I got the vintage bug a few years ago and bought a bunch of oldies. One of my first was a red eye which he described as 99% perfect on the gold decals. What a joke - paid a bunch for it, many people bidding. I wrote him and told him the machines decals were certainly not anyones idea of 99%. He did return my money, I returned the machine and he put it up again, described as I told him it should - he got less for it, but it was a better description of what he had to sell.
All in all I've bought and sold many, many machines. I know how to pack and everyone has been very happy with my machines. On my end I've had a few dozzies, but most where fine. My rating is 100%, I'm proud to say, with over 200 items. I am not leery of buying on ebay. Just read the description and ratings and ask questions. I'm looking at a machine now, wrote her because she wrote nothing personal - just machine literature. She was not forthcoming, so her machine is off my list. Shop smart.
In cases of buying vintage it is difficult to find what you want in a small area - ebay is the answer.
Judi