Yeah man, I wouldn't touch that with a ten foot pole. Before you buy an empeg, do your homework and research the sellers. Try these tips:

- Run their ebay name or e-mail address through the BBS search here.

- My personal favorite, ask for a photo of the serial number being displayed on the unit.
The seller of this unit provided me with a photo of the serial being displayed on the unit like 15 minutes after I requested it... at 11:30pm EST. Ooh how I almost bought that one. You can see why it sold for a high price; it had a good seller.

- Contact Rob and/or David at support regarding the serial number (but I don't know the process because I've never done it).

- Also check the empeg serial number registry. I don't know how accurate it is, but hey, it's something.

- My personal fear, beware of "60gig units" with scant descriptions. Also, if they use the "stock" photo shown in that 60gig add you are refering too, I'd be scared. If they can't produce a photo of the unit, watch out.

- For EBay sellers, check out what other items they've sold. Click on their feedback (number in brackets next to their name) and see if any of the links to items they've sold recently are still active. If they are selling a bunch of audio components, it may be a good deal. If they've "sold" 3 other empegs, you might want to watch out. Also, check what they've bought (indicated on the Feedback page with a B next to the item number link). If they bought the empeg and are turning around and selling it, that may tell you something.

- While you're at it, check what the other bidders on the item have bought and sold. It can be interesting.

- Post a message to the BBS asking about the seller. Some of us could comment on sellers we've bought from in the past.

- Lastly, if you buy from EBay, you have some sort of buyers rights and protections. I also pay with PayPal incase that affords me some other payment-revoking rights also. Buying off this BBS might not offer you those securities.

- what else am I missing? any other buying tips? these are the ones I use.

As for my plug, I'll say that TTony from the BBS is a great seller. He got me a sealed new in box 30gig empeg just like last month at a great price ($700 is good, right?). Ok, so it took a month for me to get the empeg after I paid, but I couldn't be happier with the unit. If he posts more, check him out. (you might not want to bug him with private messages though).

Good luck in your search. Don't be hasty. They will be around for a while, despite the fact that all the adds claim their's is the last one ever to be seen on the face of this green planet.