Here's a scenario:

I've purchased a Power Mac G5 off of eBay for $200. It arrives, and appears to be just what the seller had advertised, but the case has been pretty well beat up by FedEx. I contact the seller to initiate an claim with FedEx as they are obviously the responsible party in the depreciation of my goods.

The G5 was bought to rehabilitate another G5. I was going to do the work just for the value of the remaindered components--specifically one of those beautiful aluminum cases. So, what I received still allows me to satisfy my client, but sort of shits on my profit. Moreover, it now becomes a lot more work as I cannot simply move the client's HD into the new machine and be done with it.

The seller tells me that FedEx will be here tomorrow to pick up the case. I call FedEx to find out how long their investigation will take and where the item will go where they're done. A very helpful young man tells me that it will be shipped back to the original shipper, or to the receiver (me) if the shipper informs them to do that.

Perfect. I can still get my half a cake, and hopefully get a refund on the half that got smashed in transit. I tell the seller to make sure and tell FedEx to ship the item back to me. This baffles the seller, and he asks me what do I want, the refund, or to keep the item?!

I start explain myself, but think to call FedEx and ask the same questions I did earlier. This time, I get a different answer. The item will go back to the original shipper, no matter what. Somewhat unhelpfully, they let me know that he can, of course, ship it back to me at that point.

It's also my understanding that the shipper did not add any additional insurance, so he is likely to get a claim settlement of the standard $100, or less if the item is not deemed a total loss. Now, I do not want to send the item back because I will lose the parts I need NOW, and may not even see my original $200 either.

I propose to the seller that I will give it to FedEx, and when he gets it back, he can refund me $100, and ship it right back out. That's crappy for both of us, but at least he gets some of the money from the sale, and I get some of the parts I had originally bought.

He declines, and tells me I'm making assumptions--presumably about the declared value. It has now descended to his "you do what you have to do," to my "you leave me no option."

What the fuck, and what should I do?