gaming account rights/ purchase

washington state-
Hi! My son recently bought a "game account" with some sort of special super characters for an online game "star wars galaxy", on ebay. Yes, i know that was stupid, buying on ebay,I have told him so and grounded him from the computer! Anyway, he paid $575 for this thing with his own money, and I only heard about it when he came to me saying that he had been "ripped off" , and that the account he bought was no good, it was already "banned" or turned off somehow, so he could'nt access it. I know he shouldn't have bought on ebay, but the seller should refund his money if the account wasn't playable, shouldn't he? I think we should report this to the police and possibly file a civil suit against the seller to get his money back, but my son seems very against this, telling us to "just forget it", which seems ridiculous! I am afraid there is more to thiis legally than I am aware of. Is there any reason we shouldn't sue this guy? Thanks for your advice!

What state is the seller located? You will need that info because that is where you are going to sue the seller. And travel expenses are not recoverable in court. This is one of those situations that can be used as a life experience learned.

The seller is in montana, so I may be able to travel there. What would I need (paperwork?) to prove that he didn't get what he paid for? Some new information: Email from seller Now claims that my son is responsible for the account not working because he (my son) notified the game company about the problem and caused them to ban it for being purchased through auction. I called the software company, and they said that their user agreement forbids buying or selling by online auction, so they refuse to get involved! Can they do this? How can I prove my case without their help! Is it legal for them to say this? I am still interested in persuing this if I have a reasonable chance of getting this guy who is cheating people! I have also reported it to ebay, they say the seller says he gave my son the account passwords and that WE are lying! What a mess!