Thanks to all for the comments and input! Apologies for going ghost, but it was a busy weekend!
So, to try to reply to the highpoints:
- I prefer my guitars to be stock, especially a PRS. I think Paul and the team make an amazing product, and would prefer to see what left the factory before deciding if there's anything I'd like to change to personalize
- I gave the Bareknuckles a fair shot, but really didn't like them. I know they're supposed to be "higher end", but not my cup of tea
- Thanks for all of the recommendations on the 57/08s, those are actually likely my first swap out, if I don't like the McCartys
I had a really good interaction with the seller. I simply asked why he sent the guitar and half the things we discussed, but not the other half. He said that he thought I reached out to ask about the original parts, but never followed up so I decided to just take the guitar as-is. I told him I reached out to verify that it was all included, and thought he confirmed. We agreed that it was mutual confusion, not malice on either part. It was very interesting that he thought the price we negotiated wasn't fair for me to assume all new and original gear. I have no problem sharing those numbers (if anyone cares), but I'm going to be vague here b/c I'm not 100% clear on forum rules for this.
He was the second owner, and bought it from Reverb about a year ago. He told me the price he paid for the guitar, and the price for all the parts he put on. I told him he paid OVER the new retail price for a used guitar, and about $1k over the Reverb price guide for the last year or so. I also told him that new parts were usually a sunk cost, and that he shouldn't expect $0.50 on the dollar for them when selling them with a guitar, and that was if he was lucky. By my math the price I paid him was more than the guitar and new parts combined were worth, but I agreed to pay it because of that darn "lefty premium".
In the end, we agreed that the most fair thing to do was for him to send me all the original parts, and me to send him back his new ones. We each paid our own shipping costs, and call it a day.
LAST QUESTION: He sent me this pic of the parts he pulled off the guitar and is sending me. Everything looks like its correct, EXCEPT the pickup rings and switch tip are black. Is everyone here SURE that they should be cream? Is there any chance that he's right, or am I about to be scammed?