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ST. LOUIS – A recent eBay transaction turned into much more than Matt Shoukry could have ever imagined. He sold a VCR to an 86-year-old Phoenix man who was making his first eBay purchase.

“There is a need for VCRs out there because it’s something you can’t go to Best Buy or Walmart and get…,” Shoukry said.

He sold the VCR for $40.

Shoukry said he typically sells items, which eBay users buy, and he gets a rating, a review, and he moves on. But not this time. He said last Saturday, his girlfriend brought in the mail and he noticed a piece of mail.

“It caught my eye because it had a hand-written address on the outside,” he said.

Shoukry read the first few lines and told his girlfriend they needed to read the letter together.

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

“We read it together and we’re both on the verge of tears reading it,” he said.

Shoukry said the man who bought the VCR wrote of watching tapes of his retirement party from 25 years ago, tapes of ski trips, his children growing up through the years, vacations, and videos of long-departed family and friends.

“I’m going to frame (the letter) and put it next to my desk in the house because it means a lot to me,” he said.

Shoukry said he’s writing the man from Phoenix, named Don.

“I’m going to offer to digitize his videos so he doesn’t have to worry about his tapes degrading,” he said.