Libel in eBay Feedback

[QM07]

I am an eBay seller located in North Carolina.

Does anyone know the steps necessary to sue an eBay buyer for committing libel against you on the eBay feedback forum?

Would I need to travel to their state in order to sue them, or is this question answered in eBay's terms and agreement?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Zigner]

I am an eBay seller located in North Carolina.

Does anyone know the steps necessary to sue an eBay buyer for committing libel against you on the eBay feedback forum?

Would I need to travel to their state in order to sue them, or is this question answered in eBay's terms and agreement?

Thanks for your help.

You would have to start with being libeled on eBay - a very hard thing to prove.

 

[racer72]

Get over it. As a long time seller on eBay, I have run across some less than thrilled buyers, I'm not going to let a negative feedback bother me. You can answer the negative feedback, leave your side of the story and move on with life. As stated, the chances of you proving the negative feedback cost you financially is slim and none and slim just left town.

 

[greeneapple]

libel in eBay feedback

Since libel is the written word it is easy to prove if in fact the person has left defamatory remarks that you can prove are false, such as a person saying you are scamming them or that they you not provide proof or a false time line.
Don't let them get a way with it as this encourages others to keep doing it. You may be awarded a cash amount based on how it can affect your business on eBay in addition to getting a court order to have it removed
Make sure you have all your e-mails saved.

 

[Zigner]

Since libel is the written word it is easy to prove if in fact the person has left defamatory remarks that you can prove are false, such as a person saying you are scamming them or that they you not provide proof or a false time line.
Don't let them get a way with it as this encourages others to keep doing it. You may be awarded a cash amount based on how it can affect your business on eBay in addition to getting a court order to have it removed
Make sure you have all your e-mails saved.

greenapple is giving bad advice. Or, at the very least, misleading advice. You will spend a huge amount of time and money on a case that is extremely difficult to prove.

 

[quincy]

QM07 -
What exactly was said in this feedback?
Zigner and racer72 gave you the best advice based on what you posted, and greenapple gave you the advice that most people want to hear regardless of what you posted, but there are rare rare rare extremely rare instances of true libel in feedback that could potentially be worth suing over. Did I mention these were rare?
Post back with what was said.

Hey! I'm a "Senior"!!!

 

[The Occultist]

Hey! I'm a "Senior"!!!

Gratz!

 

[racer72]

QM07 -
Hey! I'm a "Senior"!!!

Rookie.

 

[quincy]

So now I qualify for the high pay and benefits, huh?!

 

[cymbol]

So now I qualify for the high pay and benefits, huh?!

You can just be as cynical as most of the other seniors, but please just be the old you

 

[quincy]

Thanks, Cymbol! Let's just replace the "same old you" with "same young you", though (in spite of the fact that I am now a senior), and I will do my best.

 

[wnagel]

A few things:

1) You can hide your feedback from everyone if you want. Obviously there are pro's and con's to doing this as a seller. On the other hand, afer a few months of buying and selling with positive feedback, the one negative feedback will be pages away out of normal view and it will look like a lone incident.

2) Remember that you can put down your reply to his feedback. Last I checked, a third reply can be done. Ebay books state that one of the best ways to deal with bad feedback is to put in your last feedback response something like: Jim is a liar and I can prove it, email me for details. This type of response will drive Jim crazy not knowing how many people are emailing you because of his feedback and causing him a loss of business.

3) The last way is mutual withdrawal. Both parties must agree to withdraw all feedback for the transaction. Not a great deal if you are the one who got ripped off, but you have to consider the long term consequences and whether or not you want to warn others of this poor ebay seller.