Filing Lawsuit Against Customer

[meme6253]

Ebay would not take down negative feedback that was left 3 days before the deadline to resolve any issue, Since they have such disregard for hard working sellers & let customers leave slandering remarks that can effect our business, I will pursue a lawsuit against any & all customers who misuse the feedback system in this manner, So often I hear other sellers getting abused by customers this way, But we do have a defense that we can pursue outside of ebay.

[retro_entertainment_collectibles]

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@meme6253 wrote:

I did address the buyers concerns & even offered a partial refund, In which I received no response, Their claim That I unilaterally tried to solve the problem is false & slandering to my character

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1.  Online at an eCommerce site there is no such thing as "character" in sales.  In these forums, yeah, people have character.  In feedback?  It's "a character" not "me character."

2.  I DO Agree (imagine that!) that like text messages a seller and buyer should be able to see if said message was even opened on the recipients side.  That if a recipient never even bothered to open a message from a customer that SHOULD also appear in transaction detail.  So when a feedback removal request or issue with a item results in say an INAD that SHOULD weigh into actionable decisions at eBay.

3.  Dont treat eBay as you might the 1880's general store seen on TV which was never real as shown on TV.  Someone insulting you're products is not insulting you're products unless you actually made said products with your own hands otherwise they are not your products.  They are simply an item in inventory, nothing more and nothing less.  They have NO VALUE WHATSOEVER until sold, in fact, they are worth less than nothing as money is tied up in them.

[farmalljr]

You are talking about Liable. You can sue, but you will never WIN in eBay feedback cases. The courts have held buyers have a right to express themselves.  They are allowed to express their opinion, experiences, and all. It's the writers OPINION and no one has the right to tell someone what they think. The only one that can remove reviews are the platform owner, for whatever rules/reasons they have in effect. 

The only case you COULD win, was if someone was able to leave feedback when they never had a buying interaction. 

Given that you CAN sue, doesn't mean you should. The state you sue in may have laws about frivolous lawsuits and YOU could be liable for damages to the one you sue. 

Given that eBay only allows feedback when a buying interaction happens, you have no case you could win. Your only option is to appeal to eBay. 

[retro_entertainment_collectibles]

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@maxine*j wrote:

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@meme6253 wrote:

I did address the buyers concerns & even offered a partial refund, In which I received no response, Their claim That I unilaterally tried to solve the problem is false & slandering to my character

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If you're going to get all legal, please note the difference (already mentioned) between slander and libel.  Slander is spoken.  Libel is written.  It is not possible to slander you in an eBay feedback.

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There's also both, written and verbal.  Like when that nasty neighbor yelled at me for hitting someone's doogie leftover with the mower sending it in a trajectory unto his car...  I wasn't paying attention!  I was called names including some unsophisticated ones and a note left on the door with more!

So that's both:  Slibelous behavior!  Worth 11 points on the Scrabble Board.

[onefootflippers]

From a business perspective this doesn't make any sense. Your ebay store seems to sell 1 item a day for about $1000 a month in revenue. 

You are going to need to put up a $10,000 retainer to even start the lawsuit, and that is assuming you can find a lawyer willing to take the case. 

That is more than your entire year's profit, at least assuming your last 90 days is typical.

[gamersbaystore]

Have you ever heard of small claims court? It does not cost $10,000 to sue someone this way. I have sued people thru small claims court before, there are no such associated costs as you claim. You do not need a lawyer to sue thru small claims, and having a lawyer present during such proceedings is typically not allowed without court approval first.

[maxine*j]

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@gamersbaystore wrote:

Have you ever heard of small claims court? It does not cost $10,000 to sue someone this way. I have sued people thru small claims court before, there are no such associated costs as you claim. You do not need a lawyer to sue thru small claims, and having a lawyer present during such proceedings is typically not allowed without court approval first.

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True, but small claims courts are a poor place to purse a defamation lawsuit, even if you can successfully file one in the defendant's  jurisdiction, which you must do. 

Again, it's because proving monetary damages is difficult, and you must prove them.

And unless you're suing someone who is geographically near you, travel and loss of productive time can be pretty costly because you must go to the defendant's jurisdiction. 

(I'm not going to try to get into all the ins and outs of "personal jurisdiction," the power over a person or business that a court must have in order to hear or decide a case.  Suffice it to say, that for small claims about 99% of the time that personal jurisdiction is where the defendant lives.)

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[onefootflippers]

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@gamersbaystore wrote:

Have you ever heard of small claims court? It does not cost $10,000 to sue someone this way. I have sued people thru small claims court before, there are no such associated costs as you claim. You do not need a lawyer to sue thru small claims, and having a lawyer present during such proceedings is typically not allowed without court approval first.

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You can't sue for defamation in small claims court in most jurisdictions. 

And in any case the suit would need to be filed where the defendant lives. 

 And given the relatively small sales volume the original poster does even a win would be a loss.  The original poster sells about $1000 a month, lets say that is $300 in profit. It is extremely unlikely that a negative would reduce his sales by more than 10 percent for 3 months. That is $90.

[carlmarxx]

I read the  Negative  in the OP's Feedback  ,And the buyer is a newbie  and come's off as a nutty . And not worth  the trouble  of a lawsuit .  

[gb58]

I just look at both the feedbacks, what exactly do you feel either of the negative or neutral feedback buyers said that is a case for a libel suit? I'm not seeing anything either one said that could be viewed as damaging your reputation.

[the-hook-and-the-loop]

I say go for it. Maybe this could be a landmark case. After you win, eBay will have to insert a disclaimer for buyers before submitting feedback that they may be held legally responsible for what they type when reviewing a seller/sale. Make them think twice about what they "type". 

[lilyswan2]

maybe you can get both buyers to do a feedback revision by still working it out?

[forzettifinds4u]

Hi there, looking for advice on how to sue eBay! Customer bought an expensive art piece over $3K damaged it then returned it out of process, sided with us, but then customer filed a claim citing "listing does not match item", so the algorithm would capture and noted false information. Customer left negative feedback and file a claim through his credit care provider.  eBay then aided in helping the customer steal the funds from us even though they said don't worry, we are in your side and this is clear. Then turn around to not protect us, not remove negative feedback!!!!  What it is your attorney's information we are desperate and this is the second incident. 

Maybe we could a Class Action lawsuit?

tysm!

[ckimodog]

@forzettifinds4u 

Don't bother....most attorneys won't look twice at your lawsuit.  In your terms of service you agreed not to sue eBay and you agreed to it before you started to sell.  Don't waste your money... it won't work.  Sorry. 

[bonjourami]

So you got the item back, then the buyer went to his cc for a refund and you want to sue him?