VTL MB 450 Series II Signature

I just bought these, used, in July 2018 from a store in Canada. I had them shipped via FedEx Ground to Houston Texas. Bea Lam was aware of the sale of these amps as I had talked to her about having them upgraded to Series III. She wanted the VTL amps shipped only by truck line on a pallet. I decided to save some money and took my chances shipping via FedEx Ground. When the amps arrived they both worked, but the front panel lights on one amp did not light up. I contacted Bea and she recommended a shop here in Houston that she has dealt with before to look at my amps. I took them in and the only thing wrong with the one amp was that a wire assembly had come loose - see pictures of the repair invoices. What you are getting is 2 amps that were just gone through, given a clean bill of health and pronounced as working to factory specs. These amps came with a set of 6550 tubes, I don't know how old they are, and I immediately bought a set of Gold Lion KT-88 tubes, $700, for them. These tubes have less than 50 hours on them as I travel a lot for work and are included with the 6550s. These amps will ship via truck line on a pallet with both sets of tubes in separate boxes. Because these need to ship via truck line, there is a shipping fee of $250. This won't cover my actual shipping costs. Comes with 2 sets of tubes, owner's manual and both 20 amp power cords. I have had a few inquiries about the cost to upgrade to Series III. VTL gave me a quote of $8500. As always, if you can't afford these don't waste your time or mine. No trades. These are currently on loan. If you buy them, and I am in town, it will take a few days to ship. If I am out of town, and the guy I lent them to is also out of town, it will take longer.