bikeman9111 , most sellers would want to avoid you escalating to a claim. So they would rather offer you a partial refund and close the dispute.

If paypal comes into the picture, the final verdict lies with paypal. So if paypal rules in your favour, they would deduct the full amount from the seller's account and credit into yours. This the sellers would want to avoid.

Edit: But Never Ever close a dispute until you are fully satisfied with the outcome. Be it either a full or partial refund. Only close it when you are satisfied. As when you close it, you can never re-open it with paypal again.

Re: Latest Scammer Busted
 

sooooo... the answer is... I should only close the disput after he refunds my money. If I close it first, he can blow me off forever.

Thanks