Elderly man sends heartfelt letter to eBay seller after buying VHS player, watching old home videos
A man who sold his VHS player online received a heartfelt letter from a grateful 86-year-old customer. Matt Shoukry, who posted a photo of the message on Reddit, was touched by the buyer who mailed him a thank-you note.
In the letter dated Feb. 10, the unnamed author recounted how he couldn't play video tapes on his old VHS player anymore and turned to eBay to purchase another one. When it arrived, the machine took him on a ride down memory lane.
"I watched tapes of my retirement party from 25 years ago which I had never seen before. Jeez, were we young. Then a tape of my wedding, with all the family and friends, many of which are no longer around."
He also recounted how the old tapes of his kids growing up, ski trips and other travels allowed him to relive the "gentle maturing of my family."
"I thought you would appreciate how much someone has enjoyed your offer," he wrote, ending the letter with a signature at the bottom.
Shoukry's Reddit post of the letter was upvoted 160,000 times in just one day. Some of those who saw it shared it on Twitter and others chimed in with positive comments or warm memories of their own.
"Never forget what a thank you letter means — no matter the generation," one commenter wrote.
This person sold their VHS player on eBay and got a surprise letter in the mail: pic.twitter.com/oaLV8dUFqR
— Yoni (@OriginalYoni) February 17, 2019
Shoukry told CBS News partner BBC he usually just gets bills or advertisements in the mail, not something as heartwarming as this.
"I was blown away by how much emotion and feeling this gentleman had put into a note, and how I felt so connected to him," he told the BBC.
"It was so unexpected but so sweet, so I decided to share it with the world on Reddit," Shoukry said. "There is so much negative in the world today, it's refreshing to have something wholesome and positive to share with everyone."