Buying "Ham" radio equipment can be difficult if you are not highly experienced in electronics.Photos and descriptions can be very revealing or may not tell you anything.High resolution cameras with good lighting can help identify equipment that is not described properly or has dents or missing parts; low resolution and bad lighting can cover up problems.If you aren't familliar with a piece of equipment you can go to a website for boatanchor manuals such as BAMA (Boat Anchor Manual Archive), bama.sbc.edu for old boat anchors, manufacturers websites, Collins Collectors Association, Heathkit Virtual Museum and download a free manual which will give a complete description and schematic. If you are looking for a bargain rather than nostalgia stay away from "Collectors Equipment". Ham radio operators who are collectors will run up the prices on equipment beyond it's intrinsic value because of nostalgia and wanting to make a profit on reselling the equipment; these people also usually have the money to where price is not an object.That is why Collins gear always sells for more than it's worth as an operating piece of ham gear in the shack.New equipment performs better than old Collins gear and sells for less but some ham out there couldn't afford a Collins station in the 40's,50's,0r 60's but now he can and is willing to pay the high prices; they are like the guys who collect Lionel electric trains, the price is only in there heads! In older solid state equipment the Kenwood TS series is quite popular particularly the TS-440 and there is plenty of information available on the Kenwoods.The brand new equipment is a good choice if you are wanting a modern radio and to know it will be working when you receive it.The thing to watch out for is whether the seller is a franchised dealer who can give you the factory warranty and repairs if necessary.Some sellers sell at a low price because they get "Distressed merchandise"  from Bankruptcy sales, insurance sales etc.and cannot furnish any of the normal services a dealer would be able to take care of.You can always check with the Factory to see if someone is a recognized dealer and franchised dealers are usually listed on their website.For reviews of equipment go to Eham.net and for manuals on new equipment you can usually download it from the manufacturers website for free.Frequently a seller gives a description but doesn't tell you which version it is.There can be a big difference between the value of a model 100,100A,100B,and 100C.Sometimes the pictures show a model "A" but the description says it's a model "C", be sure and clarify it with the seller.Sellers make mistakes unintentionally sometimes because they are unfamiliar with the equipment but sometimes it's intentional.Be wary of people who say they have no way of testing equipment but they know it's good even though they claim they are unfamiliar with the equipment.They frequently make contradictory statements about the equipment such as they give a very accurate technical discription showing they do know what it is but say they don't know how to test it.Watch out when statements are very vague or meaning-less such as "it belonged to my uncle".So what? Is the uncle going to give you a warranty? If it needs repair how much are the parts?; do you have the skill, test equipment and service manual for the equipment? The fact that a piece of equipment is "Rare" does not mean it is valuable, just hard to find. Some vacuum tubes sell for $1200 in linear amplifiers and plate transformers can be $400.Read the terms the seller lists, if you see a long list of conditions which all favor the seller,waive negligence and mention  all kinds of problems with buyers; find another seller who is friendlier and will acknowledge it when he makes a mistake.Feedback is important but a seller with a rating of 98 percent doesn't mean they can be trusted and if they use name calling in their feedback that is a real warning sign.People make mistakes in shipping but when a seller has 25 complaints for failure to ship as opposed to various complaints for different things watch out! If you are paying close attention you should only have a problem in about two percent of your bids and that will be balanced out by the people who bend over backwards to help you when you make a mistake such as forgetting to add the cost of shipping and insurance.