• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

eBay Feedback - Threatened with Lawsuit

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

nebulous88

Junior Member
Hi all,

I am based in GA. I recently listed an old version of TurboTax on eBay. I listed it with a description of "TurboTax Federal". Mistakenly (because of copying and pasting) in the description, there was a reference ot TurboTax State. The buyer contacted me and asked if this was TurboTax Federal or State. I told him it was Federal only but that I would e-mail him a downloaded version of TurboTax State that I purchased online for that tax year. I did this after the buyer purchase the software for $29 + $3.85 for shipping on 04/03/05.

However, the buyer is from MD and unbeknown to me, the download of TurboTax state that I sent it was only good for GA. The buyer then told be that he wanted $15 from me to purchase TurboTax state for MD or to return his purchase. Because of his private profile on eBay (which allows you to hide your feedback from others), I suspected that he had copied the software and wanted to return it and told him that I did not accept returns. The buyer said that he will address this issue with eBay and Paypal (eBay's payment mechanism).

I did not hear from this person for about 3 weeks. I then noticed that on 04/28/05 he posted negative eBay feedback for me stating:

"Seller doesn't know what he's selling. Learn more about your items B4 you sell."

I replied to this with "Notice his profile is private. Tries to buy sofware, copy it, then return. Sad!"

The buyer then contacted me on 05/07 stating that he wanted me to produce an email from him justifying my reply or the reason why I posted this reply. He said that I had 30 days from 05/07 to do so or I will face a lawsuit. I replied to his email simply with "It is obvious what you are trying to do here." I also contacted eBay and asked them to remove my reply. I forwarded the buyer a copy of this request to eBay. I've kept all of the e-mails related to this incident.

I suppose that I was naive in this matter. Does this person have a strong case against me for libel?

Given that we are in different states, if he filed a suit against me would it have to be in federal court? If he did so in the MD court system, can I request that the choice of law be GA? Should I look into hiring an attorney?

Thanks
 



Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top