For eBay it Ultimately Had to Come to This

eBay the worldwide auction house has changed over the years. Early on there was a considered parity supported by the company. That has shifted over time to the seller is at the mercy of the buyer in any resulting transaction, good or bad –

After returning his purchase and receiving a refund from the seller, Joel Jones, he used the online auction website’s feedback section - which can be read by other people - to give his honest opinion of the transaction.

‘Item was scratched, chipped and not the model advertised on Mr Jones’s eBay account,’ he wrote, assuming it was the end of the matter…
Chris Read

Chris Read is facing a court battle after leaving negative feedback on eBay for a mobile phone he bought on the auction site

But he has now received an email threatening him with libel action. And it will be a legal first if the case reaches court.

Mr Jones claims the unfavourable comments have damaged his business. The legal missive goes on to warn Mr Read that if he fails to retract his comments he will be dragged to court where he faces costs, lawyers’ fees and damages.

Father-of-five Mr Read, 42, said: ‘I can’t believe someone can be so petty. All I had done was left an honest opinion and everything I said was true. I thought that was why the feedback service was there. It’s not like I wrote anything malicious or called him a conman.’

He added: ‘If it has to go to court then so be it. Hopefully it won’t go that far but I’m prepared to fight my corner.’

Now it appears that in this particular case the buyer had a legimate beef with the outcome of the transaction. Nor does it seem that the assessment by Mr. Read was untoward in his rating in this case. But that does not resolve the bigger problem. Lacking a return to parity by eBay, sellers may more and more resort to the courts. In the UK, the concept of libel is a lot broader than it is here in the US. But regardless, not every buyer is a saint or every seller a Grinch. Without a return to normalcy of some sort the system just might collapse.

Linky.