The alternative for the seller would have been to part it out or scrap it, and unless the seller is a hobbyist that would probably require more than $1500 in labor and net them less. Win-win.
A lathe hitting the floor is bad, but not necessarily fatal. Even when not fatal, however, it's often quite expensive to recover from. Ask me how I know.
Rick "the divot in the concrete floor is a reminder" Denney