I bought 3 Brother VX machines on Ebay, 2 were in terrible condition, I had one rebuilt and use the other for parts. The sellers in both cases gave me a full refund on the machine (I still paid the shipping) and that worked out ok for me since they were pretty inexpensive. The 3rd machine arrived in excellent condition. I also purchased a Singer Rocketeer which arrived in excellent condition and 2 Bernina Deco embroidery machines, also in excellent condition.
So all in all, I've had really good luck and wouldn't hesitate to purchased more.