The other thing to consider--are you getting more panels that you need (could be a waste of money) or fewer panels than you need (still need to buy some more used/new to fill out the array--and if these are "non-standard" in voltage or current--it could be difficult to mix and match).

Plus you have to see if the warranties are still valid (original receipts, company in business, will honor 2nd owner, etc.).

Against how much it will cost you to get new-in-box shipped to your front door (not cheap either).

-Bill

skygazer,
on top of all that has been said, you still don't know if they are good or not. i would think the guy should lower the price down to $2/w or less for such used pvs even if you find them in good working condition simply because you can buy new at a very cheap price. if they are that valuable to that guy then maybe he should be keeping them and in fact why is he getting rid of them? hmmm

Thanks for all of the good points guys, I was very interested in purchasing the panels but much less so now. I feel like all of them likely work but there is definitely no warranty.

I looked on the sunelec website and the lowest I saw panels listed for were $3.60/watt at quantities of 25 or more, is there another listing I couldn't find?

Also how often do the panels go on sale at the $2.75/watt level, it seems like that wouldn't happen with all of the interest in renewable energy (supply/demand). I only regret that I didn't get into solar sooner, I have always had the desire but never acted on it.

It does not seem to be predictable when the panels go on sale--the cheapest I saw was some 6-9 months ago (???) at $2.50 per watt (IIRC)... And that was like over a weekend (put up on Friday and taken down on Monday--from what I saw).

Most of the time, if you get $0.10 on the dollar--that is the usual discount for used, working equipment.

$0.50 on the dollar is getting pretty close to the wholesale cost of stuff... Not a great discount--but if the product is good, then 50% off is better than retail.

-Bill