Well, following up on the Ampex vs Quantegy thing, I've emailed the seller asking about the approximate vintage/manufacture date, and also asked him to guarantee the performance of the tape with a money back guarantee if we find the reels shedding/in need of baking. I haven't heard back yet...
So...I'm hoping that the seller will agree to money-back terms here. Even if he is not willing to do this, I believe that there should be recourse for us if the reels turn out to be a mess, in that we can make a case to Ebay that the item is "Significantly Not as Described" (ebay-ese), i.e. a "new, virgin.." tape would be expected to not need remedial baking to be usable, and, more importantly, such a a tape would definitely not be suitable for new recording projects, as Les Ismore pointed out.
I think I will recommend to my friend that we bite the bullet and spend the $90 or so per reel for new-stock Quantegy from a reputable media vendor for his new project, and, provided the Ampex reels aren't a total disaster, use these for less critical stuff (rehearsals, tracks that will be transferred early on to digital).
Thanks REP'ers for your insight on all this --- I just wish I headed over here before pressing the 'buy it now' button!
Joel N.