While this discussion was going on, I had a similar experience. I sold a guy a relatively rare part on eBay and described it exactly along with several pictures. About two weeks after he received it, he contacted me with a nasty tone and told me the part wasn't what I said it was. He challenged my integrity, threatened to turn me over to the eBay police, etc. He would have done better just to respectfully get in touch with me to question the item, but he came out guns blazing.
I knew he was wrong. His expert machine shop told him that they could refurbish his old part (which I knew they couldn't), so he wanted a refund even though it was sold no-refund.
Having followed BlueChipper's saga...and being a fairly patient guy who doesn't like to have his integrity challenged...I told him that I would gladly not only give him a refund, but I would cover his freight both ways as long as the part was returned in the same condition in which it was sent. If he felt that I lied to him, I was willing to make him whole. I also explained why he was mistaken about the part and why his machine shop couldn't do what they said they could if he wanted to rethink it, but my offer was on the table.
Heck, I could always sell the part for more than I sold it to him anyway! I mentioned that to him and suggested that he might want to sell it to make a few bucks instead of returning it.
Well, he returned the part to me and I gave him his refund. Now, guess what? He discovered the error in his ways and his machinist told him that he can't do what he thought he could do. He really needs the part back because he can't find another one and he is stranded. Would I please sell it back to him?
The part sits on my bench as a trophy. As Michelle Obama says, "When they go low, we go high." No way it will go back to him.
BlueChipper, thanks for sharing your story. It helped me to handle my situation with a smile. Life is too short to deal have to deal with jerks. Better to just push them off to the side and forget about them.
Matt
