For all the grumping about ebay, you can occasionally find a great deal like that once in a while. The last one I had like that was a two-kit lot of Viper and Raider from Battlestar Galactica with just a couple of parts pre-assembled. I figured the kits could work as spares for some alternate paint scheme project or crash scene diorama or parts for a kitbash, depending on what the photos didn't show. When the kits arrived I found bonuses that weren't mentioned in the auction: the resin launch-rail display stand that usually costs more than I paid for the set.
Another was a set of FineMolds Star Wars kits that included a couple listed as started. My bid was about $10 less than the regular price of the unopened Jango Fett Slave I, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that whoever started the X-Wing and TIE in the set had only cut some parts of the TIE from the sprue and done a great job cementing the half-dozen X-Wing parts they'd started to where I'd have no cleanup to worry about.
I've gotten to the point that if there's something there that I can't find for less elsewhere, I'll just bid my real max bid and let it go, even when I find a lower-than-usual price. No sense getting into a bidding war in the closing minutes if it's something that'll likely come up again sometime, and it's not like I'm short on kits.