated life on the watch. Also asked him to send me the serial no. With which I was going to verify whether it was really purchased in June 2025 as he had noted. (Certainly possible but it is a watch that debuted in 2022). He had promised to send me those details but didn't and then claimed it was sold. So if it really was sold then (or he'll list it again) verify these or you could be getting a lemon.

Edited March 16 by DMH

[CycleGuy10000]

1 minute ago, Alouette3 said:

If I recall something along the lines, you have to purchase an item in order to give a valid review?

My thought process aswell! I have also lost some deals from Hubbers selling when I was still a bit undecided, but never left a negative review as it was fair business, because I haven’t paid yet.

[IceCreamMan]

Tough one as there are 2 points of view, probably both valid to an extent. 
 

my ethos when selling items is the first one to give me the maaaanie gets the item. I don’t care if you intoxicated or not. Too many times I have held onto something then missed a sale and the place holder does not buy it. 
 

1 star reviews…. I agree…I protect my ratings on flea bay , marketplace etc. my rating is my word so to speak. It should be protected…maybe amend the rating in good faith and all that. 

[Bro Derek]

23 minutes ago, DMH said:

My review that I posted earlier today - it's not sour grapes from losing the sale.  These things happen.  It's the ghosting since that irked me.  And the chance to warn Hubbers of someone that I don't believe is a desirable seller.  

 

Wanted to buy a Garmin Epix Gen 2 from him. Had asked him to give me first option. Which he assured me he would do. I then confirmed a couple hours later that I would take it. And tried calling him. He messaged me later that evening noting it had been (allegedly) sold. I tried enquiring several times as to why he sold it but he's just ghosted me since.

I'd asked several questions about the condition of it - especially the battery life and asked him to send a photo showing estimated life on the watch. Also asked him to send me the serial no. With which I was going to verify whether it was really purchased in June 2025 as he had noted. (Certainly possible but it is a watch that debuted in 2022). He had promised to send me those details but didn't and then claimed it was sold. So if it really was sold then (or he'll list it again) verify these or you could be getting a lemon.

Just be aware that on BikeHub, you can only leave a review if you actually buy something.

It is in the user Ts and Cs that you agreed to when you signed up

I'm sure admin will remove the review

[macride]

I would remove the review and let life take its course. 

[CycleGuy10000]

1 minute ago, macride said:

I would remove the review and let life take its course. 

That would be all I want. I will ask admin to delete the forum once it is done.

[Furbz]

i always tell everyone who enquires to:

money talks, if you really want it pay.

if you need more time to decide, thats ok, but first to pay takes it.

its a risk the buyer takes.

i don't hold for anyone unless i personally know them - to many tire kickers.

[Bub Marley]

If hes not the one that bought it then he can’t leave a review. Admin should be able to remove the review for you.

[Barry]

It seems there was some wrongdoing on both sides, particularly on the seller's side. The buyer requested the first option, and the seller agreed. The buyer then asked for photos, to which the seller also agreed. However, the photos were not forthcoming, and the seller chose to ghost the buyer. He likely found a local buyer and didn't want the hassle of boxing and shipping to KZN. The seller made commitments and led buyer on the seller did not uphold his end of the deal. Bike Hub T&c aside i would probably also give 1 star.