Is The E-Bay Seller Libel?

[Rock_n_Roll_Ray]

Is The E-bay Seller Libel ?

What is the name of your state?
NEW YORK

On March 20, 2005 I had purchased an item from a seller (collectorsuniverseltd) on E-Bay. The item was to be shipped by US PRIORITY MAIL with a TRACKING NUMBER. I sent the payment on April 1, 2005 via PAY PAL (it was an e-check, which cleared on April 6, 2005). And during this time the seller had been suspended from E-Bay. I e-mailed the seller on March 22, 2005 about my concerns about their 'staus' on E-Bay. The reply was that they were 'fighting it'. Anyway, the payment cleared, and they were paid. I allowed a week to elapse for delivery of the item. When it didn't arrive I e-mailed asking about its status. I never recieved a reply. On April 14, 2005 I filed a claim with PAY PAL informing them I had not receive the item. PAY PAL then gave the seller 10 days to respond. On April 18, 2005 the seller FINALLY responded, and had supplied the US PRIORITY MAIL TRACKING NUMBER. The item FINALLY arrived on April 20, 2005. I then e-mail the seller informing them of the receipt of the item, and that it had taken nearly 30 days to get the item, and only after I was 'forced' to file a claim. I also had told them that all of this could have been avoided if they had replied to my initial e-mails (I had sent 2). I then posted negative feedback, which I had felt to be appropriate (that I finally got the item 30 days later, and that I had to file a claim at PAY PAL just to get it). A few days later I received their feedback which was:
"BEWARE OF THIS THIEF! CANCEL BIDS NOW! HE WILL LIE TO YOU & THEN LEAVE NEGS".
Now, I never stole anything from the seller, and I surely didn't lie. The seller was paid, but was deliquent in delivering my merchandise. I feel that the feedback that was left was slanderous, and without good cause. I also feel that it can greatly affect my ability to make bids, and purchases on E-Bay.

My questions are:

Is the seller libel for slander and /or defamation?

If so, is there any legal course of action that I can take?

 

[EdKam]

Personally I have never has much success dealing with Paypal or e-bay involving disputes. I understand why you left the seller a negative. However they always retaliate and do the same to you. This has always been the problem on e-bay. I do not think matters have gotten better. You can e-mail e-bay and hope they remove the negative feedback, it's possible they will. I am afraid though that you are dealing with a company (like many companies) that one hand has no idea what the other one is doing. e-bay was supposed to upgrade customer service. Maybe they have. As far as there slander, how much money do you want to throw away to get even?
Turn the other cheek and hope e-bay removes the negative.
It is frustrating because I have been there, and if you are like most people you want an item sent the next day after you pay for it. I would avoid using e-checks, and use Paypal in the future. Personally as a seller I hate checks, b/c you have to wait to get the funds and time goes by and the seller gets involved with other transactions etc. Also I assumed you checked the sellers feedback rating, and how long they have been a member. In any case, chalk it up to experience and stop those e-checks. You are lucky you even got the item.

 

[Rock_n_Roll_Ray]

NEW YORK

Thanks for your advice EdKam.

Incidently the e-check was paid out through PAY PAL (funds were debited/transferred from my checking account)​

 

[kat1963]

According to e-bay & PP TOS the seller has 7 days to ship after payment is received. Your seller was not paid until the April 6th, 17 days AFTER you won the item. That is a LONG time to wait for payment & many sellers would have relisted & negged you without a second thought. Like this person:
NEG: Paymt was sent as WE mutually agreed on. You relisted item before rec'vg paymt..
Reply by XXXX: Buyer Never Contacted me after 3 emails,after 12 days,item was relisted
It didn’t take 30 days for you to receive your item, but 2 weeks after payment which is a little slow but not out of the ordinary and could take longer if sent media mail. I highly suggest posting your complaints on the ebay biddies boards (listed under community) for advice BEFORE taking action…you e-bay score is getting kinda low, even lower then your seller. Sellers are starting to get picky. If your feedback starts looking bad then even if you bid a seller has the option of canceling & blocking your id.
KAT

 

[Rock_n_Roll_Ray]

Thank you kat1963​