I think the seller is disapointed in the selling price and this is the way he thinks you will cancel the sale. unsporty! If you still go to pick it up, remove the speaker frets and inspect the woofer on foam rot.  

He claimed everything works so try it

I have the BC4000 as well and stll looks great for a '70 piece

Yes, I think so too. I replied that I was happy to take it even damaged, and he has simply not responded to my message. Today he moves house, and said that it "needed to be gone by today", so I guess that's it. I opened a complaint about it with eBay.

Interesting. Today I heard back from the seller, expressing hurt that I'd misjudged him. He says he's taken the Beocenter to B&O Eastbourne, and is having it repaired at his own cost. He is moving abroad, and his parents will collect it in 2-3 weeks, whereupon I can still have it for the sale price. If he makes good on this, I will really have misjudged him. I feel bad that he would do this for something I was buying for a fiver, but I suppose that it's till possible that he was actually trying to con me, and the "moving abroad" thing is a ruse, and he's just making me wait for a Beocenter that's undamaged. I'm following a couple of alternatives, and if everything goes well, I might end up with different B&O systems in 3 rooms!