Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: Paid for Item online through ebay, never received item.

eBay has an insurance program which you should be able to invoke if you act quickly enough. If you paid through PayPal, BillPoint or another such service, they might also have insurance you can use. These programs generally require you to report the problem quickly, so don't delay -- look into them and make sure to report the loss on time. Then, you should get paid by the insurer without needing to resort to the courts.

If you used your credit card to make the payment, you may be able to get them to take care of this for you. Call the credit card issuer and see what, if anything, they can do for you.

If no insurance is available, you can sue in the small claims court closest to you. There is no need for you to go to Pennsylvania. The seller most likely won't bother to show up (though you should be prepared to prove your case anyway), and you should get a default judgment which you can enforce against him/her back in Pennsylvania. This part will take some effort, but it should be doable.

Re: Paid for Item online through ebay, never received item.

Generally it is easier from a procedural standpoint to bring legal action against a defendant in the defendant's home forum. However, you likely have some very good arguments to bring an action against thise seller in California since the basis of your transaction was to sell a product to you in California, the intent of the seller was to contact potential buyers in a variety of fora such as California, and there is probably at least a small probability that he has sold other products in the forum previously. Accordingly, you may have very good arguments for bringing legal action against the customer here in California. Your major obstacle, potentially, will be getting the seller served with legal process (i.e. proof of service and the summons). If the seller chooses to defend the action, he likely will try to get the action removed to Pennsylvania. If he does not defend, and you get a default judgment, or even if you get a judgment and he does defend, you will be faced with the likely obstacle of attempting to collect on your judgment in Pennsylvania, as that is likely where the seller's assets reside. Accordingly, in the long run, you may want to just bring action in Pennsylvania from the start. Regardless, the best advice I can give you is to seek a free consultation to evaluate your case from an experienced attorney in your area.

Re: Paid for Item online through ebay, never received item.

There is not a clear answer to your question under current law. Though a seller that lists an item on eBay arguably subjects himself/herself to a lawsuit anywhere where potential buyers reside, the law has not yet caught up to the fast moving state of technology on these jurisdictional issues.

As a practical matter, if you are going to resort to a lawsuit, your best bet is small claims court in Pennsylvania. Even if you tried to sue the seller in California, it is unlikely that he would appear or be readily available to satisfy a judgment.

eBay could certainly be sued in California. I know that eBay tries to protect itself contractually from being sued by dissatisfied customers, but I don't know if the eBay user agreement has ever been tested in court.

There are several steps that should be taken before attempting formal litigation:

1. Have you communicated with the seller? What is his/her explanation for the delay? Does he/she have your correct mailing information?

2. Have you utilized any of the grievance procedures or suggestions on eBay's website?

3. Have you attempted to utilize any of the companies out there that specifically handle eBay disputes? One such company is http://www.squaretrade.com.

Good luck.

Re: Paid for Item online through ebay, never received item.

Well, in the first place, eBay's location is irrelevant; their agreements with their buyers and sellers insure that they are suit-proof.

Your action would be against the seller, and in all probability the suit would have to be brought in Pennsylvania. In theory, other possibilities exist, but would probably not be practical.

Remember that the trial on the facts is only the middle part of the adventure of a lawsuit. It starts with finding and serving process on the defendant. Then, after trial, even if you are successful you still have to collect your judgment.

On a $1,000 claim against someone that far away, you really need to exhaust all possibilities to clear up the matter without suit, including using all of eBay's feedback and complaint tools.