Hi Jessica,
I'm sorry that there's an issue with one of our products. We don't sell used items, never have. If you would've contacted us with your concerns, we would've explained to you that the inside of the burner lid has leftover residue (brass dust) from when the burner was heated during manufacturing, every single one we've ever sold has the same residue. As far as the smell goes, it smells exactly like brass dust should, and not burnt sage.
I would offer to send you another, yet unfortunately they're all the same. Again, if you would of contacted us before leaving a negative review, you would of been informed that we have a 100% return policy for most items, which this would fall under. What I'm going to do is refund the price of the burner, which you can keep.
As far as any negative energy you may of felt from the burner, that can be from anywhere, the person manufacturing the burner, or the person packaging the burner, this is why we have always recommended that you cleanse your items before use. It removes negative or unwanted energies and makes room for beneficial energies.
Blessings,
Thomas