Should There Be Legal Consequences to Negative Feedback on eBay?

Be careful when posting a negative review about a seller on eBay, warns Australian newspaper The Age, because sellers can sue buyers for defamation over negative feedback. Suing trading partners isn't exactly new, but the newspaper wrote, "lawyers predict the number of defamation cases involving online reviews and feedback will grow as people become increasingly aware of their online reputation." Feedback and reviews can have a direct impact on businesses. On eBay, low feedback can cost sellers in a number of ways: lost discounts, listings pushed down in search results, more restrictive selling limits imposed on their accounts, suspension, etc.