I've bought a number of patterns on eBay, and I guess I'd expected that they would be unused - or, if they had been used, the buyer would say so. Unfortunately, not all buyers do say that their patterns have been used (though if they put all the bits back, fine) but when you're buying a multi-size pattern and your purchase arrives ready cut to a size different from your own, you could be very disappointed. It takes a good deal of skill to take a pattern that's described as 12-16, arrives cut to a 12, and you want to make a 16. So - worth a question to the buyer first, because the return postage will probably only cover the cost of the pattern in the first place.