Bob, many years ago I bought one of the rarest Winchester pre 64 Model 70 in "mint" condition for a song as they use to say. It was in a dealers rack, in plain sight and had been for sale for almost a year. It was in dirty physical condition but mint condition after a very careful cleaning. It was an odd caliber with several features which were considered not desirable to modern shooters. If it was not a scoped 30 '06 in those days selling it was a bear. Open sight guns with no means to shoot a scope just went by unnoticed.
Just by chance no Winchester collector had come across it or it would have been snapped up in a second. I paid asking price and had no regrets about paying about a fifth or a tenth of the true value. It occurred to me that the dealer bought it for far less than that and still made money so he was happy. Just not as happy as he would have been with today's internet and the ease of information.
With smart phones a smart seller can take and send picture to a buyer and remove almost all doubt about grade and condition to most degree. Visual inspection is still required to confirm the item. A novice seller will always be at a disadvantage to an educated buyer just as a novice buyer is at a disadvantage to a professional dealer.
If she is smart she will give this gun to one of the auctions to sell it for her. I think she was trawling and you just bit the bait. She was trying to figure out the market and used you. She was never going to sell the gun until she figured out what she had and made sure she got the best end of the deal. Had you found the gun pitted and ruined she would have claimed the deal was valid and you still be working to recover your money or even come to an adjusted price.
