Untested and AS/IS = tested and found to be broken.
In most cases, I would agree with you. But for the first time ever in my years on EBAY, I landed a brand new item for $0.99 (plus shipping to Japan)! I must say that I was overjoyed because it never fails that some nut will bid up the price, and although I will win it in the end, I usually have to pay a lot more. But this time, I watched the auction all the way to the last 30 seconds and because no one bid, I manually "snipped it" and got the $0.99 opening price. Since there's no ocean shipping to Japan anymore (shame on you USPS!), I had to air mail it over here for $45. But considering the total I've paid for analog boards like this in the past, it was a good deal.
This was a Mac Plus Platinum analog board that I had been searching for for years. I was brand new, still in the original Apple Service box with the original anti-static wrap (unbroken seal) and foam cushions and paperwork. The buyer sold it "AS IS/UNTESTED" for two reasons: because he lacked the means to test it (he acquired many Apple Service boxes from another source) and he didn't want to open it (otherwise he couldn't sell it as "unopened.")
This seller put up decent photos and his listing was descriptive enough to where I didn't need to ask questions prior to bidding. I also saw he shipped "worldwide," which meant I didn't need to beg the seller to include Japan.
All said it was a good deal, even though it was sold "AS IS/ UNTESTED." So you have to be careful with items like that, and often you have to ask questions (if the listing lacks details), but sometimes there is a reason for that description and it makes logical sense. But again, I agree that many EBAY sellers are unethical in their tactics and they sell something "AS IS/UNTESTED" even though they can and maybe have tested it, knowing its bad.
cangrande, I've been searching for a working SE/30 logic board for a long time. I've not been able to find one on EBAY over the past couple years for a decent price (because one person in this thread has been buying them all up!
I don't need socketed (because I don't want to pay extra for it), and I can re-cap myself. But in light of USPS shipping charges now, I can't pay as much for one as I used to be willing to. However, I would be interested in one.
As to your grayscale setup, I'm certain your price would be out of my league. However, if it was reasonable then of course I would be interested. And I could then shoot some photos to add to my
Flickr Collection and post some detailed reports about it here (which no other owner of a grayscale setup has ever done for this classic Mac community).
I am not a "collector" in name, but rather a Mac enthusiast who is willing to share findings with the community. I do it only because I would like to see others do it. I like to see clear, sharp photos of old Mac stuff, and I like to read interesting reports about them too. Sadly, we don't see a lot of this on Low End Mac, so some of us must post it in forums like this!
So anyway, I am more than happy to make some of your items famous on the net, if you decide you wish to part with them.