When an unexpected package arrives at your front door, there’s a certain kind of dread. It’s probably something ordered and forgotten, but for most people, it’s just mild curiosity. That emotion never completely subsided for Ina and David Steiner of Natick, Massachusetts. Their home is still equipped with security cameras, even after receiving a $55.7 million settlement from eBay. Even so, an unexpected delivery still causes something akin to panic.
You can learn more about what happened to the Steiners from that small, tangible, nearly domestic detail than from any court document.
When the harassment started in 2019, David and Ina had been reporting on the e-commerce sector for almost twenty years thru their newsletter, EcommerceBytes. They weren’t firebrands of investigation. They published a trade journal with more than 600,000 readers, the kind of publication that side-business owners, retirees, and small sellers relied on for accurate information about websites like eBay. At times, their coverage was critical. Apparently, that was sufficient.
What came next was one of the most bizarre and unsettling tales of corporate wrongdoing in recent memory. A campaign to intimidate the couple into silence was organized by former eBay executives, some of whom have since entered guilty pleas to federal criminal charges. live cockroaches. live spiders. a wreath for funerals. An allegedly pig-blood-covered Halloween mask based on the Saw franchise. A book titled “Suggestions for Surviving the Death of a Spouse.” David’s name was used to send their neighbors pornographic magazines. Most terrifyingly, staff members attempted to install a GPS tracking device on the Steiners’ vehicle by driving to their residence.
It’s difficult to avoid thinking, “Someone signed off on this,” when you read that list. This was a reasonable response to a newsletter, according to someone working for a publicly traded Fortune 500 company.
The CEO of eBay at the time, Devin Wenig, has admitted to texting the company’s top communications executive about Ina Steiner with the message, “Take her down.” According to his representatives, it was a public relations tactic rather than physical intimidation. Since leaving eBay in 2019, Wenig has personally contributed $2 million to the settlement. An additional $1 million will be donated in Ina Steiner’s name to an unidentified First Amendment rights charity. Whether on purpose or not, that final gesture carries some weight.
Between 2022 and 2024, seven former eBay employes entered guilty pleas to criminal charges. The business itself paid a $3 million fine and signed a deferred prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice. The Steiners then filed a civil lawsuit in 2021, which they pursued for years. A tentative settlement was reached in February, but it fell thru before a new agreement was reached in July 2026.
In the end, eBay gives the Steiners a direct payment of $46.15 million. An additional $2.55 million is contributed by former executives. A total of $7 million is given to charities. A confidentiality clause is absent. To anyone who asks, the Steiners are free to say anything they want.
Apparently, they were unwilling to compromise on that final point. “David and I were on the same page that this settlement should and must be made public,” Ina stated following the announcement. They present it more as deterrence than as vindication, making it clear to the public that businesses cannot act in this way without repercussions.
Whether that message will be received as intended is still up in the air. These kinds of settlements usually get lost in the news cycle. Living thru it is probably more difficult to forget.
The Steiners have discussed using their position and experience to advocate for stricter penalties under state antistalking laws and more robust journalist shield laws in Massachusetts. “When we started this, we were just fighting for our lives and our livelihood,” David stated. The struggle seems to have changed from one of survival to one that is more structural and external in nature.
The funds are genuine. The cameras that surround their home are also real.
