Some would say you overpaid for the 814XLS, but I see your point that you would rather play it safe, overpay for something you know for a fact works perfectly fine, than get a bargain for something you are not sure will work perfectly fine- I understand that.
That said, I don't want to misrepresent anything, so placing batteries in it and "testing" without knowing what to look for would not be all that helpful, and might lead to a false sense of security for the buyer. I rather have the buyer be pleasantly surprised by the functionality of it, than disappointed if it works in any way less than expected by my completely ignorant test.
But I took your advice, picked up six batteries today, and fired her up. the zoom buttons on top work great. The different speeds on the dial clicked along nicely, and when I looked through the viewfinder, I could see a lit meter moving as I walked around my apartment, from white to red. I didn't know there was any instruments in the viewfinder. Very cool stuff, and it sounds like what I've heard those movie projectors sound like in movies...I really wish I knew how to test this out better, including buying some film, etc.
I didn't want to do more with it that that since I don't want to misuse it...perhaps that sounds stupid, but nevertheless. I'm going to post my findings, as I did on here, and let's see how the auction goes. I truly hope someone gets a good deal here, as someone has already met my opening bid; there is no reserve on this auction, so it's going to sell, and I hope be of much use.
Thanks for the tips and opinion, even if it wasn't favorable to the camera I'm selling ;)
If anyone has any other suggestions or questions, I'll happily look into them.