This kind of thing annoys me. I know all of you are smarter than to solely trust a text description of a used item but come on! What are people hoping for? This guy claims this machine is very good to excellent in condition!? Thank goodness there is a photo and the price isn't super reflective on his condition rating (i wonder what the reserve is). Maybe he doesn't know what VG-EXC means? Damaged paint, not so great chrome, "needs descaling", missing the rubber trim for the base, missing almost every detachable part...

http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-FEAR-PEPPIN...2019wt_873
This just concerns me to know that there are a lot of sellers that don't know how or just won't rate a used item's condition correctly. It is also a good warning for auctions that don't have photos, or maybe one poor photo. You would be in for an unpleasant surprise if this one didn't have a photo. He does save his butt with the description and "as-is." In the least, it's annoying when sellers over-hype an item in poor-okay condition just because it's vintage. Since when were conditions relative? This listing is a not so guilty example due to the photo, issues are mentioned, and the price is okay, but you don't know the number of awful condition, no-name box and cast iron hand mills I've seen on ebay and craigslist trying to go in the $100 range just because it's "antique" let alone the countless other used items in "great condition!"

On a side note, this seller has a great feedback rating, although all of his items are listed as EXC, EXC+, EXC++??? Is it just me or does this guy (and a big part of the used sales community) have his abbreviations wrong?

Johnny,

There is a Cremina on eBay that doesn't list the voltage or show the cord very well. The placard shows 110 volts stamped but 220 silkscreened in the same location. I asked the seller if it was 110 or 220. She replied that it has been tested on 110 but will work on both. I didn't even reply to tell her there is no such thing as a dual-voltage Cremina.

Caveat emptor!! And don't be "click happy".

Yeah, when I was buying and selling a lot of vinyl LPs I eventually gave up on rating them. My ratings had been much more in touch with reality than other sellers but I wasn't selling as much as I thought I should. And I was getting annoyed with sellers who were grossly overrating their items so I stopped buying vinyl online.

I gave up on the ratings and just provided even more detailed descriptions and photos of the albums and album covers. My sales went up and I didn't have to compromise my ethics. Win for everyone.