Apologies for the long delay but for the benefit of anyone who may find themselves in this kind of situation in the future i thought i'd update this thread now the issue has finally been resolved .
So Ebay gave my buyer a full refund - apparently they do this if Paypal are unable to recover the full amount from the sellers linked account ... which in my case they couldn't as i had transferred it into another account .
They then issued me with an invoice for the full amount ... with the threat that the debt would be passed on to a collection agency if not paid up .
At this point i was ready to call it quits and pay the money ... until ...
the seller returns the RAM to me and it's covered in grease/oil .
I could not believe it ! this stuff was literally everywhere .
As far as i'm concerned it's ruined .
I haven't got a clue what it is or why it's there .
Maybe it's a lubricant or a cleaning fluid - i'm flummoxed .
I immediately lodged an appeal - which has taken MONTHS !!!
I sent in photographic and documentary evidence to backup my counter claim .
Soon after this , my account was suspended .
The following weeks/months have been spent phoning, emailing and writing to Ebay . I have been lied to , fobbed off and passed from pillar to post .
All the while i have kept detailed transcripts of every conversation - dated , logged etc ... very important, as without these i believe i would still be going round in circles now .
A few days ago i finally spoke to someone in customer services who made a judgement on my appeal - in my favor .
So Ebay swallow the cost .
I definitely would not have gone through all this if i felt the fault laid with me. It was a matter of principle . I believe this buyer damaged the RAM and tried to blame me .
The only disappointment now is that Ebay are adamant that they can't remove the negative feedback which was left for me by the buyer ...
a ludicrous scenario really , seeing as my appeal was upheld and i was cleared of any wrong doing . I'm working on it though .
As a final piece of advice to anyone like me who is selling on Ebay , i would just reiterate what has already been said here - take lots of photos of your item before dispatch .. run as many software tests as possible (backup the results) ... make sure it is packed extremely well (photograph it in it's packed state) and finally , make sure it is sent fully insured and signed for at the other end .
You can still end up falling foul of an unscrupulous buyer , but at least you have a chance of recovering your money at the end
Thanks and Best of luck
