Re: Condition of Duncan Pickups
First, if you have photos that would be very helpful. Many of Duncan's pickups come with pre-stripped wires. So right off the bat that could be nothing at all. Totally normal.
Second, I would love to have seen the fingerprints. I don't think the final package department are wearing gloves, but here is a possibility: If the fingerprints were at all hazy, whitish, chalky, etc, then it's a reaction to the glue. If you look around the bottom of the pickup, you should see some glue all around the border of the PCB. That's the glue that's holding the pickup in the cover.
So the way superglue works is, if there is any that isn't fully cured trapped inside, it will gas off, but also it will react to fingerprints (anyone remember something like this from Beverly Hills Cop?)
The point I'm making is that there could have been no fingerprints or perceived residue on the pickup when they packaged it, but THEN over the next day or so, a haze (with fingerprints) develops, and Duncan wouldn't even have been aware of it. Neither would Sam Ash for that matter. It very well could be a new in box pickup, as advertised.
