I really don't want to get into a discussion about this. The boots are as pictured, and in new condition.
There is absolutely no wear on the heel - not sure what you're seeing. No gravel in the treads either. Perhaps it's the lighting in the photos... when they're out of direct bright light, the little bit of dirt on the bottom isn't even noticeable. In fact, I was surprised when I saw the pic for the first time.
I wear a pair of the exact same boots as well. My other pair have been worn about a dozen times and show scuffs on the sole. The soles on these, with dust removed are perfectly smooth. The first time I wore my other pair, the leather creased around the toe - which hasn't happened on these boots.
The dust on the top of the boot is from them sitting in my basement for a couple months, and simply wipes off. That really dark spot on the left boot near the bite is just the gore-tex tab which I have already removed from the left boot. This brings up another issue. If you look at the laces in the second pic, you'll notice that the gore-tex tab has been removed and that the laces are done according to CF Dress Regs. The left boot (picture right) is done up the way the guys in the store had done it. As I wouldn't dare wear these boots laced incorrectly, they have never been used for any CF activity - and as I think they're a little dorky with civ's, they've never been worn 'out' anywhere.
I suppose this is a matter of semantics... maybe it would make more sense to you if I called them 'as new'? I'm not looking to rip anyone off, or mislead anyone - just want to get a little money back, and see someone else get some use out of these boots.
The fact is that they show far less wear than would be seen after even 1 day of use, and they're listed for less than half of the full retail.
Unless you're hoping to have a perfect pair sitting in you're closet, I would call this a pretty good deal.