nighthawk again makes some very good points for your consideration.
At the moment, there are two of the higher quality H-I models listed on fleabay. One is a 3 piece "President", the lowest in their high end 9ft rods; and the other a "Princess", their high end 2 piece rod, and it is only 7 1/2 ft long. There is also a Wright & McGill rod listed, the only major draw back to which is that it is 9 1/2 ft long. Current bids on all are under $50.00. Wright & McGill is a highly respected make, and is the successor to Goodwin Granger; perhaps the best known of the Rock Mountain area mass builders.
One thing to pay particular attention to on the mid-lower range H-I rods is the cork handle. They used some of the poorest quality cork I have ever seen on some of these rods. Especially when they used 1" thick rings. Of their rods I have seen, their 1/2" ring handles have all been of much better quality.
On the bright side of all of my negative comments; if you are interested in ever building your own bamboo rod, this may be a real bargain even if it needs some fixing up, as it is not too expensive to use as a learner. I have dreams of building my own, and have a good start. I absolutely do not regret the money and time I have spent on 'fixer uppers' over the past 3 year, as I have gained a tremendous amount of insight into the nuances of working with bamboo; plus, I have some nice "old" bamboo rods for my sons and grandsons.
I have only had one 'bad' experience buying bamboo rods 'sight unseen'. It turned out to be a Japanese WW II knockoff of a very popular Heddon model, that to this day commands mid-high three-figure prices on the open auction market, and very high three to low four figure prices from a vintage tackle dealer. As they say, the price was too good to be true!!! With it's shortcomings, it will still be a nice little rod when I get through with it.
See if you can get the seller to send you more, and better detailed, photos. If he is reluctant to do so, I would say "RUN"! If he consents, post them here so we can do a better job of evaluating it for you.
Let us not forget that it is your money and your decision to make.
Keep us posted.
agedsage
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