However those blanks suck!
I always find it interesting how different people look at the same thing and have such varied reactions to it. Personally, I find those blanks to be awesome. I would have snatched them up had I seen the auction.
I would never sell a blank with that many voids without casting it first AND telling the client it was cast.
I never buy stabilized blanks as I prefer to do that myself. It gives me the freedom to do whatever I want to do with them. I might choose to dye the blank as I stabilize it or fill the voids however I please. I'm not sure that I would necessarily tell the purchaser about the voids and how I filled them. I would if we were having a conversation about that specific pen, but sometimes that is not how sales happen. I don't see how a specific conversation about the fill is absolutely necessary.
"Just fill em and it will make a great blank" What a complete cop-out!
In what way? Those blanks all look like they would make some really super pens.
Be careful as your turning them since it is plain they are not stabilized! You might want to soak them in thinned Lacquer for a week and let them dry, at least use CA on them as your turning.
This is certainly true of every piece of spalted maple that I have ever handled. The cooler it is, the softer it is. Certainly, anyone who intends to turn this material will need to deal with this problem. Many simply soak it down with very thin CA and reapply as necessary as they turn. This method works pretty good although I prefer stabilizing using a resin made for the purpose such as Mesquiteman's cactus juice. I'm not at all a fan of the 'lacquer soak' method as it doesn't do a super job of stabilizing and I have found that my finishes are not as awesome on woods stabilized in this fashion.
For someone who does not intend on making any investments in equipment, I would definitely go with CA.