I hate eBay also. I'm actually afraid to sell a bunch of stuff on eBay due to horror stories like this.
As a side note, I recently got back into vinyl. I picked up an Ortofon 2M Bronze and when I set it up it didn't sound that great. I heard a properly set up Blue and it sounded great so I figured the Bronze would be better.
Initially I went back to the alignment, I think I just couldn't determine the correct overhang. Rather than bothering my dealer , I bought a MoFi Geodisc.
Take away here..... it was my set up, the cartridge was perfect. Once I dialed everything in it sounded phenomenal. Glad I stuck to it and wasn't " that guy" who just points the finger of blame to the seller.
I sell locally on CL or USAM depending on the component. Never any problems.