I suspect that others will believe that I'm as close to being that bloke as anyone. However, there are a couple of big issues. I don't actually want the newest stuff, I want what I think is the best stuff. When it appeared on the market is largely irrelevant to me, provided it's not been hammered. Another snag is that I very rarely sell anything. When I do, it's because I have something better for whatever niche, the niche is no longer needed, I have duplicates, or someone I know wants/needs it more than I do. I often won't hammer folks I know on price, but I try to avoid giving stuff away.
The whole concept of "tackle tarts" selling cheap is just a tired, lazy cliche. If you are going to find new gear at bargain prices, it's usually from unfortunates that overspend, often on credit, on impulse purchases, only to find that they can't feed themselves at the first sign of an unexpected bill.
Older fellas, with few pressing financial concerns and a distinct lack of willingness to embroil themselves with ebay, are the biggest source of second hand bargains I've encountered. Chances are that they've had the finances to buy whatever they wanted. They don't particularly need the money, they just want things gone.
How can you possibly tell from an ebay advert? Who knows what the circumstances are.
The only thing you can tell is that it's stated as being used once. However, as the pictures show a manky, uncleaned handle, I'd take that with a pinch of salt. There are three very obvious possibilities, a) the bloke didn't like the rod. b) the bloke has had an unexpected bill. c) the bloke has had a big change in personal circumstances, maybe even gave up fishing entirely.
Just because someone sells something, it doesn't mean that they bought it for the sake of it.
