getontheairBuying used gear
Used gear is how many hams afford their first HF station. Most sellers are honest hams clearing a shelf. But online ham classifieds have been a scam target for years, and the scams have become more convincing as scammers use AI to clean up their messages and fake their photos. This page covers where to buy, how to spot a fake, how to pay and how to test what you bought.
Independent guide, not affiliated with QRZ.com, QTH.com, eBay, PayPal, any dealer or ARRL.
Buying used v1.0 · written 2026-10-08 · scam patterns from published accounts through mid-2025 · checked as of Oct 2026
Where to buy, safest first
| Venue | Risk | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Your club's swap table, or a club member | Lowest | You meet the seller, see the radio work and pay in person. Clubs also help families sell a silent key's station fairly. |
| Hamfest flea markets | Low | You can inspect, power up and haggle. Bring cash and a way to test (see below). Find events on the ARRL hamfest calendar. |
| Dealer used and consignment departments | Low | Usually cost more, but you get a business to deal with and often a short warranty or return period. Ask before you buy. |
| Online marketplaces with buyer protection | Medium | Protection depends on paying through the platform and following its rules. |
| Online ham classifieds (QRZ swap meet, QTH.com and similar) | Highest | Great for rare and discontinued gear, but this is where most ham-gear scams happen. Use every check below. |
Red flags
These patterns come up again and again in published scam accounts, from a 2014 QRZ.com walk-through of a fake listing to a 2025 QRPer write-up where five of six replies to one want-to-buy ad were scams.
- Too good a price. Scammers study the market. They price just low enough to be irresistible, but not so low that you get suspicious. Know the going used price before you look.
- A brand-new account. In the 2014 QRZ case, the "seller" opened his account the day before posting an expensive radio.
- A stolen call sign. Scammers pick a real ham, often one with no QRZ account or no email listed, and create a matching email address. The real ham has nothing to do with it.
- Contact that skips the site's messaging system. A reply that only comes by email, using an address scraped from QRZ, deserves a second look.
- Refusing a phone call. Legitimate sellers almost never refuse to talk.
- Photos that aren't theirs. Pictures lifted from old listings, dealer sites or review videos. A reverse image search often finds the original.
- A call sign "on paper" that was pasted in. Fake photos with a printed call sign superimposed on a white sheet are common.
- Payment pressure. PayPal "Friends and Family," Zelle, Venmo, wire transfers, gift cards, or paying a "relative" instead of the seller.
- A story that changes. A new payment address, a new shipping excuse, or urgency ("another buyer is ready").
Grammar is no longer a reliable tell. Assume a scammer's message has been polished with AI and ask questions only the real owner can answer.
Verify the seller
- Look up the call sign in the FCC's ULS license search and on QRZ.com. The license should be active, and the name and location should match the seller's story.
- Email the address on their QRZ page yourself and ask, "Did you reply to my ad?" Don't reply only to the address that contacted you.
- Talk on the phone. Ask about the radio's history, why they're selling and what's included. An area code that matches their licensed location is a small bonus check.
- Ask for fresh photos. Two photos of the item from different angles, with a handwritten note showing their call sign, today's date and your name. Use plain paper. A QSL card is too easy to paste in.
- Check the platform's history. Feedback on the marketplace, how long the account has existed and past listings.
How to pay
- In person: cash at a hamfest, a club meeting or a busy public place.
- Remote: a method with buyer protection, such as PayPal Goods and Services or a credit card through the marketplace. If the seller wants to avoid the fee, offer to cover it. Don't switch to "Friends and Family."
- Never pay with gift cards, wire transfers or crypto to someone you haven't met.
- Keep everything: the listing, emails, photos, tracking and payment record.
If you're the seller, the same scams run in reverse. Watch for overpayment "accidents," buyers who want to send a courier, and payments that arrive from a third party.
Test what you bought
Do this the day it arrives, or at the table before you pay at a hamfest. Use a fused supply and a dummy load. Don't test transmit into an unknown antenna.
| Check | What you want to see |
|---|---|
| Power up on a current-limited or fused supply | No smell, no blown fuse, normal current draw on receive |
| Display, buttons, knobs and the main tuning encoder | Everything works. A skipping encoder or dead buttons are common wear. |
| Receive on each band | Signals and band noise on every band. Try WWV on 5, 10 and 15 MHz. |
| Transmit into a dummy load with a wattmeter | Rated power on each band, on each mode you'll use |
| Internal tuner (if fitted) | Tunes a mild mismatch without errors |
| Menus and firmware | Check the firmware version against the maker's site, and do a factory reset |
| Modifications | Ask if it has been "opened up" for out-of-band transmit. If so, don't use it outside the ham bands. |
| Accessories | Microphone, power cable, manual and any options the listing promised |
Handhelds: check that the battery holds a charge and isn't swollen, and read the handheld trap note before you buy one that transmits outside the ham bands.
If you've been scammed
- Contact your payment provider or bank immediately. Speed matters.
- Report the listing and account to the site where you found it.
- File a report with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) and your local police.
- If a ham's call sign was stolen, tell that ham. They may not know their identity is being used.
Habits / gotchas / checklist
Sources (checked Oct 2026)
- Thomas Witherspoon K4SWL, Want To Buy (WTB) Ads? Beware of scammers, they're getting clever, QRPer, July 2025.
- Fred Lloyd AA7BQ, Anatomy of an Internet Scam at QRZ, QRZ.com forums, Aug 18, 2014.
- FCC ULS license search and the FBI IC3.
Notes & edits
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