An experience I had with a seller.

Agree with Mahler123.  I recently responded to a classified ad from a dealer, he was selling a 7 year old amp and had it graded as a 10. I simply said that a 7 y.o. piece should not be graded a 10.  His response :  " THEN WHY DONT YOU MAKE AN OFFER ! "   WTF?

About 6 years ago I started a complete system upgrade process. The component in question was an Ayre K-1xe preamplifier. My question was the manufacturing date and was it a factory Evolution series? Despite his high volume 100% feedback rate the serial numbers seemed off. I called Ayre and it was verified the unit was 6 years older than claimed and was not an original Evolution model. I immediately E-mailed him and never a response. My point is buying used gear is similar to playing Russian Roulette you have no idea of multiple owners where the unit has been stored or if any slight modifications were made. This proves to me that even  "respected sellers" can outright lie. 

One of the few benefits of getting older is that I was there in previous periods of audio history. Thus, I can honestly correct or confirm history- yes, the Ampzilla was originally marketed as a kit, for example. Or that Dahlquist DQ10 speakers were not originally mirror imaged with the drivers.