A Texas man credits the Internet for his victory over CompUSA, who he said sold him an empty box instead of a camera.

Terry Heaton was delighted to learn that his local CompUSA store was liquidating. He had only planned to buy a laptop but soon racked up a $3,500 bill purchasing other sale items like a digital camera for his step-daughter.

Heaton kept the camera box in his study until his step-daughter's birthday arrived. He handed her the gift but saw her wide smile fade when she discovered the box was empty.

When he realized the situation, Heaton visited the nearest CompUSA store -- the one that sold him the camera had closed after the liquidation sale. But the salesman said the empty box was his problem.

The salesman explained that the camera was sold to him by the liquidation company, not CompUSA. But Heaton did not accept this saying he bought the product from a CompUSA store and the salesman wore a CompUSA uniform.

After getting no where at the store, Heaton wrote a letter CompUSA President and CEO Roman Ross explaining his predicament. He got no response.

Feeling helpless but not ready to give up, Heaton posted a blog on "Terry Heaton's PoMo Blog" titled "'All Sales Final' is not a license for theft." The blog received tons of attention and after only a few days a CompUSA representative called Heaton, offering him a $300 gift certificate to the store.

He said, "I just made the post. It's just evidence of the power of the World Wide Web."