CAN I SUE MY ETSY CUSTOMER?

Question

I have an online store on Etsy based in Walnut Creek, CA where a customer who purchased an item gave me a bad review.

Because of their negative review, it's tarnished my businesses reputation (which this is the only bad review on my entire page)

Can I sue them for lying and for a court ordered removal?

Also, can I still subpena them to court if their screen name is not their real name?

Thank You

Answer 1

You should check with Etsy about their policy. You might be able to have it removed if they have such a policy, but I doubt that you can sue them, it is their opinion, they might have had a bad experience in their mind.

Answer 2

>CAN I SUE MY ETSY CUSTOMER?



Most likely no, people are allowed their opinion you would need hard credible evidence that this person's only desire was to damage your business and you would also have to prove monetary loss. Your first course of action is to see what ETSY's policy is regarding negative reviews they may be willing to remove the offending review if you can prove it is a lie. That being said if they refuse to remove it that probably means you don't have a leg to stand on.



>Can I sue them for lying and for a court ordered removal?



Can you prove your customer's review is a malicious lie? Without knowing the EXACT circumstances it is impossible to tell you if you have the slightest chance but the deck is stacked against you.



>Also, can I still subpena them to court if their screen name is not their real name?



How did they buy something from you without you getting their personal information?

Answer 3

Check this out first - Etsy has a process for fixing the situation:

http://www.etsy.com/help/article/108?ref=help_search_result

http://www.etsy.com/help/article/104



Feedback is just that, and everyone realizes, or should, that it comes from the general public.

One review shouldn't ruin a business, and the more good reviews you get from other purchases, the less impact that should have in the mix. If you run your business well, the bad review will get phased to the bottom of the heap. If it is fabricated so as to be punitive, contact Etsy directly for help.



Keep in mind that the more you ask about this in public, the more people will get curious and take note that you got a negative review. Work within Etsy to get this fixed or buried - by asking here, it will only serve to make your reputation worse than it should likely be.

Answer 4

No. Sellers cannot sue their customers because the customer posted a bad review. All they can do, would be to either accept the review, or find some way of satisfying the customer. I'd talk with ETSY to see if they have a policy in place for reconciliation as a way of handling your negative review.

Answer 5

You just cannot proceed legally against this customer for a negative review. If you persist in proceeding against him, maybe you will have to pay damages for wasting his time and causing him mental trauma. Just forget about it, and carry on with your business. You still have a lot of satisfied customers with you.