Can I take someone from ebay to court?

[ocwescoast]

Thank you for looking. A while ago I purchased a cell phone from somebody on ebay. I paid them through paypal, and was suppose to recieve the phone. As you may have already guessed the phone never arrived. I notified paypal who is the company I used to pay him with and they decided in my favor but were only able to recover $2.00 out of $265.00. My question is can i take this person to court and demand my money back even if they live in a different state? Please respond. Thank you

[NORMANTHEDOG]

yes you could,but is it really worth it,i presume they no longer trade on ebay,and it would be a lot of hassle for you.paypal should be held responsible for this and they have policies in place that should cover your loss.

[dzug]

In the UK you could sue them in the small claims court at very little cost - which you'd get back from them if you won. Often the threat is enough to make them pay up.

I don't know if something similar exists in the US - or if it varies between states as you suggest.

To be honest though many people would not think it worth the bother of a court case for a sum that small.

Another thought - can your credit card company help - assuming you paid paypal through them? Not sure how an indirect payment like that would work.