Would the seller do a partial refund ? that way you get to keep the bass and get some money back ! You get to spank him and you get want you want, what could be better.
I doubt he would. His last email to me was pretty much "in your face, tough luck sucker" in tone. That's what's bugging me about this. If he had a different posture, I wouldn't have escalated my dispute with him to a claim.
Well, based on some info I got from the guys at the Mosrite forum, I popped the neck and looked around. The bad news is the top of the bass is separating from the wood block that makes up the neck pocket. I could fix it, but I don't want to do anything to it until this is settled. I didn't see any dates or anything, but I was not happy about the separation. Also, the height adjustment screws on the pups have been up and down so much the top hole they fit into on the mounts is stripped.
So, I'm still in conflicted mode, but have decided to go through with the claim. Even if he tried to stiff PayPal, I have their $2000 guarantee to fall back on. It will be worth it now to see how it plays out.