Thanks, those who answered so quickly!
It's definitely a dealer who's in it to flip it. He's got a lot of old steel, mostly Schwinn Varsity league stuff.
If you're not tied to the vintage experience, having indexed shifters on the brifters is nice. And the ride was like butter.
I made some noises about the frame paint condition not being up to expectations, but he made no indication that he was willing to bargain, just repeated how it was an essentially new bike, other than the frame.
I'm a big believer in picking a bike by how it feels to *you* when *you* get on it. I rode a slightly cheaper tange frame later the same day, and I knew from the second I got on it that it was wrong for me. The Gazelle was just *so smooth*! I am now obsessed with finding a steel road bike to replace my modern aluminum frame bike for most of my road riding. Doesn't necessarily have to be vintage, but I do love the look. And lugs. It should have beautiful lugs.