In a recent news story, an eBay buyer got sued for $10,000 by the seller after leaving “Neutral” Feedback after the auction ended and the transaction was complete. He didn’t even leave negative feedback, just “neutral”. Here’s the dangers you need to be aware of and how to avoid trouble.
First of all, I tell everyone who’s just starting to do business online in any way, shape, or form, that they need to have thick skin.
No matter how good your intentions are, you’re going to run into troublemakers and it’s not your fault. There’s crazy people out there, and online you can’t control who you come in contact with. Someone might accuse you of ripping them off no matter how ethical you are and no matter how hard you work and getting along with everybody.
When it comes to getting sued, realize this: Anyone can sue you for any reason. Whether they have a legitimate point or whether they can win is another matter, and that’s what courts are for. If you’re worried about being sued, you shouldn’t ever leave the house… in fact, you shouldn’t even HAVE a house, because of someone trips on your property and breaks their leg, they could sue you!
My point is, it’s not something worth losing sleep over. As far as eBay feedback goes, it’s true that some buyers and sellers won’t give negative feedback to anyone at all anymore, because when they do, the other party leaves negative feedback for them in return (just out of spite), so the eBay rating system may not be as helpful as you think, so beware of that as a potential eBay buyer.
The end result so far for the guy being sued (the news report just came out yesterday about it) is that he’s spent $500 to hire a lawyer to defend him. In my opinion, you need to consider these types of hassles no differently than if you accidentally scratched someone’s car and had to pay for the repair, or your television fell and you had to replace it.
Stuff happens… Be smart but don’t spend your life scared.
Tim Gross has been successfully selling products online since 1994, and has helped clients increase their online sales by 400% and more using his proven strategies. Get over 6 hours of Tim’s complete video training free here: