What to do when the preamp you were ripped off on shows up online ?

donvito are you not aware that scammers will sell the exact same piece of gear on eBay & Agon at the same time is an issue , Also your tone is quite unexpected and uncalled for ,last I checked it was fellow audiophiles moral obligation to inform fellow buyers that a scam artist could be ripping people off , does it honestly matter what site a scammer is operating at before prospective buyers are warned ? My intent with this thread was to warn prospective buyers that a very specific piece of gear was paid for on eBay ,money & equipment kept by seller whos advertising the same piece on other sites , everybody else understood but maybe I've been gone too long & the hobby has changed ,I hope not .

After reading your post explaining your 15 k purchase and the red flags from eBay. I put 90% of the fault on ebay and not the seller. Sure the seller did get antsy and could have handled the follow up with you and the sale completion better so you didn’t get screwed,  but in hindsight, I can understand his trepidation. It’s unfortunate that you had to go through this. I hope things work out for you and your son soon enough.

The dealer who frequently has used McIntosh is also Lyric in New York. I have no idea if they have one right now, but it may not hurt to ask. They are overall legitimate brick-and-mortar store (212) 439-1900 lyricusa.com. Just avoid going in there, you may spend more than you wanted.

eBay is one of the safest platforms to buy anywhere.  I have been selling on eBay since 1998.  And you should know that as a buyer if you don't like what you bought on eBay, within 30 days, you will get your money back regardless if the seller says no refunds. eBay will side will the buyer 100% of the time "unless" they think there is fraud involved. (on the sellers part)  

Let me add a little personal experience.  I wanted to build my own LP ultrasonic cleaner. So I bought a generic ultrasonic cleaner base and parts that would work to raise and lower the LP's.  I had things to do so it sat around for a few weeks before I put it all together.  Well, the heater on the unit did not work properly and I asked the company for an exchange.  They said no, so I contacted eBay.  They were polite, but told me after 30 days they couldn't help me.  I admitted I took to long, reference my longevity on eBay etc. Still no. However then she said: "did you pay by PayPal?", why yes I did, "Oh good, because you get a 60 guarantee with PayPal. Never heard of such a thing.  Long story short I filled a claim with PayPal and received a full refund within 48 hours.

Now what is worse about the process, for a seller, is that PayPal did not require me to send back the unit before they issued the refund.  I did return it but there was no requirement to do so.