llcoolvad | SIGH!

My new (somewhat used) Treo screen arrived yesterday, so, all excited, I sat down immediately after dinner and cracked open my phone to get started. I got it all done perfectly (or so I thought), closed it up, put the battery back in, and ... black screen. Arg! Read the comments on the "how to fix your treo's screen" video and someone said that when you install the ribbon cable into the board, you have to shove it in pretty far or else the pressure from the clip doesn't connect evenly and your screen won't light up.

Ok, so I open it all back up again, and now it's all familiar and I understand how the little clips hold it together so it is easy, and as I unclip the ribbon* and position it back in I try, very gently, to push it in further, when ... SNAP! the ribbon breaks off the last 1/8", which is where the wider part narrows so that it will fit into the clip. RUINED!! $40 down the drain, because of course the place that I bought it from won't honor installation damage. (Which to me makes sense, but kind of sucks anyway!)

I left positive feedback on the eBay site saying something like "Speedy delivery, accurate description, I just wish I made it work" and they got right back to me, asked me to call. (Apparently the "catch more flies with honey" maxim is pretty accurate!)

We chatted, she told me that she could sell me another for cost ($25) if I wanted. So now, do I try again? I'd still be doing better $$-wise than if I had someone do it for me, and I'm pretty sure I could get it to work without breaking it this time.

Or do I just buy the damned iPhone???

* which is a 1/2" wide (slender) strip of plastic film, nothing as sturdy as ribbon, but I don't have another term for it!