If you’ve ever sold anything online, you’ll understand the pure relief when the buyer is an actual nice human being and doesn’t kick off at every available opportunity.
Even more so if they don’t attempt to barter down the price or try to get extra items for free; seriously, the pure cheek of some people these days is beyond belief.
So one man was in for the shock of his life recently when the buyer of his VHS player not only tried to do none of those things, but he actually sent him something back in return to say thank you.
Matt Shoukry, from St Louis, Missouri, thought nothing of it when he sold an old VHS player on eBay, packing it up and sending it to the buyer without another thought.
But that wouldn’t be the last time Matt heard of the VHS player; unbeknownst to him, he had sold it to an 86-year-old man in Phoenix who had never used eBay before, FOX 2 reports.
The 86-year-old, called Don, had recently found some old tapes but realised he had nowhere to watch them on. Enter: Matt, who was selling the player for $40 online.
Matt had no use for the player anymore, and thought when he packaged it up and sent it to Phoenix it would be the last time he heard about it. But then came the letter from Don.
It read:
I found my old VHS tapes recently and wanted to see what is on them and realised I had no player. So I went to eBay for the first time and discovered your offer.
I bought your VHS and you shipped it within a few days. The VHS looks new and unused. Amazing. I had some issues getting it going which were mine and not the player.
I am 86 and perhaps not up to my game but I do get there eventually. And I did, and discovered the VHS works perfectly. Thank you so much for your care, your efforts, and your promptness.
The lovely sentiment didn’t stop there though, as Don continued to tell Matt about how the VHS player has allowed him to watch videos which he had never seen before.
He wrote:
I watched tapes of my retirement party from 25 years ago which I had never seen before. Jeez, were we young. Then a tape of my wedding with all the family and friends, many of which are no longer around.
Then skiing trips, kids growing up, travels, and most importantly the gentle maturing of my family. Each one more fun than the last. All thanks to your generous selling of the VHS player.
I thought you would appreciate how much someone has enjoyed your offer.
Matt said he read the letter with his girlfriend and they were both ‘on the verge of tears’ while reading it. I mean, same.
The couple are going to get the letter framed and keep it in the house, as Matt says it means a lot to him. Not only that, but Matt says he’s going to offer to digitise Don’s videos for him so he doesn’t have to worry about the tapes degrading.
If that hasn’t brightened up your day then I’m sorry, but you’re beyond help.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).