Short answer - yes. Drum sanders really command a high price.
The only thing I'd caution you about that one is that it has closed ends like a planer. Most drum sanders have one open end, which allows you to turn a wide panel around and sand the whole thing. I wouldn't have much trouble with the 12" width, but if you plan to make larger pieces it could be inhibiting.
I'd say it depends on your needs. A 12" sander is kinda like a 12" planer. It's does about the same thing albeit potentially with a better finish. Less chance of tearout on Knarly grain, and a lot slower. You can pull off 1/64 to 1/32 a pass on a planer. Probably half that on the sander.
I've got a project that I want to surface about 1200 sq feet of T&G pine. Thank you I'm NOT going there with a ROS. So, I bought a used 16" grizzly drum sander for $350. The shop that had it used it for drawer fronts, too small for anything else. They finally sold it to get a larger one so they could do doors as well. I'm going to do 5 to 6" wide stuff 6 to 12 feet long so the 16" didn't bother me. I'd have been happy with the 12" actually because it's 110V. The 16" is 220V so I still have to rewire the job site.
Remember too these puppies generate a lot of fine dust and a shop vac isn't gonna cut it. You will, at the least, make a trip to harbor freight for one of their low end dust collectors io deal with this. I know I will and my plan is to route it out the nearest window rather than bag it.
All that said, $300 is a bit more than half of the current price new ($545 for the white one). I certainly would not pay much more than that and I'll suspect he isn't going to get a lot of traffic because it is the small one. If it fits someones needs perfectly he may get that for it. I'd watch it and if he gets some action, good for him, otherwise let it expire and if you still want it contact him and offer him $250 and see if he'll bite
It is actually local to me, about a 45 minute drive away from where I live in Virginia. Even with the limitations mentioned I am tempted, mostly because my Ridgid planer has been having trouble with tearout, even with fresh blades.
On the planer issue, are you checking your feed direction? Grain direction matters a LOT in regards to tear out on planers and jointers... If you don't know what I am talking about, go to http://thewoodwhisperer.com/episode-...inters-jumpin/, Marc demos the proper way to do it with a jointer, a planer isn't a whole lot different...
FWIW, for $300.00, you can build a heck of a NICE 24" drum sander on the DIY approach. There are LOTS of documents out there on how to do it...
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