What luck have you all had building fleets via Ebay? It is, of course, a lot faster to pick up large lots on Ebay. I have gotten some really nice pieces that way. I get a lot of duplicates, which I post on the "trade" list in marketplace.
Just as often as I get a lot of good stuff, though, I get several really grimy looking ships, a few that have been hand painted or had things glued to them or something. The latest batch I received was described as "Like New: Open, but never played." It had about a half dozen units still in the plastic, but another half dozen really grimy ones, one CA with a missing turret, several pretty badly bent pieces, half a dozen units without cards (including a couple of the more valuable pieces), and a couple of cards without ships.
The ships are so small that it's pretty difficult to identify "grime," paint, etc., in the photos. What luck have you all had picking up Ebay lots? As a rule, it seems like a more cost effective way to build a collection than to "one at a time it" as Pappy O'Daniel would say. But it does seem to be kinda like "a box of chocolates," to quote Forrest Gump. Never know what you're going to get.
Getting mini's without cards (or vice versa) without being told is very bad ethics IMO. It's okay for people planning to use them for a different game, but it absolutely should be called out in the description.
Bent units or units with slight deformations or missing a turret were part of the original "WotC" experience. Many of them came out of the booster boxes that way. So I can't blame people for selling those back into the market in the same condition, but it would be "more honorable" to call them out.
I am not sure what to say about "grimy." If they are sticky with food and dirt then yes, that is very bad. But if they are darker or sloppy paint jobs with too much black wash applied at the factory that is again a WotC original issue. "Back in the day" we all took those risks (and duds) when we bought boosters. On the other hand, the miniatures were cheap in those days compared to metal minis so you could easily afford a significant number of duds and still be way ahead on cost per mini. That isn't the case now at least with the high-demand mini's.
The main thing I look for when lots go up for sale is "cherry picking." If the lot only contains units that are common or not in high demand I stay away. If the lot contains some "gems" mixed in with the rest then I give it a good look to see what I am getting.
I would give that guy a poor rating if he didn't mention the missing cards/minis in the description, at the least. Actually, I would insist on sending them back for a refund.
I've had very good luck, but maybe I'm more selective? I don't know what you're criteria are. I usually pick up larger lots that look like they've been well-cared for--at least based on pictures. I expect ships to have varying quality paint jobs, a few bent masts, gun barrels, etc. Some ships are a little more worn than others too. That's okay. But if it's major, then I'd want to know about it.
Concerning your grimy and poorly painted pieces. A bath in Simple Green and a little scrubbing with an old toothbrush usually does a pretty good job. If they have been painted with an enamel, you may be out of luck.
Here are some photos of a Kongo & Myoko I already had vs. the same two ships that came in a recent Ebay lot which look very grimy/painted to me. The lighter one I already had, the darker came now and are post-"simple green" and still look like that. The Kongo particularly looks like it may have survived a combat fire. Some people have said there was actually a pretty big variation in the ways ships came from the factory. Could this simply be that variation, or are these unusually soiled or painted or something?