For my second car, one empeg install solution is to duplicate that of my first car: empeg + cheap Alpine deck. Better yet, I could simplify things if both cars had the EXACT same Alpine deck, letting me carry around one face plate for both.

Problem, my first cheap Alpine deck is many years old. Solution, buy a "used" one off eBay. Problem, I vehemently do not want to support radio thieves. Solution, buy one where the seller has the box, manuals, etc. Problem, they don't come around often and I may not t want to pay the $80 price.

Any tips for determining if a seller is legitimate? Here's one radio that I might want to buy, but I'm a little hesitant. The seller sells "used" radios, and plenty of them, all with minimal listings. Certainly a car radio thief couldn't get away with this many sales. But maybe he's a middle man, knowingly or unknowingly.

Maybe I should stick to my hard-and-fast eBay rule of "wait patiently for the average guy like me who's selling his personal item" and not buy from some major used item reseller or "eBay company". But waiting is a total pain.

Not at all certain, actually. But if my faceplate gets lost or stolen, I can apparently buy a new one from Alpine. (or if someone steals my deck and not the faceplate, THEY can call to get a new one) So, I'm guessing they are interchangable. And if I buy one and it doesn't work out, I can just resell it. The only other option is to call Alpine and check with them, which I should do. Thanks for reminding me.