Sure thing. Yes, part of it is looking at plenty of images in catalogues, actual guitars (esp. certain details), and frequenting forums like this one . When I was buying my first good guitar, I spent quite a bit of time sorting through information about the model I was interested in, also b/c it's been out of production for yonks.

Generally, I'm fairly happy buying an old MIJ Ibanez without playing it if I feel the price/condition is within what I think is reasonable, with the view that I'll need to a bit of work. Most used (and even new) guitars will need a some tweakage, there will be some things sellers themselves are not aware of, and everyone has different preferences regarding setup etc. Straight up sellers are also happy to provide extra images on request. So, if I were set on buying that red 470, for instance, I'd be prepared to deal with any trem/nut issues, based on what I can see from the pics and specs of the model.

Never played ESP/LTD stuff but a lot of it sure looks nice. I just wish they didn't put the model names on the 12th fret inlay, bit of cheese, ha!