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That's pretty bad alignment, I would definitely return that guitar. Quite a few years back I got an epi LP standard and the pickup pole pieces were completely misaligned, I took it back as soon as I noticed. Now that's something I try to look at when buying guitars - even more expensive ones sometimes have these problems apparently... I've never seen or owned a Gibson with that issue but I suppose it happens. So now I guess the lesson is to carefully inspect as if you were the final inspector before you buy.

There are a lot of members on this forum, myself included that love playing studio models and prefer not to spend more on cosmetic features such as binding and fancy tops. I bought my beloved studio for a very reasonable price and honestly wouldn't sell it for twice what I payed. These are great guitars in their own right even if they don't have all of the visual bells and whistles a studio can easily sound as good or better than a higher model - mine even has a one piece back. Binding doesn't make your guitar sound any better ;)

90's 498T pickups were made really hot - I have a '98 studio in Ruby Red ( my profile pic) and the 498t measures almost 14k. Mine's a little newer but from the same era, no markings on the pickups, almost identical wiring harness. Mine is about 10lbs but they were weight relieved since the mid-late eighties with the swiss cheese holes so yours has a small amount of weight relief same as mine. I keep saying it is the best guitar I have ever played, it sounds amazing - much better than any Gibson I have ever owned. I don't know the general consensus on the era, but I love my 98 studio