That was last night.
This AM, I called Ebay and got a nice CSR named Kim who I explained everything, incidentally she needed my permission to look in my Ebay msgs and she noted the buyer stated the laptop was fine as of 5/3 and was "happy with it"
She then gave me a fax # to send the Apple receipt to- so I complied.
This afternoon I get this- looks like I won:
Due to the documentation and the fact I kept the msgs. in my ebay box as proof everything was fine I won the decision.
Who says Ebay always screws the seller?
Oh, and as soon as I rec'd it in my inbox I politely notified the buyer of the outcome:
Moral of the story, post PLENTY of pics on EBAY of the condition of items, and never communicate with a seller outside using direct email to email- keep everything inside ebay messaging.
Document the condition of your goods with a valid 3rd party source if possible.
rjp