Dude, You need to relax. I agree with you that some people's idea of "Restored" is a few coats of Krylon paint. However, the pictures you posted did not really show the detail of the problems as well as you are seeing them. My first thought when I looked at the pictures was that it looked OK, and there is NOTHING wrong with my vision. Sometimes Cell phone pictures downloaded to a forum like this do not do the item(s) justice. That being said, once again a member posts something and when he does not get the comments he wants, he gets rude and snarky. In my opinion there is no place for that on this forum. Treat others as you would be treated.
Amen to that, brother. And if you did find a pair of "restored" 69 Barracuda grills for $300, bought them, and when you got them they looked like the grills in the pictures, wouldn't you have been thrilled. I would have been. Even a mediocre pair of 69 Barracuda grills would probably cost more than $300.
So IF the 'damage' occurred during shipping, he has every right to suggest that you contact the shipper for satisfaction. As for the misunderstanding between the two of you over the definition of 'restored', I would say that you share equally with the result of the transaction. It doesn't sound to me like he deserves to be called stupid.