I explained all of this to the buyer and he understood the tire condition and was fine with it. That is where this get's really strange. The tire condition of all four was very much good enough to run this whole summer before needing replaced. He didn't offer all of the info, but he made it sound like he was replacing the rubber on all four, which was totally not necessary. This point alone makes me wonder if he did something to the rims prior to bringing the wheels to his tire guy.
I am working towards closing this deal up as we speak. The feedback here has helped out very much.