I bought a 10 yr old NOS Orion guitar from Germany and apart from having to tighten up the controls due to the pots shaking during transit and shorting out,  it was perfect. The bodywork was completely untouched and the price I negotiated was what I would have expected to pay for a used alembic guitar.
 
Jazzyvee

This looks uncannily like a bass sold by GGuitars in 2002 - I was going to buy it then, and at that time it was offered to me at $7000. I hope this isn't the same bass, because if it is then it is definitely not NOS lol

And the rabbit hole gets deeper and deeper . . .  Hey Paul, do you remember or have the serial number written down somewhere?  This bass being sold at $12,500 is not a 'good' deal.  At $7,500 for NOS, it was a good deal.  If it is a used bass, the seller is breaking the law.  NOS indicates the warranty is still covered, and I doubt Alembic will honor it if not sold by the original dealer to the first owner.  Hmmmm, possible unhappiness afoot.

It does look like the NOS bass that was brokered to Kevin (kmh3..) after sitting in the GGuitars showroom for several years.... IIRC it was an '02 SI and was sold around '05-06.... If it was liquidated, changed hands a few times and the new 'owner' never turned in the warranty card, is it still NOS?

Seller now has it back to $7500 BIN...
 
http://cgi.ebay.com/2002-NOS-Alembic-Series-I-Bass-4_W0QQitemZ180470639330QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar?hash=item2a04e36ae2

Is this a precise strategy or he's kind of confused ?

Now down to $6400.  
I don't know what you guys think about the bass but this is a deal !

I don't know... I suspect it will have to drop another $2000 or so for it to get any real interest.

...I mean, if that's really a NOS with full factory warranty.

I have the same exact bass.  I bought mine used in 2001 or 2002 for $3900.00.
 
For this to be truly NOS with a warranty wouldnt it have to be sold from the original dealer it was shipped to?

Series Is go for around $3500 - $4000 all the time (I paid $3500 for mine... it's in pristine condition).  This one would not need the electronics upgrade; therefore, I'd be willing to go another $1000.  But unless this particular bass had the EXACT specs you were looking for, I don't think anyone would really care whether it was NOS or not... it's 8 yrs old.

Greg, good point on the dealer.
Mike, good to know for the future. Thanks !