I'm more worried about the inside. In my frame search, I've had to look through a bunch of frames that have been powercoated on the outside, but are rotting on inside. There are a lot of "reconditioned" frames out there.
Maybe I'm a bit different, but I'm not dropping a good amount of money on a new frame unless it has been completely unmolested. I want factory paint and no rust, inside or out. I want a clean slate to start on. Someone tried to sell me a frame that had those safety cap things installed. It had been powdercoated, cleaned inside and out, etc... Probably had next to no rust, but I'm just not interested in that.