Not always. In this case you guys are probably right though.. I didnt givce it much thought..just typed it out... I was thinking more along the lines of it's physical condition etc when I typed that i guess..was in a rush
But thats not always the case... If you go buy lots of brand new alternators from say... VatoZone...chances are pretty high that eventually youll buy one which someone else has already bought it, tried it on, didnt need it, and took it back off and returned it and tried something else instead.
Is it still new? I would consider it new still.. but thats just me :/