I sort of wondered if the piece wasn't already broken when it was mailed. Thje seller was so defensive and even down right offensive. It was wrapped once in thin bubble wrap and in a very narrow box. There wasn't anything to cushion it.
Kindest person I have dealt with was an elderly gentleman who I purchased a GwtW lamp from, when he was geting it ready to ship, he knocked it off the table and it broke. He was so sorry and sent repeated aplogies. He also refunded my money right away.
I did that once-dropped the item as I was getting ready to pack it. It was damaged, but not fatally, so I offered it to the buyer at a much reduced price or a full refund. He took the reduced price and gave me a positive. I make it a policy to offer a money back guarantee on everything I sell. I've only had to give about 4 refunds, but I'm convinced the standing offer gets me more bids. You have to wonder about the "as is-no refunds" sellers. I can't think of a better way to chase away bidders!
My best eBay experience was when I bought "The Story of Star Wars" on 8-track tape. It's basically an abridged version of the movie, and I almost wore the grooves of my LP version when I was a kid. It was in its original shrink-wrap, going for about five bucks, and I figured any Star Wars collectible had to be worth at least that.
When I opened the package, the 8-track inside was the "Close Encounters" soundtrack. When I e-mailed the sender, he said "oops. Keep it, and I'll send the right one out." It arrived in a few days. So I got two primo '70s artifacts for the price of one.