Malicious Feedback Manipulation by Competitor

Ebay has both a Public and anonymous feedback rating system. This system enables competitors to do what is termed "feedback bombing". The way they do this is to buy items from a competitor then post Glowing Positive feedback in the public section while rating the sellers DSR ( Detailed Seller Ratings) with very low scores.

Ebay uses the DSR scores to determine :

(1)-search ratings

(2) Seller Status- Top Rated, Above Standar, Standard , below Standard

Consequences of Low Ratings- Low or No Visibility in search results, Mandatory Holding of Funds in Paypal for 30 days -not released until after buyer receives and leaves positive feedback, Loss of Fee Discounts, suspension in some instances.

My situation- Competitor bid opening bid on numerous items- won 7 auctions at opening or very low bids, I combined the items in to one invoice- charged $2.39 to mail 7 items- mailed them the day she paid, e-mailed to tell her on the way.

She left 7 Glowing Positive Feedbacks.

I check my DSR ratings- whoa I am in danger of being suspended.

I generate DSR reports- "someone" left me 28 low ratings!

I e-mail buyer- she states she left me all 5 Star Ratings- would buy from me any time!

I do research by generating different DSR reports to isolate items and by doing so I am able to isolate the 7 "anonymous" ratings she left- Now I KNOW without a doubt what she did and exactly what ratings she left.I contact ebay and ask to have the ratings removed under their Feedback Manipulation Policy- I am still waiting for them to finish their investigation.

I want to sue the buyer for Maliciously Interfering with my business- while the ratings you leave are anonymous as to who left them in the public araena- the ratings themselves are public.

She rated me 1 star on shipping cost- I charged $2.39 to mail 7 items- she charhes $2.50 to mail 1 identical item and charges an additional 50 cents per addition identical item.

My shipping cost- $2.39 vs her shipping cost-$5.50

I ship same day- arrive in 2-5 days her terms she ships within 4 days arrives in 7-9 days

Item condition? must have been fine as she is reselling as Mint

Communication?- I answered every e-mail

Financial Damages- will lose Power Seller status, will Lose Selling Discounts, Possibly will be suspended at reevaluation, lost revenue due to loss of visibility of items being sold and loss of Buyer Confidence due to low ratings, losing a LOT of time dealing with ebay- researching law etc.

What are my options?

I would love to sue Ebay as they not only allow this behavior they refuse to put any safeguards in place- come on 7 Glowing feedbacks yet the buyer was so unhappy they left 28 low ratings - but they protect their A** with the "contract" by forcing you take them to court in their jurisdiction.- so Unless a California attorney wants to take on the 600 lb gorilla- thats not going to happen.

I WANT to sue the buyer- as luck has it- we ARE in the same state-NY- her location is about 2 hours West of me. How do I go about doing this on my own? As I doubt an attorney is going to want to waste their time on something like this.

Thanks!

ebayseller:

Financial Damages- will lose Power Seller status, will Lose Selling Discounts, Possibly will be suspended at reevaluation, lost revenue due to loss of visibility of items being sold and loss of Buyer Confidence due to low ratings, losing a LOT of time dealing with ebay- researching law etc.

"Will lose"?

Sorry, but unless you have already lost money as a result of all this (and you can prove the dollar amount) you have nothing to sue for.

Besides, you agreed to eBay's terms of service when you signed up, so you can forget about suing eBay. You aren't going to win there.

And the feedback is subjective, so you aren't going to win there either.

If you want to sue the buyer on your own, your option is small claims court. The NY limit is $5000 and you can visit your small claims court website for forms and instructions.

Will lOse?

Without a Doubt I will Lose money-

I have proof that I was entitled to a 15% discount Before the ratings- and Will receive NO discount after the ratings- I have proof that My search ratings were diminished- so less visibility = less sales, My Reputation was damaged by lower ratings ( interestingly enough my ratings AFTER her 28 low ratings are still higher than hers)

Feedback may be subjective- but is also must be honest and reasonable- it was not honest nor was it reasonable based on the comparison of the rated areas of my terms vs her own terms.

If you read what I said- I said I would LOVE to sue ebay- but know that is impossible- although I do hold out hope that one day some Attorney General with cajones will go after them- after all they Gain Financially when bad feedback results in lost fee discounts and increased revenue fo them.

Small Claims Court in NY is for actual Monetary Damages- I am talking Harm to My FUTURE Income because of defamatory actions.

ebayseller:

Will lOse? Without a Doubt I will Lose money- Small Claims Court in NY is for actual Monetary Damages

Then you understand that you can't sue for monetary damages until you actually have experienced monetary damages.

ebayseller:

I am talking Harm to My FUTURE Income because of defamatory actions.

Then you are looking for injunctive relief. That's when a court orders someone to cease certain behavior that is harmful or potentially harmful to your business.

I agree. You can't do that in small claims court. Unfortunately, using a higher court is complicated and if you can't or won't hire a lawyer you will have to study the laws and the court procedures and figure out how to do it on your own.