Long story, but I think the guy is legit.
When he first listed these items on Audiogon, they were all listed separately. This was back in the summer, as I recall. I was interested in the SDS-XLR in particular, and Mikhail confirmed that the buyer was real, but that he didn't know anything about his plans for selling it. Mikhail also confirmed that he was in possession of the R10 and Qualia 010.
I made an offer on the SDS-XLR for the asking price, but the seller told me (via email) that he wouldn't sell any parts of the system separately for fear that he might end up with bits and pieces that he couldn't sell. This, despite the fact that all items were listed separately! So then a long email exchange took place. Next thing you know, I offered to buy the R10 and Qualia 010 at their asking price, leaving only the Indra cables and the Reimyo and the power cord that goes with it. He still wasn't comfortable with it!
That's when I sent a PM to another Head-Fi member who I thought might be interested in the Reimyo for $9k, and sure enough he was, plus another $1k for the power cord. That left only the Indra cables which the seller wanted $3.5k for (which is think was half of new retail), so after some soul searching I figued, "what the heck!" Now my total was $15k without shipping, and my friend from here at Head-Fi was in for the other $10k.
I explained all of this in the email exchange, and in fairness, the seller had said all along that he still wasn't sure if he would make the sale even if I was ready to buy everything at his asking prices. And in fact, this is more or less what happened. After I made an unequivocal offer for the full $25k (part of which was to be paid by another person, but a very reliable person at that), he wrote back saying that he was sorry, but this would represent too much of a loss, and asked if I would pay $18k for my end of it (but he didn't try to bump the price of the Reimyo).
I then wrote him a very nice and detailed "thanks but no thanks" reply, urging him to at least give the system a try and that I didn't blame him for keeping it afterall. I could easily have been really ticked off by the whole situation, but figured I'd be nice and let it go. Besides, I was kind of relieved because all I really wanted was the SDS-XRL. I knew that I could have sold the R10 and Qualia 010 at break-even or better, but I had an uneasy feeling about the Indras. That, and I was protected for everything except the Indras, and would have arranged the transaction through Mikhail if it had gotten that far. My biggest concern was that my Head-Fi friend would send his $10 to Isreal and never see it again, even though the guy seemed legit.
Then after my very nice reply, I never heard from him again. I thought this was kind of odd since our entire dialogue had been most respectful and he should have known that asking for an extra $3k at the 11th hour was an unfair negotiating tactic, despite the fact it may have been justified in his mind. But he just disappeared. He could have had $25k and been done with it, but now I guess he wants $27k (or maybe $30k when you're ready to send the money).
