Quoted from absocountry2:You cannot see the real condition in a photo. You are taking a huge risk.
It does really depend on the photo, some sellers take excellent high resolution shots of their playfields. Some use an iphone at 3 yards, and some use stock ones.
I've had as many bad deals directly with other collectors as I have over ebay unfortunately. Travelling to see games just isn't an option for me most of the time.