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86-year-old man’s thank-you letter to eBay seller goes viral
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86-year-old man’s thank-you letter to eBay seller goes viral

Courtesy still goes a long way

An 86-year-old Arizona man's thank-you letter to an eBay seller has gone viral for its sincerity and kindness.

What are the details?

The VCR's original owner, Matt Shoukry, told "Good Morning America" that he sold the VCR to the man for "30 or 40 bucks."

Shoukry said that several days after he shipped the VCR to a Phoenix man, he received a surprise in the mail — a hand-written thank you letter from the 86-year-old man who'd purchased the video cassette player.

Nearly moved to tears, Shoukry said that he and his girlfriend read the letter in disbelief over its ability to move them so.

"This just shows how one small gratitude or something so small can have such an impact," Shoukry explained. "I didn't think much about it when I sold the VCR and I'm sure that man didn't think much about it when he sent that letter, but it impacted each of us in such a big way."

The text of the man's letter said:

I found many old VHS tapes recently and wanted to see what is on them and realized 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.

I watched tapes of my retirement party from 25 years ago which I had never seen before. Jeez, we were 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.


What happened to the letter?

Shoukry said he that shared the letter on Reddit, where it began picking up momentum on the internet.

"I wanted people to get the nice feeling I had when I read the letter," Shoukry said. "I didn't realize that so many people would get the same nice feeling I had."

He told "Good Morning America" that he plans to write back to the man to express his gratitude for his moving letter.

At the time of this writing, the original tweet featuring the gentleman's letter has received more than 349,000 likes and has been retweeted more than 68,000 times.

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