Are 500 hours too many for a used hi-end cartridge?

Look at it this way. The vast majority of the sound of a cartridge comes from everything other than the stylus. The vast majority of wear on a cartridge is only the stylus. Therefore the one thing most likely to be worn out is also the one thing least likely to matter. 

As usual when stating something perfectly obviously true people will scream and argue this cannot be. Yet it explains so well the experience of so many who have used and enjoyed many really high end cartridges for years and years and thousands of hours. 

But then I am a genuine example of what someone around here called an iconoclast. I just don't see how hours matter. What are you gonna do? Scope it every hundred hours? And then what? Oh, its worn. Guess I better replace it. Even though it still sounds better than when it was new. I don't think so. What you are gonna do is use it until you feel like getting something better. 

You are never even once gonna look at the stylus. That's what I think.

Maybe ask the seller to take a really good picture of the stylus?

Pertaining to my situation of being a “tight budget audiophile” (if there is such a thing):   If one has an inexpensive turntable with the stock tonearm — in my case a Denon DP-300F with an Ortofon 2M Red cartridge — does it make sense to put a more expensive, higher quality cartridge on that tonearm?

And, given that the records likely to be played on that turntable are 40-60 years old and played on equipment of lesser quality than the Denon . . . like a Penncrest (JC Penney) portable record player with the included ceramic cartridge from 1965 . . does it make sense to play them using a higher quality modern cartridge than the Ortofon 2M Red?

Records must always be played on period correct cartridges. Playing mono records with stereo cartridges can result in severe damage or even death. Also never play any record with a cartridge that costs more than the record collection. While some have reported good results with cartridges mounted on arms that cost the same it is nevertheless advisable to mount the cartridge on a turntable that cost more than the phono stage. Under no circumstances should the power cord equal the cartridge. Unless you are over 3000 records. At 10k records anything goes and you can have up to five turntables, seven arms and 15 cartridges- not counting mono of course. 

There are probably even more irrelevant audiophool dogmatic canards but it is late and, oh wait did you say JC Penney portable record player with the included ceramic cartridge from 1965? Why yes you did! Well never mind then! That is the one exception! That baby was made for the Ortofon 2M Red!

@millercarbonI don’t understand why people waste their  time writing nonsense. And worse,  I end up wasting my time reading it. And then waste more time writing about it.