for those who've been wondering.
i had returned the frame and got a full refund issued by ebay.
ebay paid for the return shipping—sent me a prepaid label.
no need of updating tracking whatsoever, it was well taken care of.
didnt' have to haggle w the seller at all as well.
it's all good now, was a good lesson.

btw:
i see the same frame is re-listed with $99 BIN here:
it still does not mention the bents in that all-caps description.
just DONT FALL FOR IT.

thanks for all concerns and advices, again.